5 Crucial Things to Do if you're Exercising for Weight Loss

If you're logging miles on the treadmill and hours in cycling class in the hopes of torching more calories, that's seriously sucky news.

Here's how your body makes up for the major calories you torch at the gym: As you get used to your workouts, you might not burn more calories even if you're consistently active, says California-based trainer Mike Donavanik, C.S.C.S., “Think about your job. When you first started, there were some learning curves, it took more energy and more time, but you became more efficient,” he says. 

But that’s no reason to forgo exercise in the name of weight loss or, more importantly, fat loss. After all, you want to lose fat, not muscle. Right? One obesity study of 439 women found that those who ate healthy and exercised lost considerably more body fat than those who stuck with dieting alone.

Exercise works the same way. Your body adapts to a specific demand. So you naturally become more efficient, and use less energy [a.k.a. calories] to meet that demand." So how do you make sure every sweat session helps you burn more? Follow these five rules of exercising for weight loss.

Get FIIT:

When it comes to making sure your body never gets too comfy with your workout, you’ve got to cozy up to the FIIT principle. It stands for frequency, intensity, time, and type the four factors that determine the exact stress you put on your body during a given workout, says Donavanik. Changing up any one of them “surprises” and challenges your body in a new way. 

Remember, as long as your body is forced to adapt to progressively challenging workouts, it’s going to burn more calories during every workout. It’s when your body gets used to your current workouts that things start to plateau. “Look to change one to two of these variables every four to six weeks and you’ll keep losing weight,” he says.

And HIIT:

“High-intensity interval training is the way to go,” Donavanik says. In one 2013 study from Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, people who performed a 20-minute HIIT workout torched 15 calories per minute about twice as many as they did during long runs. 

Plus, with HIIT workouts, you benefit from the “after burn” effect, which a steady-state cardio just won’t give you. “So instead of burning 250 calories from your 30-minute session, you can burn up to 40 percent more throughout the next day or so as your body recovers,” says Donavanik.

Follow the study’s lead: Perform all-out effort for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat until you’ve hit four minutes. Rest one minute, then repeat to complete a total of four rounds.

Prioritize Clean Eating:

“If you don’t pay attention to your diet, you can work out every day as hard as you possibly can and not lose a single pound if your calories expended are equal to your calories consumed,” says Donavanik. What’s more, eating junk can make your workouts feel more difficult, so even if you think you’re pushing yourself to the max, you’re not, he says.

And sub-max workouts, as you might have guessed, burn fewer calories. He recommends limiting added sugar and focusing on eating lean protein, healthy fats, and whole carbs from fruits, veggies, and whole grains. 

Pick Up Some Weights:

More muscle = More calories burned

After all, while a pound of fat burns only two calories per day, a pound of muscle burns six and takes up a lot less room, he says. That’s why, in a 2015 Harvard School of Public Health study of 10,500 adults, people who strength trained for 20 minutes a day gained less belly fat over a period of 12 years compared to cardio bunnies.

Don’t Forget to Fuel:

While everyone thrives on a slightly different pre-and post-workout nutrition plan, research published in Sports Medicine shows that eating carbs before you hit the gym improves your performance during HIIT and endurance workouts alike. And tougher workouts burn more calories both during and after your workout, Donavanik says.

That explains why recent research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that downing coffee (or any caffeine) an hour before your workout can boost your post-workout caloric burn by 15 percent.

After your workout, Donavanik recommends eating a meal that’s about 40 percent carbs, 40 percent protein, and 20 percent fat. The combination will help your muscles recover, get your energy levels up, and have you burning more calories as your body repairs…and, yes, adapts.

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Why is the 21 Day Fix Diet Blowing Up Online and does it Actually Work

Naturally, we had to ask the experts if it's really worth the hype, or if the 21 Day Fix is just another weight-loss gimmick. The lowdown:

How it Works:

The diet revolves around the idea that it takes 21 days to successfully create a healthy habit, and was created by National Academy of Sports Medicine certified celeb trainer Autumn Calabrese who, fun fact, is also a bikini competitor. "This diet combines portion control with regular physical activity to promote weight loss in three weeks," says Leigh Tracy, R.D., a dietitian at The Center for Endocrinology at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. 

