15 Weight-Loss Tips to Help You Get Fit This Summer
If you, like a lot of people, are determined to look and feel your best this summer, we're here for you!
With our good friend, celebrity trainer and author of The Super Carb Diet Bob Harper, plus more guests, we're serving you 15 key food and fitness tips to help you acheive your goals — whether it's to eat more healthily or to tone that tummy!
Or if your goal is to cook more, we've got your back there, too!
1. CHOOSE FRESH FRUIT OVER DRIED FRUIT
Dried fruit pieces? Gone in minutes! Eat the real thing, Bob promises, and you’ll get so much more, with so much less sugar — and it'll last a lot longer.
2. AVOID FOODS THAT LIST SUGAR IN THE FIRST 3 INGREDIENTS
"Read the ingredients on every single thing that you're eating," says Bob, "and when you look at the ingredients, those first five ingredients, that's what's mostly going to be in the food that you're eating." So if you can't pronounce it, ditch it!
MORE: How to Lose Up to 8 Pounds in a Month
3. EAT GOOD FATS — BUT JUST A LITTLE LESS
Yes good fats — like avocados — are good for you, but you still have to pay attention to serving sizes. When it comes to avocados, for instance, you should only be having a quarter at a time.
4. USE A FOOD SCALE TO RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN ON PORTION SIZE
We know, we know... Weighing your food sounds really lame. But it’s super-important — especially when it comes to your carbs and your protein. Bob says it's the best way to train your mind to understand what a portion size looks like. “I do agree with using the scale as a training device,” says Rach. But once you learn, she promises, you can ditch it!
Want your own food scale? Enter for a chance to win one and get all the details here!
5. STOP SNACKING!
Instead of picking every few hours, Bob is all about eating healthy but substantial meals, so you feel properly full — and don't hunt for snacks.
MORE: Bob Harper's Signature Healthy Stir-Fry
6. DRINK SPICY TEA TO CURB CRAVINGS
YouTube yoga star Adriene Mishler swears by her mix, which includes cinnamon sticks, ginger (for anti-inflammatory properties), peppercorn, clove and black tea (for a caffeinated kick).
7. SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUTS
Pencil them into your calendar like any other appointment, and it’ll remind you of the commitment you made — and will continue to make!
8. TRY THE EAGLE POSE
According to Adriene, the yoga move, the eagle pose, can help improve circulation — and some experts claim that better circulation may help support weight loss (and vice versa).
9. TRY ELIMINATING FOODS — ONE DAY AT A TIME
We're not the only ones shaping up for 2018! Richard Blais is, too, and he says this: "You don't have to go carb-free or fat-free. Just do one day. One day, don't eat carbs. Or one day, eat less fat. One day, be a vegetarian! You can do it for one day. Twenty-four hours? You can do it!"
MORE: 10 Healthy Fake-Out Recipes
10. SWAP SALT FOR FISH SAUCE
Ryan Scott says he dropped weight by ditching salt in favor of the “flavor bomb” he calls fish sauce. It’s naturally salted, giving you that kick, while still being good for you — best of both worlds!
11. KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHING YOU EAT
"If you know what you ate for breakfast and lunch, it can shape what you're having for dinner," says Richard. That way, you can make responsible choices while you’re getting the hang of balanced eating!
12. TRY EXERCISES BEFORE MODIFYING THEM
Viewer Tiffanie says she's in the best shape of her life, and she got there by trying to do exercises the proper way before modifying them. For instance, she says to try doing one push-up on your toes — even if it's only one! — before you drop to your knees to modify the move. Soon enough, you’ll improve and be able to do them all full-out!
13. DRINK HALF YOUR BODY WEIGHT IN OUNCES OF WATER DAILY
Whether you like it plain or infused with fruit, you have to make sure to get your daily serving in to stay healthy.
14. DOWNLOAD A FREE TIMER APP
Viewer and fitness guru Tiffanie says this is especially helpful if you're interval training (i.e. when you’re doing short spurts of different exercises in succession), which she calls, "quick, powerful and very effective." (Just look at her abs!)
15. USE REWARDS, EVEN SWEETS, TO PUSH YOURSELF HARDER
NYC-based trainer Keoni is all about "self-discipline — and moderation." He says if he works out hard, he makes sure to give himself a reward — yes, even sweets! So if the thought of a cupcake gets you to the gym, DO YOU!
GET MORE FROM OUR VIEWERS IN THE VIDEO BELOW!
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