Healthy Ways to Lose Weight Before Summer

With summer just around the corner, its time to get the beachwear out of the closet and see if those mini-shorts still fit from last year. But when that waistband does not stretch and the buttons wont close, an uneasy truth starts to sink in: you have gained weight.

Everyone wants their bodies to be in top form this time of year, so many go on quick-fix diets extreme exercise programs to make themselves thinner. Osteopaths, health gurus, and nutritionists argue that we do not necessarily need to follow meagre diets or spend hours a day on a workout to get rid of our unwanted pounds; there are much more effective natural ways to look and feel great. Here are some healthy, natural ways for you to shed those pounds for the summer:

Eating Right

It may seem cliche, but the most basic thing you can do to help rid your body of those unwanted pockets of fat is to eat the right foods. While carb counters fuss about the amount of carbohydrates in each meal, doctors say that carbohydrates are essential sources of energy for the body, and therefore must not be avoided.

Foods such as broccoli, oatmeal, and green tea are great for the metabolism, and acidic fruits such as lemons, oranges, and grapefruits are excellent for detoxifying the body. Dont only regulate what you put in your mouth, but how much of it you consume ” nothing is good in excess. Stick to light and nutritional meals, and your body will feel healthier and fitter in no time.

Modify your Metabolism

It is wise to limit your food intake, but don’t starve yourself. Many people think that by skipping meals they are sparing themselves the opportunity to gain weight. This is not true. Whenever you skip a meal, your body responds by slowing down its metabolism to help you conserve energy. In order to lose weight you need to speed up your metabolism ” not slow it down.

By speeding up your metabolism you increase the rate at which it converts food to energy, giving it less time to convert that food to fat. To get your metabolism to regulate itself, have five light meals a day instead of three major ones, as this gives your metabolism regular work and prevents it from storing fat.

The Power of Sleep

Dont underestimate the important role that sleep plays in weight loss. If you assume that our bodies do nothing in the eight hours that we lie in bed, you might be surprised to hear that important hormones that affect our appetite are undergoing various processes while we sleep. Research has shown that when we do not get enough sleep, we disturb these processes that regulate our hormone levels, resulting in weight gain. Sleep is, of course, essential for our regular functioning in other many other ways as well, so the only thing you have to lose by going to bed early is weight.

While this is a very general overview of natural solutions to weight problems, it does provide insight into how our bodies work to aid the weight loss process. As long as you keep eating the right foods, get plenty of sleep and regular exercise, that button on your surf shorts might just be able to close by the end of spring.