There are two general reasons why an individual wants to get rid of those extra layers of body fat. One of these reasons is to lead a healthier lifestyle while the other reason is to look good in summers by having that beach body. But burning layers of fat is not as simple and easy as it is putting on those pounds of fat in the first place itself.
Most of the people believe that diet and exercise are the factors responsible for weight and fat loss but there are many other reasons too which play an important role in losing them. However, there are many steps which one can follow if they want to lose fat both quickly and easily.
Following are some ways which are considered to be the best to lose fat and weight.
10 Best Ways to lose Fat Naturally
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Strength Training
Let me guess, you had strength training too on your list of ways to lose weight. This does not come as a surprise because strength training is definitely one of the best ways to lose weight and fat and yet develop muscles at the same time.
Strength training is an exercise which requires you to train your muscles against weight resistance by contracting the muscles. It then helps in increasing strength as well as muscle mass.
The most common form of strength training is to lift heavy weights which helps gaining muscles over the course of time.
Strength training and the benefits associated with it has been backed by various medical and research studies when it comes to burning extra layers of fat.
A research study conducted on 78 people who were suffering from Metabolic Syndrome showed that strength training was effective in reducing visceral fat. Visceral Fat is a specific type of fat which is quite dangerous and it surrounds the organs located in our stomach.
Another research study also showed that when strength training was paired with aerobic exercise for a duration of 12 weeks, the fat loss results were much more efficient when compared to the belly fat burned by doing aerobic exercises alone.
Studies have also shown that strength training might also be effective in increasing the number of calories burned by our body while we are not performing any physical activity i.e sleeping or resting.
If you are looking to just get started with strength training, we recommend that you start with some body weight exercises and lifting gym weights and making the use of gym equipment.
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Consume a diet rich in Protein
If you are looking to reduce your appetite and burn much more amounts of fat we recommend you to include more proteins in your diet.
Some research studies conducted to study the effects of proteins suggested that people who consumed a diet rich in protein were at a much lower risk of gaining belly fat.
Increase your daily protein intake might also lead to a decrease in your appetite, increase the feeling of fullness and reduce your calorie intake all of which will aid in the process of weight loss.
The process of burning fat thus can be fastened up by including a high protein diet. Some of the most common foods rich in Protein are: Fish, Meat, Legumes like Dal, Eggs and various Dairy Products.
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Squeeze More Sleep
Weight gain can be prevented and the process of losing fat can be boosted by getting more hours of quality sleep. You can thus hit the bed earlier or sleep for a longer period of time to fulfill this and this claim of ours is backed by several clinical and research studies too.
There was also extensive research conducted for a period of 16 years on over 60,000 women showed that those women were at a much greater risk of gaining weight who slept for 5 or fewer hours every night when compared to those who slept for more than 7 hours.
The sleep requirements vary from individual to individual but most research studies believe that sleeping for up to 7 hours is enough to reap maximum benefits when it comes to maintaining and losing our body’ weight and fats.
We recommend you to make and then follow a sleep schedule regularly, minimize your intake of caffeine and related products and try avoiding the use of electronic devices about 30 minutes before you hit your bed.
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Add Vinegar to your Diet
Vinegar is a well-known food supplement and additive which is quite popular and renowned for its amazing health benefits. Not only is it beneficial for the overall health of our heart, but it also helps us in controlling our blood sugar levels and several research studies show that Vinegar might promote fat loss when included in our diet.
Consumption of Vinegar also makes its user feel full for a much longer period of time which then helps the user in reducing their appetite thus helping in the process of fat and weight loss.
However, it is not one of the easiest tasks to drink vinegar straight like we gulp down water so you can add vinegar to your sides like dressings and sauces to ensure your diet has the required amount of vinegar.
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Consume healthy fats
No I am not joking when I say that you should start consuming fat in an article which is dealing with ways to reduce your body’s fat but I am asking you to consume healthy fat which will be beneficial for your body because believe it or not, our body requires fat as well for its proper functioning.
The time taken by our body to digest fat is much more and this is why it also assists in making our stomach empty slowly which in turn helps in reducing our appetite and hunger.
Another research study has discovered that a person who follows a Mediterranean diet which is considered to be rich in healthy fats because of olive oil had lower chances and risks of suffering from weight gain issues when compared to those who consumed a diet low in fats.
Another research study underlined the benefits of including Coconut Oil in the diet instead of including Soybean oil because people who consumed nearly 2 tablespoon or 30ml of coconut oil everyday lost much more amounts of body fat.
On the other hand, consumption of trans fat which is considered to be an unhealthy fat led to an increase in your body’s fat circumference of the waist and increase in belly fat.
However, no matter how healthy these healthy fats are, they still are rich in calories thus we recommend people to consume Healthy Fats in moderate quantities.
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Drink Healthy Beverages
One of the easiest ways of reducing your body’s fat is to avoid the use of beverages which are high in sugar content. For example, we recommend you to avoid or minimize drinking various beverages such as sodas and packed juices which are very high in sugar and calories, and offer very low nutritional values.
Alcohol is also very rich in calories and it also lowers our body’s inhibitions which will make you overeat thus increasing your body’s fat and weight.
Research studies have also discovered that both alcohol and sweetened beverages are very high in Calories and their consumption often puts you at a higher risk of developing body fat.
Thus we recommend you to minimize the intake of these beverages and instead recommend you to switch to much healthier options like Green Tea or Water. A research study conducted on people who used to drink nearly 500ml of water before every meal proved that it led to faster and increased weight loss by upto 4.4 pounds or 2 KGs in just 12-weeks.
