Summer 2012 Weight Loss Tips and Advice

During the winter months it's a lot easier to cover up those extra few pounds by wearing a big baggy jumper or winter coat, but as we get closer to spring it's going to be harder to keep the wobbly bits covered up, especially when your friends are all wearing the latest skimpy jeans and tops.

So what can you do about it to make sure that you look your very best for summer 2012?

1. Ask yourself why you have been putting on weight over the winter months. If you can identify this then you should find it a lot easier to lose.


2. Look at the types of food that you are eating to see if there is anything that may be causing you to gain weight. This could be anything from lots of bread, pasta, fried foods and even sugary drinks and alcohol. Cutting these out could give you an energy boost as well as helping you to trim up a bit


3. If you are not exercising ask yourself why not. Maybe it's because you lack motivation or maybe you just haven't found something that you enjoy. Believe it or not most people hate the thought of stepping into a gym, especially with all the intimidating machines and bodybuilders. If you can find a type of exercise that you enjoy and that is fun then you should have no problem motivating yourself to do more of it.


4. Drink more water. Most people who are trying to lose weight don't drink enough water and in a perpetual state of dehydration. If you are not hydrated enough there is no way your body is going to burn body fat.


5. Get more sleep. People who don't get 8 hours a night sleep are going to struggle because lack of sleep elevates the stress hormone cortisol, which basically switches off fat burning and forces our bodies to use muscle for fuel. The same thing happens when we have stressful lives or jobs.


6. Get more sunshine. Hard to do in the winter but the good news is that getting outside in the sun more in the spring and summer can top up our vitamin D levels and give us an extra boost when it comes to fat loss.


7. Get off the sofa and away from the TV or your Laptop and just get moving more. Your body is designed to move not sit on a sofa for hours on end watching mind numbing programs (unless it's fitness TV)

There are a multitude of things you can do to start getting yourself into shape for the summer and they are not hard. Each point above will bring you a little bit closer to your weight loss goal but if you add them all together you should be making some really great strides to getting your perfect beach body for summer 2012. Remember that you only need to do a little bit every day and make it consistent. If you start now and look to drop around a pound a week over the next 4 months then you will have lost 16 lbs by July (and it will stay off). This is much easier than panicking in June and trying to lose it all in one month, which is a recipe for yo-yoing.