What is it about weight? At this stage in life as soon as I shed a bit of weight I only have to look at a yummy sandwich and I can feel my waist expanding again.
It is so so hard to keep the weight from creeping on (and on) while living the lifestyle I really want to live! If I stop drinking wine, refrain from eating bread, eat small portions of everything else (always) cut down or cut out saturated fat and sugar, and exercise hard for an hour a day, I can just about maintain what I call my fighting weight.
Oh the road to gold is paved with good intention isn’t it?
In reality a strict regime isn’t going to happen for me because it doesn’t fit in with my busy life (nor my social life), so I have to plan other more devious ways to keep healthy and reasonably trim.
Table of Contents
Change how you look and feel
So when I discovered a Slim and Trim Trim App from Kiqplan I was keen to give it a try and I’ve just downloaded it on my phone. It’s like having your own personal trainer, a digital coach, and the claim is that it will help you change the way you look and feel in 12 weeks. You follow step targets and work-out videos, and there are healthy recipes to try along with advice about nutrition – Anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes.
Giveaway!
In the meantime I have one App to giveaway – Slim and Trim (which I’m having a go at) But if you want to purchase there are others to choose from Beer Belly Blaster, Bikin Hot or Your First 5K. To win a Slim and Trim app (valued at just under 20 Pounds Sterling) check out the terms and conditions at the end of this post. The best weight loss tip in the comments will be the winner.
Onto some tips from Ayo who’s written a post with some easy to implement weight loss ideas for shaping up in time for next summer. Yes, those of you in the southern hemisphere still have time, and in the north – c’mon, it’s not too late!
Healthy Weight Loss Tips to Shape Up for Summer
If you’re keen to get into shape for a summer spent on a beach or by the pool, now is the time to start your weight loss program.
By following some relatively simple weight loss tips, you’ll be able to enjoy a more active and confident time.
1. Give your metabolism a boost in the mornings
Any weight loss plan must include strategies aimed at boosting your metabolism, and the perfect time to do this is during the mornings.
By combining a rigorous workout with a hearty breakfast, you should be able to increase the rate at which your body burns fat for the rest of the day. Start your days with a run or cycle ride (or whatever exercise you enjoy) and fuel your body with good carbohydrates and protein.
A good morning routine should get your metabolism working over-time for the remainder of the day – allowing you to indulge in a few summer treats once in a while.
2. Diet Tip: Avoid the temptation to slash your calorie intake
We all like to indulge in treats. However, some people will starve themselves in an attempt to ‘bank’ calories for indulgences at barbecues and parties. This could be a recipe for disaster.
Depriving your body of energy will send it into starvation mode. Your body will start to conserve energy wherever possible, and this means your metabolism will slow considerably. Eat little and often to keep your internal engine running, but make sure you don’t exceed your daily allowance of calories. A Kiqplan weight diet and exercise plan will help you to strike the right balance between calories burned and calories consumed.
3. Use every opportunity to exercise
This doesn’t necessarily mean pounding the treadmill or lifting weights. If you can incorporate regular activity into your daily routine, you will burn fat consistently throughout the day.
What does this mean in practice? Well, it might mean walking instead of taking the car. It could mean using the stairs instead of the elevator. It could be something simple like walking to the park to eat lunch instead of eating at your desk. The summer is a great time to exercise outdoors, so make sure you utilize it.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that an effective workout regime for weight loss must include both cardiovascular and resistance training. While aerobic exercise burns fat, a denser muscle mass increases a person’s metabolism – which means fat is burned faster and more consistently.
4. Drink green tea
Green tea has active ingredients called polyphenols, which are antioxidants that are believed to speed up metabolism. Research has shown that the catechins found in green tea enhance fat oxidation and thermogenesis, which is the creation of heat during the digestion process. Drinking five cups of green tea a day can help your body to burn an extra 90 calories.
5. Moderate your alcohol consumption
Alcohol is one of the most difficult temptations to avoid for some people during the summer. Whether it is being served with meals in the sunshine, at barbecues or during garden parties, alcohol is often an integral part of summer activities.
