How to lose weight by summer:
1. Do not drink alcohol
2. Choose your carbohydrate sources carefully
3. Get inspired by the Mediterranean
4. Eat soups
5. Introduce the ¾ rule
6. Watch your portions
7. Hydrate
8. Change your coffee rituals
9. Eat often and less
10. Get more sleep
11. Drink green tea
12. Detox or fast
1. Do not drink alcohol
Do you like wine or beer, especially after a hearty cycling trip? So forget it! One of the smartest and fastest ways to lose weight is to eliminate alcohol from your diet or reduce its intake to a minimum. Alcohol is chemically similar to sugar, so when you consume it, a similar insulin resistance occurs, which can promote weight gain. So don’t drink anything that contains alcohol for the first six weeks. Think of it as an “alcohol holiday”. And if you really can’t resist, just have a splash of wine.
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2. Choose your carbohydrate sources carefully
Highly refined carbohydrates, especially white processed ones, are the basis of many meals, including fast food. These carbohydrates encourage the pancreas to produce more insulin, which in turn makes it easier for the body to store fat. So forget about fast food, ready-made processed foods and give preference to unrefined sugars. Quality sources of carbohydrates include brown rice, whole grain bread, but also potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa and whole grain side dishes such as couscous, bulgur or selected types of pasta. They also keep you full for a much longer time thanks to their high fiber content.
3. Get inspired by the Mediterranean
Mediterranean people have one super cool thing – they know what a healthy diet should look like. Until summer, be inspired by their menu and enrich yours with vegetables, whole grain bread, nuts, fruit, olive oil, proteins in lean meat and fish, and don’t forget dairy products. These are suitable not only for a snack, but also as a dessert after dinner, as they contain the slowly absorbable protein casein, which supports regeneration during the night.
4. Eat soups
According to a survey conducted by experts at Penn State University, soup is a great appetite suppressant because it consists of liquids and solids. You can consume it before a meal, thanks to which you will reduce your total calorie intake by up to twenty percent, compared to a meal without soup. Alternatively, you can swap your afternoon snack sandwich for soup, reducing your carb and calorie intake while increasing your daily vegetable intake.
5. Introduce the ¾ rule
It’s a simple and almost common sense idea. All you have to do is fill the plate with vegetables at the expense of side dishes, or even meat, in a ratio of 75:25. The main idea is to primarily reduce the intake of carbohydrate sources and give vegetables the main role. But definitely don’t forget proteins, as they have great satiating properties and are an important building block in the body. There are many recipes based on vegetables. It depends on you what you test.
6. Watch your portions
It’s easy to think that we must eat what’s on our plate, or that we really need it all. The portion sizes in restaurants, for example, are always significantly higher, and we tend to eat everything. So watch the right portion size, pay attention to how big the plate is on which the food is served. A great optical illusion is to choose a smaller plate and fill it to the brim with food. It is not for nothing that they say that “the eyes would eat”.
7. Hydrate
Do you want to lose weight? So drink, but be careful what you drink. For example, fruit juices and various fresh drinks are full of sugar and have less nutrients. If you already drink homemade apple fresh, then eat the apple first, and then drink some juice to get the necessary fiber, which is mainly found in the skin. However, do not overdo it with your intake of fruit either. Fructose is still a sugar that likes to be stored in fat stores.
8. Change your coffee rituals
Coffee in itself is not bad, but the milk and sugar you put in it… That’s a pretty big caloric trap. So, if you want to lose weight by summer, replace your favorite latte with black coffee, green tea or herbal teas. Ditch the classic white sugar and whole milk. For example, replace sugar with stevia (a natural sugar) or a little chicory syrup, and replace whole milk with semi-skimmed milk, and only in small quantities! You will soon get used to it and in time you won’t even remember your calorie latte anymore.
9. Eat often and less
The frequency of meals is individual for everyone. While three meals a day may suit some, others will appreciate more meals. However, large portions often contain too many calories, which are eliminated with reduction. By increasing the frequency of meals, you can increase the deficit more easily and lose weight much faster. And think about quality, not just frequency. Quality is key, so always have complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and protein on your plate. In this way, you will give your metabolism an impulse that will support the burning of fats.
10. Get more sleep
If your partner tells you that rolling around in the covers won’t make you lose weight, he’s not right. Sufficient quality sleep is crucial for optimal fat burning. People who get little or poor sleep at night have slower metabolisms, lower testosterone (which helps burn fat, for both men and women) and struggle with increased appetite throughout the day.
11. Drink green tea
Once you start choosing a suitable drink, it’s time to try green tea. It is ideal for burning fat as it increases the rate of metabolic processes in the body and gives you an additional antioxidant support for recovery after intense exercise. In addition, thanks to the caffeine content, it is a suitable healthy alternative to coffee.
12. Detox or fast
If you are determined enough, you can fast for one day once a week. If you don’t have that much willpower, you can stick to an elimination diet, i.e. don’t drink coffee, alcohol, or eat pastries, and thus relieve your digestive system. If you want to detox with fresh juices, then choose vegetable juices as well. You won’t lose much fruit only.
