It is a fact that exercise and diet are key components when it comes to ensuring weight loss for women, but there are a number of other factors that play a vital role. As a matter of fact, studies have revealed that everything, from stress levels to sleep quality, can have a huge impact on body weight, metabolism, belly fat and hunger. Luckily, you can make a few changes in your daily routine in order to get the big benefits when it comes to weight loss.
Reduce refined carbs
Extensive processing is performed on refined carbs, which means that the final product has very little micronutrients and fiber to offer. These foods increase hunger, increase blood sugar levels and also increase belly fat and body weight. Therefore, it is a good idea to reduce intake of refined carbs, such as pasta, white bread and prepackaged foods. Instead, it is better to choose whole-grain products, such as brown rice, barley, buckwheat, quinoa and oats.
Do resistance training
You can increase endurance and build muscles through resistance training. It is particularly beneficial for women over 50 because it boosts the number of calories burned by the body at rest. In addition, it is also helpful in preserving bone mineral density for protecting against osteoporosis. Using gym equipment, lifting weights, or performing body-weight exercises are some of the ways you can incorporate resistance training in your routine.
Drink lots of water
One of the easiest and effective ways of promoting weight loss is to drink more water. You can increase the number of calories burned in a day when you drink more water. Moreover, you can also promote weight loss when you drink water before a meal and it also reduces the number of calories you end up consuming by nearly 13%.
Consume more protein
Protein foods, such as seafood, meat, eggs, poultry, legumes and dairy should be an essential part of your diet when weight loss is your goal. Studies have shown that maintaining a high protein diet is actually helpful in reducing cravings, boosting metabolism and increasing feelings of fullness.
Maintain a regular sleep schedule
Getting plenty of sleep is just as important for losing weight as exercise and diet. Sleep deprivation can actually increase your body weight and leads to higher levels of ghrelin in the body, which is the hormone that stimulates hunger. You can improve your weight loss performance when you get at least seven hours of sleep and also improve sleep quality.
Increase cardio
Also called cardio, aerobic exercise is known to give your heart rate a boost, which increases the calories you burn. When you add more cardio to your routine, you will be able to achieve significant weight loss, especially when it is combined with a healthy diet. It is recommended that you do about 20 to 40 minutes of cardio on a daily basis, or about 150 to 300 minutes of cardio per week.
As long as you follow these tips, you will not have to follow any strict diets to achieve your weight loss goals.