There is no need to deprive yourself of the odd tipple here and there, but moderation is essential. A large glass of red wine, for instance, contains around the same number of calories as a donut. Generally speaking, sticking to clear alcohol such as vodka and gin is the best way to limit your calorie intake while drinking. You can combine these drinks with real fruit juice to give yourself a vitamin boost – which might counteract some of the unwanted side-effects of alcohol.
Successful weight loss plans are those that can be sustained indefinitely. While getting into shape for the summer might be a top priority, the worst thing you can do is to simply regain the pounds you struggled to lose for the summer. By making sensible and sustainable lifestyle changes, your summer weight loss can last you a lifetime.
Disclaimer: I am not a diet, keep fit or nutrition expert and any advice offered on Lifestyle Fifty applies to things that I want to try or which work for me. Before following any tips posted on this blog please consult with your Doctor or Health Professional. This guest post was sponsored by Kiqplan and I was gifted a Kiqplan App for editorial consideration.
To win your own Kiqplan App
Entry Conditions
To Enter
- Show a bit of love and follow Lifestyle Fifty on Facebook.
- In the comments section tell us about your best tip for healthy weight loss and which App you’d like to win.
- You can write up to 3 different comments. The comment (picked by an outside adjudicator) as the best will be the winner.
- Consider signing up to Lifestyle Fifty’s free Newsletter (link at top in sidebar) – you know you’ll love it
- Spam comments will be deleted. Unverifiable persons will not be considered.
- Closing Date for entries is 7th August 2015
Terms and Conditions
- The name of the promotion is Lifestyle Fifty Kiqplan Giveaway 2015.
- Other conditions of entry are as stated in points 1-6 above.
- Entries close 5pm on 7th August, 2015, Perth, Australia time. Comments submitted after this time will not be considered for the giveaway.
- This is a game of skill.
- The Winner will be notified via email.
- The results of the giveaway will be published on this site.
- Prize is not redeemable for cash.
Have a go! Good Luck! And don’t forget to tell us about your best healthy weight loss tips in the comments section below.
Update: And the winner is Jan.
Thanks for sharing wonderful information.
Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This is absolutely a great informative post for weight loss.
Thank you Jo.
Apart from physical health, what else do you do to maintain your emotional and mental health? I’m sure they go hand in hand!
Hello Olive, I very much believe in ABC – act, belong, commit. And I do try to do this 🙂
Hi Kathy,
Very helpful tips. Thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you for these amazing weight loss tips, Jo!
While I’m a hard-gainer, my sister is currently looking for a workout and nutrition plan to lose weight, while still being on a vegetarian diet. I’ve forwarded her this article, and she’ll probably get in touch with you for further questions.
It looks easy and useful tips which will surely help you to provide support to achieve a healthy weight. I like this article so much. Thanks and keep sharing.
HI Castro,
Best tip ever. I will not take any junk food from now.
I think drinking more green tea is the key point. And obviously consuming sugar should be reduced to get the fast result.
PLease write a post only on green tea.
Thanks for your tips Patricia 🙂
I like how you said to use every opportunity to exercise. I have been trying to lose forty pounds. Thanks for the tips on losing weight.
I like that you mentioned the importance of moderating your alcohol consumption. This is a big deal if you want to make sure that you are actually losing weight. My sister would love this tip since she is looking to lose a little weight.
More healthy tips on how to lose weight. We could definitely check on different tips and mix things that are effective for you.
Apparently, the only advice that you gave that I can actually follow is starting the way with a workout routine so that the body will be triggered to burn fat quickly. I walk to work, so I guess I am on the right track on that one. However, the rest I just can’t seem to follow. Because of this. I think the only option left for me is to undergo surgery.
Wow Simply awesome!
Loved the point use every opportunity to exercise. I have a small baby, I am not able to do proper exercise daily as most of the time I devote to my baby. Will follow this tip from tomorrow. I am also drinking hot water throughout day to burn extra fat, I think its working as I have seen that my weight is reduced.
Thank you for sharing such an amazing post! will kook forward to read many more.
