So you’re lazy… I guess it’s nothing new.
However, my dear, I have some good news, because it turns out that laziness is actually a sign of intelligence.
Recent findings from a US-based study have revealed that people with high IQ actually get bored far more easily than the rest of us, which of course leads them to spend more time sitting around, engaged in thought. So that’s great news, right? Well – yes and no.
If you’re reading this, you probably spent this winter simply sitting around and gaining weight.
Can you intelligence help you get up from the couch you been sitting on during the winter and actually get in shape before you hit the beach? It certainly won’t hurt.
You might think that getting into shape takes months and months of hard work, don’t you? But that’s actually not true (except for the hard work, it certainly involves some of that). What you need is a couple of tweaks and a bit of motivation. So here are a couple of things you can do to get in shape this year.
Avoid Crash Diets By All Means
When it comes losing weight, most people tend to jump on the first bandwagon they see and start starving themselves with the most popular crash diet at the moment. But over years, a bunch of studies has shown that people who concentrate on slow changes over time are far more likely to lose weight and avoid the dreaded “yo-yo effect.”
So what can you do? Well, first you need to take a close look at your diet, see where you usually make mistakes and correct them. having a talk with a nutritionist would also be smart. And once you discover where your diet is lacking, you simply start paying more attention to meal prep, start preparing more home meals and avoid any junk food. But don’t worry, an unhealthy snack from time to time won’t kill your progress.
Stop Looking at the Scale so Much
This may seem a bit strange (I’m aware that some experts out there suggest that you should weigh yourself on a daily basis) but obsessing over your current weight will bring you no good. The biggest problem is the scale often lies – so if you lose just a pound one week, you might feel completely discouraged to continue with your lifestyle changes.
But the scale doesn’t account for things like extra water or gained muscles. And if you really want to measure anything, you should for instance measure how many miles you’ve run that week to how many unhealthy meals and foods you managed to avoid. This will have a much more positive effect on you than the scale – so start tracking more important things instead of your pounds.
Build Confidence Through Strength Training
So you want to know the secret of maintaining a fit body throughout every season of the year and not just the summer? Well, the answer is quite simple my friend – strength training. This training regime will give you a great boost and allow your body to burn more calories than it normally would and increase your metabolic rate, it will also increase your energy levels and lean muscle mass, making you look leaner.
Strength training can help you get that beach body in a short period of time and preserve it throughout the year. and if that’s not enough for you, lifting weight can also improve your psychological health and increase your self-esteem. So if you have any body-image problems, you’ll be able to say goodbye to them and enjoy your summer completely care-free. And if you want to reap lifetime benefits of strength training, aim to workout at least three times a week (or more if possible).
Final Thoughts
And as you can see, you don’t need any heavy workouts or harsh crash-diets to change your body before the summer rolls in – you only need to make a couple of changes to your daily lifestyle and you’ll have a beach body in a matter of weeks.
So those are a couple of things basically anyone can do to lose those extra few pounds. So how do you feel about our article? Do you think we left some things out? If you have anything to add to the conversation, make sure to leave a comment in the section bellow and share your thoughts with the rest of us. By Vanessa Davis
About The Author:
Vanessa Davis is a 32-year-old fitness enthusiast, mother of two and content writer at www.diet.st. She’s originally from Long Island, New York, and when she isn’t cooking up some new health and fitness article, she enjoys doing yoga and figuring out new, delicious organic-based recipes for herself and her kids.
