Most people mistake the notion of losing weight with the idea of getting an ideal beach body, which is not necessarily the case. This is particularly true with the female population who fears that by gaining a bit of muscle mass, they’ll start appearing less feminine or instantly get a body of a female bodybuilder. Both of these fears are unfounded and outright ridiculous.
Just take a look at the Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander who gained 12 pounds of muscle for Tomb Rider and never looked better in her life. In other words, there’s much more to getting a beach body than starving yourself and gulping diet pills. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several things you need to know in order to get a beach body and maintain it for years to come.
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Start Counting Calories
The first thing you need in order to get a beach body is a reliable calorie calculator. While a lot of guides suggest that you need 1200 calories per day to lose weight fast (2lb per week) or 1800 calories per day to lose weight at a bit more moderate rate (1lb per week), this is not necessarily true. It all depends on your current bodyweight, level of physical activity you’re engaging in, your age, your gender and much more. In other words, you need a calculator that helps you take all of these factors into consideration. In the age of the internet, it’s incredibly easy to make an estimate of just how much calories each meal contains.
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Improve your macro
The next thing you need to understand is that in order to lose weight (at least to do it properly), you need to improve your macro nutrition. This means that you should closely monitor the content of your plate and include all three major nutrients to it. Most people focus on protein so much that they completely forget about the fact that carbohydrates are the fuel on which fat is burned. This is especially important for people who’re doing a lot of cardio. Finally, while this may not seem that intuitive, you need to understand that you need to have an intake of fat every single day.
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Weights are more efficient at Fat burning than cardio
When it comes to burning fat, weights are simply much more efficient than cardio. With cardio, you’re burning calories and losing weight but, you’re losing muscle, as well as fat. This is problematic because on average, when static, a pound of muscle burns about 6 calories per day on its own. This is why most of the Hollywood actresses who claim to have lost weight by doing Yoga or Pilates, most likely achieved so by lifting weights.
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Supplements are your friends
The next thing you should understand is the fact that there’s no reason whatsoever to fear supplements. For instance, if you aim to train 6 days per week, it’s vital that you take enough vitamins and micronutrients (calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron). The easiest way to do so is via supplements. Moreover, if you have a hectic schedule and don’t have the time for a proper meal until you get home from work, making a protein shake can help you sate the needs of your body. That being said, supplements are merely an aid and can’t replace proper nutrition.
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Sugar makes you Eat more
The reason why so many nutritionists advise against sugar is not due to the fact that it’s calorie dense food, it’s because it increases your insulin levels making you much hungrier. In other words, by eating sugar-rich foods, you’re forcing your mind and body to crave fast food, which is a trend that’s easily preventable. While some may advise drinking natural juices, it’s probably for the best to consume whole fruits instead. In a juice, you get all the sugar without any fibers, which is a clear loss-loss scenario for your organism.
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Never skip a rest day
At the end of the day, in order for your body to recuperate properly, you need to rest. During an exercise, you’re tearing your muscles and during the rest, you’re regenerating them stronger and better looking than they were before. That being said, rest is as important as the exercise itself. Finally, by skipping a rest day, you’re increasing the probability of injury, which might result in a period of prolonged inactivity, setting you back for weeks to come.
In conclusion
The last thing you need to understand is that the best diet and the best training regimen is the one you can keep up with for the rest of your life. Sure, you can embark on a Keto or paleo diet, even start intermittent fasting but if you can’t maintain this for long enough, all you’re actually doing is tormenting your own metabolism. If there’s one thing that’s 100 percent guaranteed is that it’ll use the first opportunity to strike back and retaliate. In other words, having a beach body for a lifetime requires a lifetime of effort.