The Plan:

Despite the fact that controlling your portions and working out aren't exactly groundbreaking, dieters seem to be drawn in by the way the diet organizes each meal.   

As part of the program, 21 Day Fixers receive color-coded containers to measure your portions, says Ashvini Mashru, R.D., author of Small Steps to Slim. These include an 8 ounce green container for veggies, an 8 ounce purple container for fruits, a 6 ounce red container for proteins, a 5.3 ounce yellow container for carbs, two 2.7 ounce orange containers for seeds and dressings, and a Shakeology cup for shakes.

To find out how much you can eat each day, you start by calculating your specific caloric intake. Multiply your current weight by 11 and add 400 (which covers the calories burned during your daily workout.). That number is the daily calorie intake you need to maintain your weight. To find out how much you need to eat to lose weight, subtract 750.

Based on that calorie intake, the plan assigns you a daily container allowance. For example, if you're within the 1,200 to 1,499 calorie range, you're allowed three green (veggies), two purple (fruits), four red (proteins), two yellow (carbs), and one orange (seeds and dressings) per day.

The guide breaks down each container with a list of foods that you can eat, which makes it easier to create a weekly meal plan.

Along with the portioned containers and eating plan, dieters receive two workout DVDs and an exercise schedule that includes seven 30-minute workouts for each day of the week. (Sweating yet?)

Check out other diet trends throughout history:

1. Diet Trends Throughout History
2. Weight Loss Trends Throughout History

The Pros and Cons:

Though the containers eliminate the need to track your meals and the plan encourages whole foods, if you don't love prepping your meals ahead of time or expanding your grocery bill, you might struggle with the general structure. "Most of the meals are expensive or time consuming to make," she says. "And you might find the small portions of food to be too restrictive," she says. That could lead to falling off the wagon or bingeing after the 21 days are up, says Mashru.

At the same time, requiring workouts every single day for nearly a month can be super frustrating, she adds. Especially since these workouts aren’t for beginners.

Lastly, like most trendy diets, the 21 Day Fix doesn't go beyond the three weeks it was designed to fit into. Though some people might continue to watch their portions and work out on the regular, others might revert back to their previous lifestyle habits, which could lead to gaining back the weight they lost.

The Verdict:

It may not be the best course of action, says Mashru. "It's true that most people will be able to lose at least some weight on the 21 Day Fix, but for a long-term weight-loss solution, it may be better to find a program that's more flexible," she says. In other words, you'll probably find that living life by a "container diet" isn't living at all.

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Why Eating Less and Exercising More Doesn’t Always Lead to Weight Loss

You’re not eating often enough. 

Cutting cals should not equate to missing meals. Research published in the journal Metabolism found that when people skipped meals, they had elevated levels of blood sugar and a delayed insulin response, says Lisa Moskovitz, R.D., CEO of The NY Nutrition Group. This is also known as "starvation mode."

If you're waiting too long to eat in the morning or in between meals, your metabolism can slow, which encourages your body to store calories as fat instead of using them for energy, says Moskovitz.

What you can do: Eat at least every four hours throughout the day for optimal energy and appetite control. We highly recommend these 28 healthy snacks you can nosh on all day long.

You’re gaining muscle. 

The scale might be stuck because you're building up your biceps and glutes and that's a good thing. The number on the scale is less important than the breakdown of how much water, muscle, and fat are in your body, Jovanovic says. 

What you can do: "It’s important to continue eating well and working out regularly during a plateau to achieve results over time," he says. As muscle mass increases, body fat can still decrease (especially since gaining more lean muscle can rev your metabolism), says Jovanovic. Work through that dip in progress by trying new workouts, like these five strength moves perfect for weight loss, and eating more of these 12 healthy foods with serious weight loss benefits.

You're afraid of eating back the calories you burned at the gym. 

Skipping post-workout snacks is a huge mistake, says Moskovitz. “One of the most important meals or snack times of the day is right after you exercise," she says. This is especially true when it comes to intense exercise, like sprints, cycling, and weight lifting.

Since these and other high-intensity exercises break down muscle tissue, eating 10 to 20 grams of protein and carbs right after exercise helps to repair and maintain lean muscle (a kick-ass metabolism booster). Plus, fasting after a workout usually only leads to overeating later on, she says.