Water walking don’t eat after 7 pm…..and Doctor shared program has worked for me, in my weight loss journey. Good Luck
I have been wanting to lose weight this summer before my sister’s wedding. So, I liked your suggestion about making sure that I don’t “bank” my calories. It is good to know that I shouldn’t try to save up my calories because it will deprive my body of the energy it needs.
Hi Penelope, yes we really do need to make sure we keep our nutrition up during the day 🙂
Thanks for the outstanding advice, it really is useful… Great article , really agree with boosting the metabolism as being a key. Especially to long term weight loss. Resistance training is also great for long term metabolism increases! Thanks
I like how you suggested using every opportunity to exercise when you are trying to lose weight. I am thinking about joining a weight loss program this summer. Thank you for the healthy weight loss tips.
Great article , really agree with boosting the metabolism as being a key. Especially to long term weight loss. Resistance training is also great for long term metabolism increases! Thanks
Great article Kathy, really agree with boosting the metabolism as being a key. Especially to long term weight loss. Resistance training is also great for long term metabolism increases! Thanks
Thank you so much for giving useful information about weight loss problem.
Regular exercise and proper diet can really help on losing weight. There are many products out there claiming to help you in losing weight, but don’t believe all of them. Workout and eat healthier food in moderation.
Hi Johanna! Great tips and helpful as well. I think jumping on trampoline can have a tremendous effect on your health. It will tone your muscle, arms, legs and backs.
Jumping on a trampoline William, sounds like a lot of fun and very beneficial. Now I just need to buy one 😉
All tips are effective and helpful… Thanks for post this blog.
For lose your weight so many option in your hand, but here I describe some key features need to do to lose weight fast.
Here are 3 basic Steps, to lose your weight fast:
1. Cut Back on Sugars and Starches
2. Eat Protein, Fat and Vegetables
3. Lift Weights 3 Times Every Week
It is most significant to attach to the three rules, but there are a few other things you can do to speed things up.
Here are 10 more optional tips to lose weight even faster:
Eat a high-protein breakfast.
Avoid sugary drinks and fruit juice.
Drink water a half hour before meals.
Choose weight loss-friendly foods (see list). Certain foods are very useful for losing fat.
Eat soluble fiber.
Drink coffee or tea. If you’re a coffee or a tea drinker, then drink as much as you want as the caffeine in them can increase your metabolism by 3-11%
Eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods. Base most of your diet on whole foods.
Eat your food slowly. Fast eaters gain more weight over time
Use smaller plates.
Get a good night’s sleep, every night. Poor sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for weight gain.
Hopefully you are interested in finding out more, so please contact Alpha Nation today for an informal discussion.
For that please visit at alphanation.com.
Nice tips. I am mostly into boosting your metabolism because I believe it is one of the most effective weight loss tools your body have. I also believe you can boost it even further by increasing your protein intake throughout the day. That combined with exercising will move mountains when it comes to weight loss.
Great tips! Losing the diet/deprivation mindset is so important. I find my clients have the greatest success if they Focus on their reasons for wanting to lose weight and use that as motivation. If they focus on the kilo’s they want to lose the motivation tends to go down with the number on the scale until one day it all starts to feel a bit meh! If you want to feel great wearing a certain type of outfit or see yourself being really active, then that’s always going to be something to look forward to as a motivator.
So agree Georgina! Thanks for these tips 🙂
Hi. I just found your article. But better late than never, I guess. I have started drinking the green tea, getting off of coffee. And I heartily agree with your comments about exercise. Have you ever tried one of the “stand up” desks? Thanks for the website. Now that I know where you are, I will come back.
I like what you said about taking every opportunity to exercise. There are times when I could either walk or drive to my kids school, or walk or drive to a neighbors house, and I usually drive. From here on out, I will try to take those opportunities to get some exercise in.
Hi Johanna, well it seems I’m late to the party ha ha! But I find the idea of sharing a weight loss tip interesting so I thought I’d share mine here. One tip to try is to add cayenne pepper powder to your food. Cayenne pepper can boost your metabolism and burn fat at a faster rate so it’s beneficial to add a dash of it once in a while. I add cayenne pepper powder to my morning green smoothie and it makes for a great pick-me-up boost in the morning too!
