1.LIFT WEIGHTS:
Contrary to traditional or past beliefs lifting weights WILL NOT I repeat WILL NOT make you look like a man or “too bulky”! Lifting weights is one of the best ways to burn that stubborn fat and continue to be a fat burning machine for the hours and even days after training.
The best fat burning training is to try full body weights to get your metabolism fired up because of the amount of muscles you have worked there for need to repair. Try to aim for 2 weights sessions per week along with 1-2 HIIT sessions for extra fat burning potential. If you’re a new mummy or just returning to fitness these can also be body weight resistance workouts to get started.
2.KEEP IT SIMPLE:
Stop hoping or wishing for the quick, easy solution or the fad diet (IT DOESN’T EXSIST OR WORK) and stick to your consistent training and healthy nutrition. I like to live by the 80/20 rule of good nutrition vs being relaxed with my diet.
Keep your food, nutrition and training simple – simple fresh, healthy, nutritious whole foods and consistent, effective training.
The simple fact is that to achieve weight loss you need a calorie deficit in your day so you need to burn more calories than you’re eating. Buy a fitness tracker and keep a journal if you’re serious about weight loss for a health reason but if not relax and allow your body to do it’s thing. Once you’re eating healthy and have the other factors in place your body won’t need to store fat.
Coming from a background of disordered eating the best way for me to be able to let go of some of my past thoughts is to stop tracking, controlling and restricting everything that goes in my mouth or it becomes like an addiction to me. I now just keep my diet simple and allow good nutritious food to fuel me.
3.SLEEP:
Good quality sleep has to be one of the most underrated secrets in fat loss or health in general.
Our bodies need sleep to adjust our hormones and insulin levels to their correct states. If you aren’t getting quality sleep your body will pump out more insulin which is the fat storing hormone. Fatigue along with these hormones will also make your body crave unhealthy foods like refined carbs or sugar which definitely won’t help your fat loss goal.
With all this being said you can see and understand why it can be hard for mummies and especially new sleep deprived mums to lose weight even though they are trying their hardest, exercising and eating well. Pretty much your body is holding on to that fat to protect it’s self because it’s not getting the recovery time of proper sleep.
I wish I had a magic solution of how to help you get more sleep but all I can say is that it’s important to try to get quality sleep where you can – go to bed earlier, stop scrolling on your phone late at night, nap if or when you can during the day, buy some essential oils for sleep, take a natural sleep supplement and reduce your stress levels so the sleep you do get is better quality.
4. REDUCE STRESS:
It is a fact that stress high stress can stop you from losing weight. When our bodies are highly stressed (whether that’s from work, kids, over training, mental health illness, relationships) our hormones are completely out of whack. Our body sends out adrenalin and cortisol to help us in our flight or fight mode. This hormone encourages our bodies to store fat (in case we need it to survive), burn fewer calories and raises insulin and cholesterol levels. Our bodies do not understand the difference between the stresses of our modern life and those of real danger so our hormones still react the same way no matter the type of stress. The fact is we live in a highly stressful world, so what we need to do is to combat the stress hormones and bring them down by learning to relax and restore our minds and bodies.
Some ways to reduce stress:
- YOGA
- Stretching (release physical muscle stress)
- Meditation
- Reading
- Listening to your favourite relaxing music
- Taking a bath
- Essential oils
- Skip the coffee and caffeine
- A walk in the fresh air
- Sunlight exposure and the outdoors (vitamin D)
- Pets and animals
- Calling a friend
- Going for a walk with a friend
- The ocean
- Backing away from toxic relationships
- No screen time 2 hours before bed
- Taking time to do nothing
- Include Low impact, more calming exercise in to your routine 2 times a week including Pilates, yoga, body balance etc. This will help to bring down the cortisol levels so your HIIT and weight training workouts have more of an effect in your fat loss goal.
5.GREEN OR MATCHA TEA:
Green tea and even more so Matcha tea is fat burning machine which is full of antioxidants. It’s a simple way to help burn fat and control your appetite cravings – its also a great mood lifter. Just remember it does contain some caffeine so if you’re hypersensitive make sure you take it easy and see how you feel after 1-2 cups per day.
Note: NO tea or tea drinks should replace a meal – it should be consumed as part of your balanced diet.
6.DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF:
Finally, what I just want to say that the worst thing you can do is starve yourself or skip meals constantly. This will not help you in the long run, it will ruin your metabolism, burn your muscle mass not the fat, mess up your hormones and can cause long term health issues. Take it from someone who is still and will forever have to live with the damage I caused both mentally and physically from my disordered eating and my need to starve myself that it is not worth the pain and anguish and the toll it takes on your body and mind. Learn to love yourself, learn balance and enjoy nutritious healthy food and active living and the rest will fall in to place.
If you have any questions and need help in burning the belly fat, our team of elite trainers are ready to train you in our gym, local park or in the comfort of your home at the time and day you wish.
The London Gym