What you can do: Eat within 30 minutes of a hard sweat. This is prime time for your body to put those nutrients to work, repairing muscle for your next calorie-torching workout. Some optimal recovery snacks include low-fat chocolate milk, flavored Greek yogurt, cereal and milk, half of a turkey sandwich, or one scoop of protein powder blended with a banana.

You're exercising way too much. 

If you tend to be an overachiever, remember that working out too hard (especially while slashing major calories) makes it harder to lose weight. “Overtraining leads to a surge in the stress-hormone cortisol, which wreaks havoc on your metabolism, immune system, and mood," says Moskovitz. Studies show that elevated cortisol levels cause your body to break down muscle and store more body fat around your mid-section, she says. And, as we've seen with the Biggest Loser contestants, undereating can cause your metabolism to slow down over time.

What you can do: Aim to exercise for one hour, four to five days per week, says Moskovitz. Though it's ideal to consult a registered dietitian to figure out how much you need to eat to meet your goals, keep in mind that you should never dip below 1,200 calories a day.

Your stress levels are out of control. 

“You can do all the exercise and healthy home cooking you want, but the scale won't budge unless you're getting quality sleep and managing those stress levels," says Moskovitz.

What you can do: Try to get six to eight hours of sleep per night. Also, avoid stimulating activity right before bed, like working on your computer, engaging in emotionally stressful conversations, or watching TV. You might also find that working out at night makes it harder to sleep (but everyone is different). If so, adjust your schedule accordingly, says Moskovitz.

Your homones are out of whack. 

In what seems like the ultimate unfair move, body fat can produce hormones that actually make it harder to lose weight. “Fat makes hormones, like estrogen and leptin, which fuel hunger," Jovanovic says. "So the more [fat] you have, the more you’ll want to eat." 

What you can do: To regain control over your hormones, consider cutting out processed foods that contain excess sugar. These items can also lead to an uptick in the amount of leptin your fat cells produce making your hunger even more overpowering. Keep an eye on how much of the sweet stuff you're consuming. 

You have PCOS. 

Roughly 5 to 10 percent of women have polycystic ovarian syndrome, says Jovanovic. This occurs when there's a miscommunication between the pancreas and ovaries, causing the pancreas to work much harder to stabilize blood sugar. That means foods like carbs and sugars are frequently stored as fat. 

What you can do: Besides unexplained weight gain, other signs of PCOS include irregular periods and increased acne. Visit your ob-gyn to find out if you have the condition and get set up for treatment.

You have hypothyroidism. 

The thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped organ located in the base of your neck, has a huge impact on metabolism, says Moskovitz. That's because it’s responsible for sending out the metabolism-controlling hormones T3 and T4. These hormones regulate how your body uses energy (and burns fat). “When your thyroid is underactive, your body uses less energy while you're in rest mode, leading to weight gain over time," says Moskovitz. Many patients with hypothyroidism find that they must drastically reduce calories in order to lose weight, she says.

What you can do: If you're experiencing other symptoms besides weight gain, like sensitivity to cold, constipation, brittle hair, and dry skin, talk to your doc about getting tested.

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What are the Benefits of Spinning

A spinning workout is a great way to burn calories and stay fit. This type of workout requires the use of a stationary bike that includes various tension levels. The bike can also monitor your progress, which you can view through the monitor to keep you motivated to achieve your fitness goals. Aside from burning calories, regular spinning can help you reap plenty of benefits.

Burns Calories:

Spinning for at least 45 minutes can already allow you to burn around 500 calories, which is higher when compared to many other types of exercise. The amount of calories you burn, however, depends on your workout intensity. This is where the stationary bike’s tension levels come in. You can choose to adjust your bike’s resistance, according to your desired intensity and workout goal. This way, you can burn more and lose all the unwanted body fat.

Boosts Endurance:

Doing spinning workouts regularly can help you build cardiovascular endurance. This is beneficial if you always feel weak and start to pant even with minimal effort, such as climbing a flight of stairs. Increasing your endurance will help you become stronger, happier, and more producitive.

Tones Muscles:

A good spinning workout can help you tone your muscles, especially your core and legs. This type of exercise focuses on your core muscles, thighs, and buttocks. If you want to built more muscle strength, then you can increase the tension level of the bike to mimic an uphill ride. Your calves and thighs work the hardest as you pedal, which is why regular spinning can give you toned legs.

