Tips for Healthy Fat Loss

Courtney Townley

•    Water makes up 75% of our muscle fiber and 90% of our blood volume.   When it comes to fat loss our liver requires water to convert stored fat into energy.  Hydrating ourselves sufficiently throughout the day helps to accelerate the repair of muscle damage and the liver’s ability to process fat efficiently.  So, drink up!

•     After working out our bodies continue to burn calories at a more accelerated rate than before our workout, for about an hour.   So calories consumed will be more efficiently metabolized within an hour post exercise.  It is important to provide our systems with healthy carbohydrates post exercise to replenish depleted glycogen stores and protein to help repair muscle tissue damage.

•     Two essential items for your gym bag:  protein powder and a small piece of fruit, which will ensure that you get in a few calories and much needed nutrient replacement immediately after a workout.

•    The key to improving fitness is progression. Our muscles are highly adaptive, which means they get more efficient at doing the same exercise after just a few weeks.  That means less calories burned.  So, it is important to tweak the variables in any workout frequently enough to challenge the muscular system to ensure progression.  Some variables to consider:  amount of weight, number of reps,  and speed of reps.

•   Cooking is a must when it comes to healthy fat loss.   And it doesn’t need to be complicated.  Take an hour in the week to cook several chicken breasts, cut up fruits and veggies, bake potatoes and hard boil eggs.   That way you just have to open the fridge to grab your next healthy snack or meal.

•    If you are having trouble getting motivated to go to the gym, think back on a time that you finished your workout and regretted it.   Hard to do, eh?

•    When you make the decision to take responsibility for your health and wellness, you become a leader.  You lead by example!  There are many people who you love watching your fat loss efforts right now… be an inspiration to them.  You might just save a life other than your own!

•    Focus on what you are doing right on your fitness path.    Positive thoughts create more positive action, which will ultimately lead you to the doorstep of your goal.

•   Celebrate your successes.  We tend to get so focused on our weight loss goal that we fail to celebrate all of the successes along the way.  Every day you are making progress is a reason to celebrate – you are a better version of you every day you are making progress and that is most definitely something to celebrate.

•    Every day you go to the gym try to do at least 1 thing you haven’t done before…try a new exercise, vary your routine, listen to different music or just smile at someone you can tell is less than inspired to be there.  It’s the little things that make a world of difference.