You can’t avoid this fact: to lose weight you have to be in a negative caloric balance. You simply can’t avoid the law of thermodynamics. Having said that, it does pay to focus on the smaller details.
After all, if you ignore the small stuff, the big stuff may get that much harder.
So here are some tips for making weight loss a little more manageable:
1. Hydrate often in small amounts: If you hydrate only when you eat, you will not reach optimal levels. If you hydrate in large amounts, your kidneys will excrete everything. So drink small amounts of water in between meals every day.
2. Don’t rely on artificial sweeteners too much: The healthiest sweetener by far is the darkest honey you can find. And although artificial sweeteners don’t have calories, we still do not know if long term consumption is safe despite what the marketing departments may claim.
3. Ignore the hype around saturated fats: The research is very clear here, saturated fats from animal sources cause insulin resistance, the deposition of arterial fat and bad cholesterol profiles. So make sure you stay away from saturated fats even if you are going on a high protein diet.
4. Low carb is good if you have a big belly: Now I’m talking about a disproportionately big belly here. You see, visceral fat, or fat around your mid section, is highly correlated with insulin resistance. So make sure you try going low carb if you can’t lose fat the balanced way.
5. It’s ok to eat coconut: Coconut has saturated fat, but it’s structurally different from animal saturated fat. In reality, saturated fat from plant sources is very healthy for you. So don’t be afraid to have things like coconut, brazil nuts or palm oil.
It’s important to focus on caloric intake for the best fat loss. However, don’t forget to focus on the smaller details either. And remember that taking action is still the number one ingredient for weight loss success!
Writer Katherine Crawford, a fitness expert and recent arm fat sufferer, teaches how to tone arms. Figure out how to get sexy and sculpted arms by visiting her website with arm exercises for women that produce results right now!