Losing weight in a month or less requires a few small changes in your diet and exercise plan. Focus your nutrition to optimize fat-burning and muscle-building. Do not worry about building "too much" muscle, as very few people are that genetically gifted. Instead, remember that building muscle allows you to burn more calories even at rest. By adding cardio and learning to cheat on your diet to burn even more fat, you can easily change you body in a short period of time.
Step 1
Take in fewer calories. You can get scientific and calculate your maintenance calories (see Resources), then eat 500 to 750 calories less per day. Or you can simply focus on eating more nutrient-dense foods, such as lean proteins, low-glycemic carbohydrates and healthy fats. These foods fill you up and actually help you lose weight, according to "The Abs Diet."
Step 2
Eat five or six smaller meals throughout the day to keep your metabolic rate elevated all day long. According to "The Fat Burning Bible," this technique also reduces hunger, increases energy and minimizes secretion of the fat-storage hormone insulin.
Step 3
Do resistance training workouts three to five days per week. Resistance training burns fat while building muscle. Spending an hour in the gym three days a week must be worth being able to eat more calories every day of your life, right? Muscle burns calories even at rest, so having just a little bit more keeps fat burning faster. According to "The Abs Diet," resistance training can burn fat for up to 48 hours, which means if you workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you will be burning fat all week long.
Step 4
Add 30 minutes of low-intensity cardio immediately after your resistance training. According to best-selling fitness author Jeff Anderson, this "super cardio" burns fat almost exclusively. If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can add extra days of cardio to your program. Do cardio on non-workout days upon waking for best results.
Step 5
Eat one cheat meal, one day per weak. Do not binge or gorge yourself on pizza or cake. Have a few slices and bowl of ice cream, eating until you are full. This little splurge keeps your body from downshifting metabolism in response to your decreased caloric intake. So, yes, it actually does lead to more fat-burning by elevating your metabolic rate. Do not keep these foods around the house. Try eating out for cheat meals, to avoid the constant temptation of ice cream in the freezer.
Tips and Warnings
- Try adding whey protein as a mid-meal snack, post-workout drink or meal-replacement. It helps to burn fat and build muscle.
- Never reduce total daily caloric intake below 1200 calories.
References
- "The Abs Diet;" David Zinczenko; Rodale, 2004
- "The Fat Burning Diet;" Mackie Shilstone; John Wiley & Sons Inc.; 2005
- "Combat the Fat;" Jeff Anderson; CQC LLC; 2009
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