You can still achieve weight loss even when you’re pressed for time, and you don’t have to resort to extreme measures such as starving yourself or taking unsafe weight loss supplements, or overdoing your workouts.
Instead, you can take a flexible approach and select from a range of weight loss tips that are effective yet won’t completely disrupt your routine.
Choose at least four of the tried-and-tested weight loss tips below and commit to following them for 14 consecutive days. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can add a few more tips.
The more changes you make, the more weight you can expect to lose within two weeks.
1. Drink only water
A sports or energy drink, fruit smoothie, or light beer — each serving contains about 100 calories. Yet these beverages don’t satisfy you the way 100 calories of food does, so they’re a waste. Other liquids may be high in sodium and carbohydrates, which trick your body into retaining water, puffing you out.
Water, on the other hand, has zero calories and carbs and little to no sodium, making it the perfect slim-down drink. And, strangely, it actually helps flush out excess water weight as well as jumpstart your metabolism. If water is too boring for you, add lemon wedges or mint leaves using an infuser.
2. Skip Refined Carbs, Eat Veggies Instead
The simple carbs in white rice, spaghetti, and sandwich rolls can wreak havoc on your weight because they’re digested very quickly, leaving you hungry and more likely to overeat later.
Instead of replacing these foods with healthier whole-grain bread products, which contain filling fibers that can sometimes trigger bloating, sub in vegetables for the 2 weeks—instead of rice, try cauliflower “rice” made by grating cauliflower. And instead of chips and dip, go for carrots and dip.
The complex carbs from vegetables are also digested more slowly than simple carbs , so you’ll remain full longer. And because veggies are mostly water, they help flush out excess water weight.
3. Do Cardio For At Least 30 Minutes A Day
Any workout that gets your heart rate up will burn calories. But you’ll use more calories if you pick a cardio routine that engages multiple muscles simultaneously.
Three cardio heavy workout to consider to get your metabolism revving and fat burning: spinning, cardio kickboxing, and boot-camp workouts. Half an hour of each torches 200 to 300 calories while toning up your arms, legs, and core so everything appears sleeker and tighter.
You’ll burn even more calories per session if your workout incorporates interval training: alternating short bursts of intense cardio with slower activity.
4. Drink Coffee An Hour Before Your Workout Session
This is the one exception to the stick-to-water-only rule: Just as a coffee run makes your morning at work more productive, a pre-exercise cup of java with a splash of skim milk (about 11 calories) or black (just 5 calories) will energize your workout. You’ll burn more calories without realizing you’re pushing yourself harder.
5. Have On Top Of Him Sex Every Night
Not that you needed an excuse to hook up with your guy every night, but the fact is, this position is a fat blaster. Being on top means you do the rocking, and the more active you are, the more calories you burn.
Sex also pumps levels of feel-good neurotransmitters, endorphins, helping you ride out food cravings. Get on top in reverse-cowgirl (i.e., facing away from your guy) to give your thigh and butt muscles an extra push (and deeper pleasure).
6. Do One Hundred Squats Everyday
This gym-class staple will help sculpt muscle, so you’ll sport a more streamlined appearance. Do a set of 50 squats as soon as you wake up in the morning and right before you sleep. Squats work your core, butt, hips, and thighs. Remember, as you build stronger muscles with the squats, add some free weights (if you don’t have weights, use large detergent bottles) to keep you challenged and away from the dreaded plateau.
7. Sleep for an extra 30 minutes a day
That extra half an hour, whether you sleep 5 hours or 8, can refresh you enough that you will make better food choices (in other words, no quick sugar fix for breakfast in search of energy) and won’t feel lethargic and skip the gym. More restful sleep (7 to 8 hours is best) also boosts your metabolism. And because your body builds muscle while you snooze, getting zzz’s equals better muscle tone.
8. Make one food sacrifice a day
Cutting out one indulgence — such as the chips you have with lunch or the chocolate dessert you eat after dinner — can subtract a few hundred calories from your diet, which translates into less flab. Believe it or not, tour body won’t even notice their absence.
9. Eat More Salmon
It’s packed with nutrients that build muscle tone and give your skin a healthy glow. Some nutritionists claim that consuming a portion (doesn’t matter how it’s cooked) may immediately make your face look a bit more contoured.