1: Maximize Your Muscle — Muscles are fat-burning furnaces, so be sure to do enough resistance training to build and maintain them (these fast workouts tone your whole body in 30 minutes), and follow your workout with a healthy meal or snack that contains protein, carbohydrates and fat. Building new muscle raises your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) so you'll burn more calories every day.
2: Don't Forget Cardio — Cardio improves definition and burns the fat that covers your muscles, especially belly fat. Combining regular aerobic exercise with strength training will give you the slimming effect you've been going for. After all, toning without cardio is like building a house on a weak foundation. Blast calories with these 20-minute cardio workouts from celebrity trainer Jackie Warner.
3: Never Skip Meals — Eat six small meals a day to avoid blood-sugar spikes and minimize urges to binge. Try to schedule meals at the same time each day. If you feed yourself well throughout the day, you'll learn to understand when your body truly needs food. You can't starve yourself and expect to make good choices at the next meal. Need a few healthy lunch ideas? Check out these top food swaps from a nutritionist.
See the rest of the tips after the break!
4: Get Real — Fuel your body with wholesome, nutritious foods, and limit your intake of refined carbs (anything sugary or white-flour based). To maximize the calories burned through digestion and stave off hunger, get plenty of complex carbs (fruits, vegetables and beans) and eat a little protein with every meal. It doesn't need to be meat; nuts, lowfat dairy, tofu, and beans are all good vegetarian protein sources. These eight amazing (new!) superfoods make it easy to get all the nutrients your body needs.
5: Sleep Tight — Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. A recent study from Case Western Reserve University found that, on average, women who sleep for 5 hours or less per night are 32 percent more likely to gain weight and 15 percent more likely to be obese than those who get at least 7 hours. If stress is keeping you up at night, try these 10 simple tips to reduce stress.
6: Drink More Water — In a small German study, subjects who drank 16 ounces of water at a time experienced a 30 percent increase in metabolic rate during the following hour, burning an extra 24 calories. The researchers recommend cool water because the body expends extra calories warming it up to your body temperature. Water's not the only healthy drink. We sipped our way through dozens of smoothies, teas, and juices to find this list of the most delicious and nutritious liquids.
7: Focus On Your Assets — Playing up your favorite body parts can boost your confidence and draw attention away from spots you want to minimize. Sculpting your shoulders, arms, chest, and back, for example, can help balance heavier hips so you look more proportionate. Plus, you'll be firmer all over. Celebrities do it all the time: These seven sets of sexy, toned legs are proof!
8: Eat Until You’re Full — Undereating causes your metabolic rate to drop and your body to hold onto fat. Most nutrition experts recommend that the average, active woman consumes at least 1,800 calories daily. But watch out for underestimating the calorie count of "healthy" foods. Even some salads (like these five diet traps) are packed with extra calories.
9: Control What You Can — Keep stress levels in check by managing your time, focusing on the present and not over-committing. Many studies have found a link between high levels of stress and weight gain. You don't have to commit to regular yoga classes or meditation sessions. Here, 10 totally doable ways to de-stress anytime, anywhere.
10: Step on the Gas — Alternate the speed and intensity of any cardio workout routines to stoke your fat burners. For instance, if you're walking, do a few minutes at a moderate pace, then speed-walk or jog for a few minutes; repeat. If you're running, go for a few minutes, then sprint for a minute and repeat.
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