Gives Low-Impact Exercise:

Spinning is a low-impact workout. This means this type of exercise will not place pressure on your joints, especially your knees, unlike any other aerobic routines. Spinning workouts are recommended for those who have joint problems, like arthritis. This exercise is also a great cross-training option for athletes.

Reduces Stress:

Exercise, in general, is a great way to relieve stress. It helps your body produce happy hormones to keep your energy level high. A spinning workout, however, lets you fight strress without having to go outdoors. Joining a spinning class will also allow you to socialize and meet new people, which can further improve your mood.

Lessens Risks of Injury:

As mentioned earlier, spinning places less strain on your joints, and strengthening your leg muscles through this type of workout can help you reduce your risks of injury. Jogging and runnings are great alternatives, but may give you a higher chance of getting injured. It should be noted, however, that all workouts need a proper warmup and cool down. Doing so will help your muscles prepare for the exercise and recover faster, reducing your risks of injury.

Let's You Integrate Music:

You can enjoy a spinning workout with good music. Spinning classes, specifically, allow you to maintain your cadence as you follow the beat of the playlist. Studies have shown that you workout harder when your routine is accompanied by a good set of music. Songs allow you to bring up your emotions, and push to your limit.

Has Adjustable Tempo:

The stationary bike has adjustable tensions. You can choose to change the tension level before or during your spinning workout to achieve your fitness goals. If you join a spinning class, then your trainer can signal when you should change the tension.

Adjusting the tempo is another great way of beating boredom during exercise, allowing you to continue progressing and reaping the benefits. When you adjust the tempo, you can also help improve your endurance and increase your muscle strength, particularly in your legs.

Shows Your Progress:

Most stationary bikes have devices that can track your workout progress. The more expensive models allow you to see the number of calories burned, your cadence, the distance that you have covered, as well as your heart rate. This feature is a great motivating factor, since you can see how far you have gone and how much you have improved.

Can Be Done Year-Round:

While working out is sometimes better done outdoors, the weather can become unpleasant and hinder you from enjoy a good exercise. This is why joining a spinning class or purchasing your own stationary bike should be added to your workout options. You can accomplish your workout for the day without worrying about the weather, and your busy schedule.

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Types of Performance Enhancing Drugs

During the 1960s, the use of performance enhancing drugs gained pace, and athletes and sportsmen from all across the globe, started to consume these drugs to boost their performances. Countries like East-Germany started to make these drugs available to their athletes, to gain absolute dominance in sports. There are a great number of performance enhancing drugs available, such as, anabolic steroids, beta-2-agonists, human chorionic gonadotrophin, luteinizing hormone and insulin.

However, the use of these performance enhancing drugs pose great health hazards. Therefore, there are several regulatory bodies have been established all over the world to check and monitor the use of these products. As far as the Olympics are concerned, the World Anti-Doping Agency, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, invigilates the consumption of prohibited drugs by the athletes.

It issues an updated list of all banned drugs every year to spread awareness. However, there are certain drugs which are allowed to be taken, albeit up to a permissible limit. To learn more about some of the most popular performance enhancing drugs, scroll down and read the article below.

Sports Drugs:

Stimulants:

Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which temporarily boost mental and physical capabilities. Consumption of stimulants leads to a sudden surge in the amount of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. With this, the blood pressure as well as the heart rate increases. After the consumption of stimulants, the blood vessels get constricted, followed by an increase in the blood glucose and fast breathing.

The aftereffects are an enhanced degree of alertness, and a feeling of great ecstasy. Stimulants enhance the abilities of athletes by providing them with a superlative degree of stamina. However, these drugs beget certain health hazards such as cardiovascular failure and fatal raptuses. Some of the most popular stimulants are cocaine, adrafinil and pemoline.

Narcotic Analgesics:

Narcotic analgesics are the most efficacious type of painkillers. Narcotic analgesics can be categorized as the opiates, and the derivative of opiates, known as the opioids. Opiates are the alkaloids present in the opium. The source of these alkaloids is seeds of the opium poppy.

