Many people think losing fat and getting in shape is such a complicated process since you have to deal with figuring out an effective diet with x amount of protein and x amount of calories and then you need to figure out what to eat and what not to eat, and then you have to put together a training plan and whats the best form of cardio and aaahhh!

It can become quite disorientating and confusing, but it really does not have to be so complicated.

Here are 6 very simple tactics which you can slowly start to implement in your everyday life to get you on the right track to losing fat and becoming healthier without us even talking about a ‘diet’ or specific training programme.

Now don’t think you are going to find some magical information here,

you probably already know or have heard of most of these tips, but now YOU need to put them into practice!

1. Drink more water.

Drinking more water has so many benefits.  It will keep you and your skin properly hydrated which will keep your skin soft and can help to reduce wrinkles.  It also helps with providing you with more energy, as when you are dehydrated your energy levels and your mind’s ability to focus often take a dip to compensate for the lack of water.  Drinking more water also helps with controlling your appetite allowing you to feel fuller for longer.

2. Reduce processed foods and sugar in your diet.

Now notice I said REDUCE rather than completely eliminate.  We are only human and thus I know how difficult it is to completely eliminate these types of foods from our diets especially in this day and age; and more often than not, if we suddenly go on a very strict diet which requires us to stop eating specific things, it’s more likely that we will develop cravings much quicker.

The reason to avoid processed food, is because there are so many different ingredients in the products these days which can be quite detrimental to our health.  They also contain a lot of useless calories and hardly any vital nutrients which our bodies really do not need. And YES fast food does fall under processed food!

The thing to take away here is that yes you can have that piece of chocolate every now and again, just do not over do it, and try to opt for ‘healthier alternatives’ such as choosing home made biscuits rather than processed biscuits from a shop which are loaded with trans fats and preservatives.

3. Eat more vegetables and fiber.  

Natural, organic vegetables are full of nutrients, vitamins and minerals all necessary for a healthy mind and body.  They also contain a vital nutrient, fiber.  Fiber helps with ‘cleaning’ the inside of your body and helps with keeping you fuller for longer, also aiding in reducing cravings.  Your body actually uses more energy to digest some vegetables which are high in fiber, for example broccoli, than are in the actual vegetable!  So in some sense you are burning a few calories while you eat it!

4. Start some form of weight training.

Weight training builds muscle and burns calories.  Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.  Therefore BUILD MUSCLE!  When you train with weights, especially when doing the big movements (deadlifts, squats etc) you stimulate the release and production of growth hormone.  Growth hormone is responsible for many things within your body, from increasing muscle size, fat burning, reducing wrinkles, to growing strong hair and nails.

So we can see why it is a good thing to try to maximize growth hormone production within our bodies.  Also weight training burns A LOT of calories, more than most forms of cardio at the same time as building muscle.  There are many different forms of weight training, all you have to do is find something that you enjoy and which works for you.  Now why wouldn’t you want to weight train?

5. BUILD your cardio up.

Too often people have the idea that in order to lose fat they need to do hours and hours of cardio.  So once they have decided they want to get in shape they immediately start doing cardio 7 days a week for an hour or so a day.  Then after a few weeks they wonder why they have not lost much weight since they are exercising so much.

You see the body is a highly adaptable ‘machine’ so in order for you to continually progress and lose fat, in this instance, there needs to be room for change and additions.

If you are already doing cardio 7 days a week it is quite difficult to add anymore cardio into your schedule as it will become far too excessive.  So instead rather start with adding some cardio 2 or 3 days a week for around 20 minutes and work on improving or adding to this every week or every two weeks.

You can do this by raising the intensity slightly, or increasing the number of minutes, or adding one more session of cardio on a different day or changing to a more HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) style of cardio.  By doing this you can continually progress and will not allow your body to become stagnant and too used to one thing.

6. Be consistent with everything that you do.

I think this is extremely vital when it comes to doing anything.  In order for you to lose weight you need to ensure you are consistent with your eating, with your training and resting.  If you start exercising and eating better then you stop for a period of time and then start again, then stop again, you will never achieve the results that you want.

There is no quick way of getting in shape, it does take time and it does take consistency and commitment.  That’s why it should really become your ‘life style’ and not a two month course.

You need to be focused, disciplined and dedicated to what you want to achieve.