Reading your tips for exercising to lose weight reminds me of something that I read about how exercise actually shrinks fat cells rather than burns them. It explains how fat cells shrink during exercise or extreme fasting instead of burning, and how overeating creates more fat cells. According to this post, when you overeat your fat cells send signals to smaller fat cells to divide and take on more fatty acids. This is one reason why restricting your eating and exercise alone isn’t always enough to help you lose enough weight. That would explain why eating healthy foods in moderation can help to prevent pounds from packing on so that more fat cells won’t divide to store more fat in the body.
I think the one tip of all these that will help me the most is to use every opportunity to exercise. I have found myself becoming increasingly lazy, driving when I should walk, taking the elevator instead of the stairs, and other things like that. I used to be a lot better about taking the “active” route, and would even ride my stationary bike while watching TV. This article was a great reminder to get back into those good habits!
Glad to hear Veronica 🙂
It was a very interesting post to read.
These are some really great weight loss program tips. I think writing down what you want to accomplish is great
Thank you for sharing. Look forward to reading another post written by you.
I recently have lost quite a bit of weight. I started establishing a good morning routine of exercise and a healthy breakfast and worked on being active every chance I get. These are literally the only changes that I made, and I lost quite a bit of weight in a short amount of time.
When you eat healthy and live healthy, fad diets or detoxes are absolutely unnecessary. Fasting is good but it should be a positive thing aimed at giving the digestive system a rest not what some called detoxification of the gut or gut cleanse. If fasting is not possible eating light is another option to give the insides a lighter work load.
I so agree with you Kristen. A regular healthy eating, healthy exercise plan should be what we aspire to sticking to. Thanks for your tips.
Thanks Jo, I look forward to checking the App out 🙂
I am hopeless at keeping up either a healthy eating or an exercise routine – although I know I should.. I am known to throw down a peanut paste sandwich for breakfast far too often. I do try to walk every morning now that I am “retired” but it doesn’t always happen. Thanks for the great tips everyone. I’ll keep trying!
That’s all we can do Jill!
I find it hard to get inspired to chop vegetables when I get hungry, so I find it a good idea to cut a variety of stick shaped vegies early in the day, then keep them in a container in the fridge. Celery, Carrot, Shallots are 3 of my favourites. Then when hungry I whip the container out of the fridge and dip the vegie sticks into tomato salsa for a snack. I like gin and tonics so being clear that might be a good diet drink too? Another tip with alcohol is to only drink it once a week because often our resolve is weakened when we drink, so the damage can be contained to that one day. Cheers 🙂
Wow you’ve got it sussed Jan 🙂 I’m taking written and mental notes. Thank you for your suggestions.
Another tip is so that I don’t feel like I’m eating less I use a smaller plate. Sounds silly but the plate looks full so I don’t feel hard done by.
Yes mind tricks work well! Thanks for the reminder Jan 🙂
It is so easy to eat the wrong foods when hungry. The best tip I have is to not let myself get really hungry because then I eat indiscriminately. It is best to eat less more often. Having just been on holidays I definitely need to lose some extra weight gained.
Great tip Jan! Ohh I’m with you about shedding after the hols 😉
My current meds and thyroid issues have seen me pile on the weight lately. It’s frustrating because I’m doing all the right things diet and exercise wise but you wouldn’t know it to look at me. I’m keen to know more about this app. I recently had to return my jawbone UP (a bit like Fitbit) because it kept breaking and I’m looking for an app rather than another device.
I feel for you Raychael, it must be horrible especially when you are trying so hard to do all the right things.
My best weight loss tip is to cut down on sugar and carbs in your diet and replace them with unprocessed or natural foods such as fruit, vegies, lean meat, fish, raw nuts and dairy products. I have tried every diet known to man and I lose weight only to slowly put it back on again! I think an App maybe helpful for me. I would love to try the Slim and Trim one.
Thanks for those wise tips Kathy. It’s so important to keep on sticking to and implementing small healthy changes I think.