Green Tea is also considered to be one of the best beverages for reducing weight because it is rich in antioxidants and is also rich in caffeine both of which are known for their abilities to aid in the fat loss process and also boosts the body’s metabolism process.
Another research study which studied 12 people who used to drink green tea showed that fat burning increased by up to 12 % when compared to a placebo group.
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Consume more Fiber in your Diet
Soluble Fiber is known to make us feel full for longer periods of time because it has exceptional capabilities of absorbing water and it moves very slowly in our digestive tract.
Some studies have proved that increasing the amount of soluble fiber in your diet might protect you from accumulation of fat and weight gain.
A research study conducted on over 1,000 people for a period of 5 years showed that those who increased their daily fiber intake by up to 10 grams witnessed a loss of up to 3.7 percent in their body’s fat without making any changes in their diet or exercise.
Another research study showed that increased fiber intake decreased hunger by promoting the feeling of being full for longer periods of time. The research study concluded that an increase of just 14 grams of Fiber everyday led to a decrease of 10% daily calorie intake of our body. The same research study was extended for a period of 4 months also proved that the participants witnessed a decrease of 4.4 pounds or 2 KG of their body weight.
Some foods which are considered to be rich in Fiber are: Fruits, Legumes, Leafy Green Vegetables, Nuts, Seeds and Whole Grains which can aid in the process of weight and fat loss.
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Lower the intake of Refined Carbohydrates
You might witness improved fat and weight loss results if you limit or minimalize your daily intake of refined carbohydrates. When these foods are processed, barnes and germ are removed from refined grains which leads to a final product which has low contents of both nutrients and fibers.
Refined Carbohydrates are also known to have high glycemic index value which means that they frequently alter our blood sugar levels causing them to rise and fall suddenly which leads us to be more hungry in shorter amounts of time.
Several research studies also show that consumption of these refined carbs might lead to an increase in your body’s belly fat.
On the other hand, consuming a diet rich in whole grains often leads to a lower index of body mass, reduced body weight and a slimmer waist.
Another research study conducted on over 2,500 people showed that those who consumed more refined grains witnessed higher amount of harmful fat which often promoted many diseases when compared to those who included whole grains in their diet.
If you want to benefit most, we recommend you to reduce your daily intake of refined carbohydrates obtained from foods such as pasta, pastries, white breads, processed foods, and breakfast cereals. Instead, we recommend you to switch them with whole grains and include foods such as quinoa, oats and barley in your daily diet.
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Include Cardio in your workout and Practice HIIT(High Intensity Interval Training)
If you have tried to lose your body fat or weight before, you must have had tried Cardio at some point of time because it is an aerobic exercise which is one of the most popular and effective exercises of them all because it specifically targets our heart and our lungs and if you include Cardio in your diet, you might witness effective and fast weight loss results. A research study even proved the fact that those people who included cardio in their workout routine witnessed much greater weight loss benefits.
Another research study has discovered that you can witness an increase in your body’s muscles mass, reduced belly fat and reduced waist circumference if you perform cardio exercises for about 15 to 30 minutes everyday.
A majority of research studies often lay emphasis on the fact that one should perform 150-300 minutes of moderate exercises every week or perform nearly 20 to 40 minutes of vigorous exercise everyday to maintain the health of your body.
Some of the most popular Cardio exercises are: Running, Swimming, Walking and Cycling which can aid you in your weight loss journey in the long run.
These days, HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is gaining huge popularity amongst fitness enthusiasts because it helps in keeping our heart rate elevated i.e above the normal levels because it includes pairing quick bursts of exercises and keeping the recovery periods short. Various research studies have been conducted to study the benefits of HIIT and it was found that HIIT exercises were very effective in promoting weight and fat loss by speeding up the process of fat burning in our body.
A research study discovered that individuals who practiced HIIT exercise for a period of just 20 minutes 3 times a week witnessed a decrease of 4.4 pounds or 2KG of weight even when they made no other changes in their lifestyle or diet. These individuals also reported a decrease of up to 17% in their body fat and also experienced a decrease in the circumference of their waist.
HIIT are also known for their effectiveness and it is much more effective than any cardio exercise out there as published in a research study which showed that individuals who performed HIIT burned up to 30% more fat when compared to those people who indulged in Cardio exercises.
If you are looking forward to getting started with HIIT, we recommend you to alternate your walking, jogging and sprinting in time intervals of 30 seconds at a time.
You can also start by performing compound exercises such as squats, push-ups and burpees followed by short rest intervals.
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Increase your daily Coffee Consumption
One of the most common ingredients you will find that is used in weight loss pills and supplements is Caffeine and rightly so because of the numerous health benefits Caffeine has on reducing weight.
Coffee is rich in Caffeine which is a stimulant agent for our body’s Central Nervous System which boosts the breakdown of fatty acids in our body and also increases our body’s metabolism.
Many research studies also prove that increasing the daily caffeine intake increases our body’s expenditure of energy temporarily and also enhances our body’s metabolism by 3 to 11 %.
Another extensive research study conducted on over 55,000 people for a period of 12 years found that increased caffeine intake led to significant weight loss results.
Another research study which was conducted on over 2,500 people found that intake of Caffeine led to a higher success rate when it came to weight loss and its management.
However, in order to reap maximum benefits from Caffeine, we recommend you to drink it without adding any extra cream or sugar which will then do more harm than good because of the extra calories included.