Weight loss can be a struggle, whether you are 20 years old or 60 years old. The key to quick weight loss, however, no matter what your age, is increasing your metabolism. Making this happen is easier than you think; you only need to make a few lifestyle changes and the pounds will be falling off faster than you realize.
Increase Your Water Intake
Water serves many vital purposes, especially when losing weight. First, it helps keep you hydrated. If you are the least bit dehydrated, your metabolism will not work as well, no matter how young or old you are.
Second, thirst can often be confused for hunger. Therefore, when you drink water in between meals, you are saving yourself unnecessary calories while staving off hunger simultaneously.
Finally, swapping out even one high-calorie drink such as soda, for one glass of water each day can save you a minimum of 100 empty calories. Over time, you will be surprised how many calories you're actually saving yourself.
Increase Your Exercise
Again, no matter how young or old you are, exercise is a pivotal component to weight loss. For best results, try to exercise first thing in the morning and here is why.
According to Cedric X. Bryant, chief executive physiologist of the American Council on Exercise, as you sleep, your metabolism slows down, burning only leftover carbohydrates and sugars. When you wake up, your metabolism needs to be fed to begin burning anything. So before giving it more carbohydrates to burn, exercise for 45 minutes, even if it's just a walk around the block. This will force your body to use its stored fat for energy instead.
Eat Breakfast
Once you have enjoyed your morning workout, it's time to eat breakfast. This is the fuel your body needs to keep your metabolism burning throughout the day; skipping breakfast only slows down your metabolism further, making it harder to burn fat and calories.
Eat Frequently
Many people believe the true key to weight loss is eating less, not more; however, just the opposite is true. The more you eat, as long as you eat healthy meals, the faster your metabolism will run and the more calories and fat you will burn.
Five to six small meals a day should be enough to keep you feeling satisfied all day while keeping your metabolism rolling along at a nice pace. Be sure you are choosing healthy foods such as low-fat yogurt, fruits, vegetables and proteins. Each meal should contain between 200 and 400 calories.
Increase Fiber and Protein
Both of these are dynamos when it comes to losing weight. Increasing the amounts you eat can have a terrific impact on your dieting success.
Fiber, when eaten in the form of fruits, vegetables and whole grains such as breads, rice and pastas, will fill you up and keep your blood sugar levels stable, which prevents cravings and keeps you satisfied longer.
Protein is a powerful energy source and is terrific for building and repairing muscle; this is a vital aspect to losing weight. Each pound of lean muscle you build replaces one pound of unsightly fat; over time this enhances your appearance. Muscle is leaner than fat and works to burn fat deposits, which means for every five pounds of muscle you have built, you actually become smaller rather than larger.
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