If you’re looking to lose weight, there are options. You could slave away at the treadmill, put down roots in the weights room or just deny yourself pleasure at the dinner table. Alternatively, you could cheat the whole system. That’s because, with a little scientific tinkering, you can rewire your brain, hijack your biology and make fat loss automatic every hour of the day. This is our guide to outsmarting Mother Nature. Let’s make your genes a better fit.
1. Add more fibre to your diet
Leaner men have healthier gut bacteria than their overweight peers. But while this is partly inherited, a smart addition to your daily diet can flip the switch. An NHS study found the fibre inulin is better for your gut than probiotic drinks. To get your fill, roast in-season Jerusalem artichoke with garlic and add it to your soups and salads.
(Related: 14 best exercises for weightloss)
2. Use pictures to focus on something other than food
Food cravings begin in the brain, not the belly, with the part of your grey matter responsible for visual imagery particularly active. Next time you find yourself salivating, rewire your mental circuits
by bringing a vivid, compelling or emotive picture to mind, advises Frontiers in Psychiatry. Lacking imagination? A scroll through @natgeoadventure after lunch should transport you to a better mental space.
(Related: Is the key to weightloss timing your meals?)
3. Exercise on an empty stomach
Evolution has hardwired our bodies to store fat for potential famine, rather than torching it for fuel. But imposing a tactical food delay could hack your weightloss hard drive. A Uni of Bath study found training on an empty stomach triggers the ‘PDK4 gene’: a sign that your body fat is burning off. An hour’s effort is enough, so schedule in your Sunday run before you settle at the brunch table. Avo on toast, we presume?
4. Schedule your cheat days
Scientists now know willpower can be biological, rather than an acquired personality trait. This means our genetics could affect our response when faced with a mouth-watering menu selection, according
to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Why leave it to chance? Take impulse out of the equation by making ‘burger night’ a fixed weekly event, rather than weak-willed indulgence. Studies show a 2700-calorie cheat day can binge-proof your brain for the rest for the week.
(Related: 7 weightloss strategies that worked for real people)
5. Lift heavy after work
Your lunchbreak workouts may offer respite from office drudgery, but for maximum fat-burn from your weight training, save the heavy stuff for the evening. According to journal Chronobiology, our in-built body clocks mean we’re strongest at 6pm. Use this time for full-body deadlifts over curls or presses to recruit maximum muscle mass. You’ll shift more weight – and can drop them sooner, too.
6. Swap your orange juice for watermelon juice
A dad bod isn’t an inevitability, no matter the shape of your own dad’s, er, bod. Make your paunch a softer target by upgrading your morning juice. Not only is watermelon lower in sugar than OJ, it’s also rich in citrulline, which animal studies by Paris Descartes University found ‘loosens’ stubborn belly fat, making it easier for your body to burnit up. Opt for a carton of What A Melon, which is 100% pure.
(Related: This drink helps you burn an extra 490 calories a week)
7. Order red wine and peanuts at the bar
It’s not just your choice intoxicant that impacts fat loss: your bar snack has its part to play, too. Peanuts are rich in resveratrol, the ‘red wine’ compound, which the European Journal of Nutrition discovered boosts your fat cells’ ability to torch calories. And to wash them down? Go British: grapes grown in cooler climes contain more of the nutrient.
8. Run that bath
Not only will a warm bath speed your post-gym recovery, but add a few magnesium flakes and you can scrub away at body fat, too. These natural salts – available in most health shops, or your gym, depending on its hipster cred – raise levels of the anti-obesity hormone adiponectin, according to Journal of Nutrition research. We’ll let that thought soak in.
9. Pay attention to your scent
Here’s a tip from the sharp end of science: the smell of grapefruit has been shown to activate ‘nerve pathways’ to the body’s fat tissue, which essentially means you’re torching more calories, Osaka University reports. Of course, grapefruits aren’t exactly the most portable of snacks; happily, a pre-lunch spritz of citrus aftershave (try Terre d’Hermès) has a similar effect.
(Related: I tried intermittent fasting for a week — here's what happened)
10. Swap your double espresso for decaf or breakfast tea
If an insatiable sweet tooth is souring your weightloss plans, it’s time to reconsider your afternoon pick-me-up. But it’s not just the digestives at fault: a Cornell University study found 200mg of caffeine – a double espresso’s worth – dampens our tastebuds and makes sweet foods less satiating. If you recoil at the word decaf (that’s French for ‘brown water’), breakfast tea is your best of both.
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Great Articles that have meaningful and insightful comments are more enjoyable, at least to me like how long should you run on a treadmill to lose belly fat?
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting to read what other people thought and how it relates to them or their clients, as their perspective could possibly help you in the future.