Lose Those Extra Pounds By Changing Your Evening Routine
Nearly three-quarters of American men and over 60% of women are obese or overweight. As well as feeling like a burden, those extra pounds increase the likelihood of suffering from ailments such as high blood pressure, heart problems, and diabetes. Shedding that excess weight is no mean feat, but incorporating the tips and tricks below into your evening routine may help you get onto the right track...
1. Get Enough Sleep
It has been proven that failing to get enough sleep leads to weight gain, as there's not enough time for the body to undergo its overnight regeneration process. While sleeping, your entire body is working hard to ensure fats and sugars are sufficiently processed. Depriving your body of sleep throws your metabolism into disorder, which can result in weight gain over time. So if you're looking to lose weight, you should make sure you're getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night. These 10 yoga exercises should help you drift off quickly.
2. Ban Electronic Devices From The Bedroom
Electronic devices such as laptops, tablets or smartphones don't belong in the bedroom. For one, the blue light emitted by these devices reduces the production of the sleep hormone melatonin over twice as much as other light sources, thus disturbing your sleep rhythm. Without this hormone, it's much more difficult to fall asleep quickly, meaning you won't benefit from the effects of a good night's sleep. That's why it's best to avoid using laptops, phones and the like for about 2 hours before going to bed. Read a book or listen to some relaxing music instead.
3. Lower The Room Temperature
To bring your metabolism into line in the evenings, it's recommended to lower the temperature in the bedroom to around 65°F (18°C). It doesn't matter whether you do so by opening a window or turning down the thermostat. Just make sure your room is nice and cool. Lowering the temperature in the bedroom activates the beige fat cells responsible for regulating your body heat. This ensures enough fat is burned to keep your body at the right temperature, helping you to lose weight.
4. Have A Protein-Rich Snack Before Going To Bed
But aren't you supposed to avoid eating after 6pm? Well, that's not strictly true. Enjoying a protein-rich snack several hours before bedtime can help you lose weight, since it speeds up the fat burning process during sleep and supports muscles in their growth. Therefore, it also makes sense to avoid pasta and potatoes for your evening meal and instead opt for poultry, fish, eggs or low-fat pot cheese.
5. Drink Herbal Tea
Herbal tea also has a positive effect on your health and can help you shed those extra pounds. For example, peppermint tea curbs your appetite, making it easier to resist snacking between mealtimes. Camomile tea is good for digestion and steadies nerves, while rooibos tea increases fat metabolism and prevents the formation of fat cells. It's therefore recommended to drink a cup of one of these teas every evening to speed up the weight loss process. Afterwards, you can then put the used teabags to good use.
6. Integrate Strength Training Into Your Evening
Attaining your desired weight in a healthy way without doing exercise is pretty much impossible. That's why it's important to move as much as you can to have any chance of getting that dream figure. One particularly effective way to do more exercise is to incorporate strength training into your evening routine. This type of exercise specializes in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction, which builds the strength and size of skeletal muscles. Doing strength training before going to bed in particular will get your metabolism into full swing. While cardiovascular exercise is also effective, strength training is less tiring and burns just as many calories. So doing lengths at the pool or lifting weights will certainly take you one step closer to your goal.
Of course, these 6 tips are no miracle cures for losing weight as quickly as possible. To attain your dream weight, it's essential to eat healthily and do enough exercise. However, these 6 tips can help you along the way and make the entire process that little bit easier. You can also find more weight loss tips in this article. Good luck!