Athletes use these drugs as they alleviate the pain and, as a result, athletes can train harder and for much greater periods of time at a stretch. Narcotic analgesics also have many stress reducing properties, which can also be immensely beneficial in elevating the performance of a sportsman. Some of the most common narcotic analgesics are buprenorphine, dextromoramide, heroin, morphine, pethidine.

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids:

Anabolic-androgenic steroids are synthetic counterparts of a human hormone, testosterone, as they are found to possess the same chemical properties. They help improve muscle mass, and also help reduce the body's recovery time. Basically, anabolic-androgenic steroids can be divided into two categories; the exogenous, which isn’t produced in human body naturally, and the endogenous, which human body produces naturally. Metenolone is an example of exogenous anabolic-androgenic steroids and androstenediol (or andro) is a kind of endogenous anabolic-androgenic steroid.

Peptide Hormones:

Produced in the human body, peptide hormones are carried across by blood to different organs. These hormones can influence the performance of other organs of the body. Consumption of these hormones boosts the strength of the muscles.

These hormones also promote the production of red blood cells which, in return, raise blood’s oxygen carrying capacity, which is directly related to performance. Erythropoietin, human growth hormones, insulin, corticotrophins etc. are some of the most common examples of peptide hormone.

Beta-2 Agonists:

Beta-2 agonists dilate the muscles in the air passages by stimulating the beta cells. On inhaling, they induce the same effects as that of stimulants while they can act as anabolic steroids when injected to the body. Some of the most common beta-2 agonists are albuterol such as AccuNeb, Proventil HFA, ProAir HFA, Ventolin HFA, levalbuterol which includes Xopenex, Xopenex HFA and pirbuterol like Maxair, Maxair Autohaler etc. It is permissible for athletes suffering from breathing disorders to use inhalation-based beta-2 agonists to ward off bronchoconstriction during their performance.

Some More Performance Enhancing Drugs:

Masking agents, such as diuretics, dextran and epitestosterone, are prohibited for athletes as they make the detection of other prohibited drugs in the urine or other samples impossible. Glucocorticosteroids, including dexamethasone and prednisone, possess anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, which enable the athletes to compete without even the faintest sensation of pain. When injected directly into blood, these drugs can also create a sense of ecstasy.

The way a performance enhancing drug acts on human body may differ a great deal depending on body type, doze, etc. As they can impart deleterious effects on the users’ health, the guidelines regarding permissible limits of these drugs are becoming more and more rigorous day by day.

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This Trick Helped Me Lose My Belly After 15 Years of Running

I signed up for a half-marathon. I was convinced that all those training runs would surely slim my middle, but when I stepped on the scale, I was completely wrong. I was gaining weight because the hunger that came with those long workouts made me want to eat all the time. 

After the race, although I made some changes to my eating schedule to lose the weight I'd gained during training, my squishy belly wasn't budging, and it pissed me off. It wasn't like I was going to run more often or for longer distances. It was quite by accident that I figured out how running could help me ditch my mummy tummy.

Run off belly fat:

One morning, I skipped the hour-long flat road run and turned into the woods near my house. I let my dog, Reuben, off leash, and we just started running. My pace was much slower because the terrain was so unpredictable. Rain had eroded away the path, creating holes, plus the slippery wooden bridges, the rocks and logs to leap over, and the hills man, were there hills.

I was huffing and puffing way more than on my previous runs, and my quads, calves, and butt were burning. I had to swing my arms more to get up those steep inclines, and trying to catch up to my dog added a little fire to my step. At the end of my 20-minute run, I felt like I did after running two hours.

After just two weeks of running those trails and those crazy hills, I felt an incredible sense of strength in my legs I hadn't experienced before in the 12 weeks I was training for the half. 

In the obstacle course that is the woods, my muscles were constantly guessing, since running in the woods is completely different than running on a sidewalk or a treadmill. It's like a dance because there's no monotony of movement. Every step is a little different, a little shift to one side or the other, a little shorter or longer than the one before.

Interval training had always seemed so forced when running through my neighborhood: I felt a little weird sprinting past my neighbor's house, so I skipped them and just stuck to my 9:40 minute-per-mile pace. But the hills forced me to switch up my pace, and I knew this type of training would be the key to ditching my tummy. Running this way was also really challenging to my mind. I felt a complete sense of calm afterward that I wasn't able to get to unless I did a long training run. