Sometimes you can feel as though you’ve been eating salads and training hard for months and nothing is happening, though reaching the ideal body is more than just going for a run and eating some vegetables. Instead follow our 10 better body points to help turn around your body regime and churn out the results you’ve been hoping for.
1. Massage That Body Better
You may think massages has no effect on your body or your weight, but a massage can actually have many benefits; both physically and mentally. Vigorous exercise and long period of workouts can take its toll on muscles and joints. Ever got that sore feeling the day after a workout? Well massage, specifically deep tissue, can rid the body of those pesky knots and pains associated with exercise. Ever see people in the gym rolling out on those circular tubes? Well this is a similar form of stretching out those muscles and getting the blood flow through the tissue, speeding up recovery.
Massage can also increase circulation, allowing for the expulsion of toxins and increased water flow to cells of the skin, plumping up your skin, making it look healthy and youthful. And have you ever had a massage and felt more stressed than when you started? Doubtful! Massages can be a very relaxing activity, restoring your mind, reducing stress and helping you wind down from life’s stresses, all aiding weight control! The benefits just go on and on!
2. It’s All In The Little Details
Looking great is mostly about what you put in and burn off your body, but if you don’t feel great, it won’t shine through to others. Giving your body the much needed tlc can be the addition to any body change program. Getting some nice makeup and trying out some new colours or styling your hair differently will all give you that much needed boost.
Even just painting your toes or putting on some nice earrings will dazzle out your new look, making everyone jealous of the newly transformed you! Plus once those compliments start rolling in you will feel great, not only about how you look but the hard work you’ve put in, motivating you to keep going and push on at the gym and with your diet.
3. Don’t Skimp On Food
Many people assume that because weight loss depends on burning more calories in a day than what you consume, skipping out on meals will be better to help weight loss. And whilst figuratively this is true, if you skip meals your body can actually store weight as it initiates starvation mode. When your body is deprived of food it tries to protect itself by storing any food that you do eat. So skipping breakfast can cause your body to store your lunch as fat!
Instead, the best way to avoid this starvation mode and keep the metabolism burning is to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals through the day. Believe it or not eating more frequently will actually help you lose weight!
4. Get Those Z’s
Everyone loves sleeping in on a saturday morning, and luckily for us sleeping can actually be beneficial to controlling weight! Sleep provides the body with its much needed rest following exercise, and can also reduce stress. When the body is stressed it releases high level of ghrelin, the hormone that increases appetite. Sleeping can reduce these hormones and restore the body’s natural balance, helping to control hunger and keep you away from the easy, fatty foods. Lack of sleep can also induce bad skin, exhausting the cells of water, making you look more deflated and tired. So hit the hay for an extra hour to improve your appearance, will power and appetite.
5. Get On That H2O
Water is essential in nearly every function of our body, and depriving your body can cause major problems and inhibit you feeling and looking your best. Water is not only needed to keep your body going when exercising, but aids weight loss. H2O will rev up your metabolism burning food faster, aiding you to keep those pesky pounds off.
Dehydration can also frequently be mistaken for hunger, and so drinking frequently and before meals will fill you up and stop those misplaced munchies. Water can additionally help your skin. It will plump up the cells of your face, making you look more fresh and youthful, whilst aiding blood flow to flush out the impurities, giving you a healthy glow. Try to aim for around 8 glasses a day to provide your body with it’s needed supply, swerving off hunger, dehydration and even cellulite.
6. Better That Breakfast
Begin your morning with a nice bowl of fruit, porridge or granola and yogurt, and you can feel brilliant in no time! Not only are these foods tasty, satisfying for your hunger and a valuable source of energy, but you’ll be pleased to know that they are great flat-belly foods. Combined they are supposed to help burn abdominal fat, improve digestion and help you keep away from the cupboard for longer.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day; kick starting your metabolism and fueling your day ahead, so providing your body with a healthy and nutritious meal will do wonders for your body. Plus there are so many alternatives and additions you can make to this simple meal that provide that little bit extra; adding a spoon of peanut or almond butter, pouring on some honey or making a tasty smoothy, can make your breakfast just that little bit more delicious.
7. Spice Up A Meal With Some Chili Peppers, Cinnamon And Grapefruit
These are all great foods to include in your diet that are not just tasty but can also help you lose a few pounds. Each food has been tested to show amazing benefits from your metabolism to burning fat and food quickly and even helping weight loss! Grapefruit before a meal, cinnamon in a hot drink or breakfast and chili peppers into a meal to give it a bit of a kick, will all help fill you up and boost your metabolism. So make the effort to add them into your daily routine, easily purchased and added to meals at any points of the day, to keep you body burning.
8. Keep It Healthy
No exercise regime would be complete or effective without a good diet. It is all very well sculpting those muscles and burning that fat, but if you’re pumping your body with more unhealthy fat and excessive calories, all your hard work sweating it out will be for nothing. Keeping your diet health and balanced is the key to accompany a workout routine to produce the results you’re hoping for.
If you think it’s unhealthy for you, nine times out of ten it probably is. Highly processed foods, high sugary foods, fast foods and take aways should all be avoided, disappointingly. Instead pump your diet with greens, fruits, legumes, grains, lean meats, low fat dairy, eggs and whole-wheat carbs. Provide your body with adequately nutritional foods, providing the proper minerals and nutrients it needs and you will see a change in no time. Plus eating these food will clean your system out of unhealthy fats and elements that are filling up your body.
9. Run Forrest, Run!
Running can be very boring and tiring, but as one of the best cardio exercises, running is essential to turn out quick body results. A 130lb woman can burn nearly 600 calories when running 6 mph for just an hour! With such a high calorie and fitness yield, running is ideal along with being a great exercise to pull in and tone those abdominal and leg muscles. Try running three times a week, starting with 10 minute sessions and then building to 30 minutes progressively.
If you just can’t bear the thought of standing on a treadmill for 20 minutes, why not make a jogging partner or make a fun upbeat playlist to listen to when jogging around a nice park or route outside. If you add a fun element to your run it can become much more bearable and you will find yourself enjoying it in no time.
10. Jump In The Pool
Swimming is a brilliant overall body workout that works all of your major muscle groups. Burning similarly to running, nearly 600 calories for an hours workout, it a great way to make a dint on your daily calories. Plus swimming can be a much needed break from the repetition of the gym or jogging.
Whether it’s simply doing laps and racing a friend, even just a casual swim to relax after weight training session or work, having a splash in the pool can be a great way to add variety to your workout routine. Again aim for three times a week and build up your time swimming progressively, if you want to make the pool a recurrent addition to your workout routine.