Everyone says abs are made in the kitchen, and while that’s true, there are other things that influence your weight loss. Yes, eating healthy is a surefire way to get on the right track and lose some fat, but you also have to remember that while a good diet is about 90% of your success, the other 10% matter too. And we’re not even talking about weight lifting or high-intensity interval training here. There are certain lifestyle things you might just not be paying attention to that are standing in the way of you becoming your best self. Let’s talk about that.
1. Not Getting Enough Sleep
You can sleep the average 8 hours that a human usually needs to function properly, but if the quality of your sleep isn’t good it doesn’t matter how many hours you spend in bed. Your body feels stressed when you don’t get a good rest and instead of shedding weight, will pile it on, to protect itself. So consider changing up your routine, finding ways to unwind before bed or look into melatonin sleep supplements.
2. Sleeping In A Very Warm Room
We all know that our body is capable of burning fat even while we sleep, but the perfect room temperature for that is 17C or 63F. If you’re used to sleeping in a room that’s warmer then that or wear warm pajamas and then cover yourself with a warm duvet – you’re preventing your body from doing that. However, don’t just lower the thermostat immediately, that’ll only cause you to have sleep problems. Instead, try lowering the temperature gradually, one degree at a time.
3. Skipping Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you skip it, or have a very light breakfast you are much more likely to overeat during lunch or dinner or. Not having a filling breakfast might also lead to snacking way too much throughout the day. So just have a nice, filling breakfast, full of protein, fats, and carbs that will keep you going for most of the day.
4. Eating In Front Of TV/Computer/On The Phone
You see, when you’re busy watching your favorite show or scrolling through your Instagram feed you’re not really focused on eating. You don’t pay attention to how much you eat and probably won’t notice that you’re already full until it’s too late. Basically, you’re likely to wolf down your food quickly and overeat. So try to set aside 20-30 mins for meals and just focus on chewing and enjoying your meal.
5. Exercising Before Bedtime
Lots of people choose to exercise in the evening. It makes more sense to them. After all, they’re done with work, they don’t have to rush and once they’re done exercising they don’t have to worry about looking presentable. They can just shower and go to bed. And it works out great for keeping in shape. But if you’re already on a diet, your body will just get more stressed out if you exercise in the evening and is likely to store dinner as fat in your body. When you’re on a diet, your body is much more likely to burn fat in the morning, so it’s better to do intense workouts in the first half of the day and only do something easy like yoga or pilates in the evening.
6. Drinking Green Tea
Green tea is known for being good at aiding weight loss. However, you really shouldn’t overdo it. Green tea has way more caffeine than a cup of coffee, so you should only really have it in the morning. If you want to have tea in the evening – try having a cup of mint tea, it has a calming effect and will make sure you sleep well at night.
