Tell the truth. Are you grazing and grabbing food to eat more often lately? We’re all home a LOT more than usual. (Thanks, (not) coronavirus.) The trouble with bad eating habits is that they are easy to come by and hard to break. The good news is, you don’t have to be a strict exercise enthusiast to lose inches, drop a few pounds and feel better.
Keep in mind that every person’s body is unique, so what works well for one may not produce significant results for another. Good news: The ideas I’m about to share can help you improve your overall health, even if you don’t feel like you need to lose inches. No such thing as too much good health, right?
Start to lose inches by drinking more water
The amount of people in the United States who navigate life in a chronically dehydrated state is astounding. (This used to be one of my biggest struggles but I finally overcame, and so can you!) God designed our bodies to need water. Water flushes our kidneys, which helps rid our bodies of toxins. Here’s the thing: Lack of hydration impedes kidney function. If your kidneys can’t function properly, they start to hit up your liver for some help.
Our bodily organs aren’t meant to multitask. If your liver is busy picking up slack for your kidneys, it won’t be doing what it’s supposed to do, which is burning fat cells as fuel for energy. Upshot: If you drink ample amounts of water every day, your kidneys can do their own work. If your kidneys are functioning well, your liver can focus on burning fat, which helps you lose inches. Hence, drinking ample amounts of water helps you get in shape!
Burn more calories than you consume
When your goal is to lose inches, particularly in your waistline, you must burn more calories than you take in. Many people run or speed-walk for daily cardio action, but I promised you at the beginning of this post that you don’t have to be an exercise enthusiast to get the job done. You simply need to MOVE! You need to accelerate your heart rate. You can easily accomplish this by turning on some music and dancing for 20 minutes per day! (Why not have a ZOOM party during quarantine with some friends? Log on and shake your booties!) You’ll be surprised at the results you see in just a couple of weeks!
Don’t like to dance? That’s okay, too. Just find something to do that allows whole body movement. (Sorry — tapping your feet under your desk while you sit on your derriere for eight hours doesn’t cut it.) Non-dance-non-jogging things that DO count, however, include the following: gardening, playing frisbee or kickball, swimming (if you’re blessed to live in a climate where this is possible in April) or anything else you want to do to get a cardio workout in, at least several times per week.
Choose morning to lose inches
Studies show that working out in early morning hours helps achieve maximum benefits. In fact, some studies suggest that an early morning workout will help burn three times more fat than moving or exercising at other times during the day.
When we all return to our everyday lives outside of quarantine and national crisis, you might not have the option of exercising first thing in the morning. Right now, you’re likely stuck at home (unless you’re working on the front lines, for which we thank you, if you are) so take advantage of the fact and lose inches first thing in the morning!
Chew food well to lose inches
The purpose of this post is to provide encouragement and suggestions for simple ways to lose inches. Another great tip is to chew your food more slowly. You might not realize how significant this is and what an impact it can have on your effort to feel healthier and to tone your body. Chewing is the first step of digestion. It sparks a chemical process that prompts the salivary glands and starts to break down your food to help it pass more easily through your body.
The more slowly you eat and the more you chew your food before swallowing, the less food you’re likely to consume, which helps lower caloric intake. And, remember, to lose inches, you need to either burn more calories than you take in or lower the amount of calories you consume. (Finding balance between both is optimum.) If you eat too quickly and don’t chew enough, you may consume more food than you need, which leads to excess calories and weight gain.
Last but not least
If your waistline is a target area where you want to lose inches, you need to twist! Hey! That’s a perfect way to dance to some Oldies music! When you perform twisting exercises or movements, you literally whittle away inches from your waistline.
Whatever routine you devise or efforts you initiate to lose inches, stick with it! You can’t get results if you make changes for a week, then quit. If you have trouble setting and achieving goals, this Hot Mess article might help. Think of it this way: Every day that you don’t give up is one day closer to accomplishing your goals! Let us know if you try these ideas, and feel free to blow-up our comments with more great tips!