Weight loss is a sensitive topic for males, just as it is for females. Men all over the world have become conscious about their looks and appeal and those that struggle with their size know how difficult it can get to manage weight, given our busy routines and sedentary lifestyles.
While losing pounds is a difficult task for both genders, men have the advantage of having a higher metabolism and can, therefore, shed inches faster than women.
Weight Loss: What Doesn’t Work?
There are some common myths about losing mass that most men tend to believe and follow in order to lose weight quickly. However, the truth is that you should stay away from the following myths because even though some of them might help you lose in the short run, they can be detrimental to your health in the long run.
Not Eating For Long Hours
In an aim to lose unwanted pounds, men tend to go by their days without eating much or anything at all. Some turn to liquid diets whereas others eat less than they should. Keeping your stomach free from food might help you lose a few pounds on the scale in the short term, but you will put on it back on whenever you start eating. More importantly, you need to have a fast and speedy metabolism, something that you cannot have without eating proper meals with regular breaks.
Following Fad Diets
With the ever-increasing demand for an ideal body, there has been an outburst of fad diets such as the South Beach Diet, Mediterranean Diet, and others. The truth about fad diets is that they become popular because they help you lose in the short term as they each involve a select eating pattern (and a break from carbs and sugars in most cases). However, the diets will fail in the long term whenever you start eating carbohydrates and sugars.
Weight Loss: What Works?
While fad diets and going without food do not work, certain tried and tested things have proven successful. These include:
Exercise
Exercise is one of the pre-requisites for weight loss, as it is the only long-term solution to weight loss along with proper nutrition. There are no restrictions on what exercises you must perform, it is more important that you have some activity in general. For starters, try doing exercises that you enjoy doing and get your heart pumping. Experts recommend any form of cardio exercise to burn calories and lose weight. Two things that you should keep in mind when exercising is a high interval training routine and doing exercise for at least 3-4 times a week. Once you get used to cardio, jump on to weight training.
Keep It Low Calorie
Nothing works wonders better than a low-calorie diet and exercise combination. Regulate your calories and make sure you are burning more than you eat to lose pounds fast. Make healthy eating choices and add fruits and vegetables to your diet.
Smart Lifestyle Choices
Making smart lifestyle choices can help you go a long way when it comes to reaching your ideal body size. Incorporating smart lifestyle choices such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, having salad as a meal and eating healthy after every 2-3 hours will not only help you in keeping the unwanted pounds off in the short term but also in the future.
About Shaun Hudson
Shaun Hudson loves sports, being outdoors, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. After many unsuccessful attempts to lose weight, he finally was able to drop 25 pounds and keep it off. The secret? He kept a journal of his activity, diet, and daily life. That journal changed his life, and has since evolved into this website. Read his full bio.