5 Strategies to Lose the Last 10 Pounds

So many people are able to drop 20+ pounds immediately (especially if they were extremely overweight to begin with), however, it’s always those last 10-15 pounds that are the most stubborn to lose. It’s the same situation if you are just 10-15 pounds over your goal weight, those pounds are extremely hard to get off. Here are five strategies that I’ve found works for me to kick those pounds to the curb:

1. Calorie Counter:

There are many programs and applications that you can use to track your calories in and calories out. I personally use MyFitnessPal. You can track your meals, snacks, drinks, weights, and cardio on these applications. It’s a great way to keep track of everything and ensure you stay on track.

2. Track Your Measurements:

So many people go strictly by the scale and this is not a good measurement. You should be taking your measurements every two weeks to see if you are able in your weight loss (inches). Try not to dwell on the scale too much as this really isn’t a great measure of weight loss success. You can also do your body fat percentage every two weeks.

3. Cut Back on Alcohol

Although it’s fun and tastes delicious, alcohol is one of the top products that PACK on the pounds! You know those 3-5 beer you have when your out with friends on a Saturday night and of course who can forget about the McDonald’s Big Mac you want at 3am when the bars close up. Try to cut back on alcohol consumption, even if you reduce your consumption by 2 each time you go out.

4. Increase Your Workout

It’s very common that your body might have adjusted to your workout. In other words, your workout isn’t pushing your body to it’s extreme anymore. So then it’s your job to pump-up your workout to make it more of a challenge for your body. Try interval training, such as running for 2 minutes and walking for 2 minutes on the treadmill – great way to get your blood pumping!

5. Ensure Your Doing Weights in Your Routine

If you haven’t already added weight lifting to your workout routine, PLEASE do! So many women think that if they start doing weights, they’ll bulk up and look manly – this is false. Weights will tone you and create muscle and the great aspect about muscle is that it continues to burn calories even after you’ve finished your workout routine.

Hope you enjoyed these tips, and if you have some personal tips from losing those last 10-15 pounds, please let us know!

5 Health Issues That Occur When You Don’t Eat Enough Calories

So many people who are desperately trying to lose weight thing that the best strategy to do this is to stick to a strict 1200 per day calorie-intake and exercise more each day. This may work for some people, but for others, they end up weighing themselves a few weeks later and find that they are the same weight – or worse – gained weight! Not eating enough calories is not only hard on your body and your muscles, but it can also lead to the following health complications:

1. Metabolism Slowdown

Your metabolism is a set of chemical reactions that involve your digestive process, how you convert food into energy, and how well you burn that fuel (food). Metabolism is determined by both hereditary conditions and how well you take care of your body. The faster your metabolism is, the faster help you in your Weight Loss and keep the weight off. After you exercise, your metabolism is going for up to 46 hours after and this is where fat-burning takes place.

2. Body Burns Muscle, Not Fat

When you don’t eat an appropriate amount of calories for your body, your body will end up burning muscle mass and tissue instead of burning fat. Therefore, you’ll end up having a high body fat percentage which is not only unhealthy, but can be discouraging for someone trying to lose weight.

3. Fatigue

This is definitely the most noticeable side effect just because you actually feel tired, low energy, and sluggish. This is because your body needs energy to function and if you aren’t taking enough calories from a best Calorie Counter then your body will wear out causing fatigue.

4. Weight Gain

Once again, when you don’t consume enough calories, this slows down your metabolism and when you have a slow metabolism, it causes weight gain.

5. Poor Immune System

Because your body relies on calories as energy to function properly, your body’s organs will suffer from the lack of nutrition. Therefore making it easier to get sick, get illnesses, and infections.

Top 5 Low Calorie Fruits to Enjoy

Fruits are an essential in our daily diets. Females between the age of 19 and 50 years old require 7-8 fruits and vegetable servings per day and males between the ages of 19 and 50 require 8-10 fruits and vegetable servings per day. Are you getting the required amount of servings per day? Probably not! Most people don’t! Unfortunately many Diet Plans state that too many fruits are packed with sugars and carbs, and while this is true, they are still required. So check out these low sugar and low calorie fruits to incorporate into your daily meal plan:

Apricots

These delicious fruits contain only 17 calories per 1 apricot, as well as vitamin C, vitamin A, and iron. You can either eat these alone (raw) or you can incorporate them into your daily meal recipes.

Cherries

We don’t mean go buy a can of cherries soaking in syrup! Go to your local grocery store and buy a bag of fresh cherries! One cup of cherries is only 74 calories and these are loaded with anti-inflammatory and anti-aging anticancer compounds. They also contain Vitamin A, Calcium, Vitamin C, and iron.

Honeydew Melon

These are my favorite! Honeydew melon is like nature’s dessert! This sweet and delicious melon only contains 61 calories per 1 cup of chopped cubes, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Iron, and Calcium.

Raspberries

Another one of my favorite snacks! These are perfect for on-the-go snacks too! Just throw them into a Ziploc bag and off you go! At our Calorie Counter, there are only 10 calories in 10 raspberries – that’s 1 calorie per raspberry! They also contain Vitamin C and iron.

Peaches

Another delicious snack and perfect for on-the-go as well as low-calorie diets! Peaches contain only 38 calories per peach as well as Vitamin C, iron, Vitamin A, and calcium.

For more great articles and tips on fitness, nutrition, and recipes check out http://www.Calorie-Smart.com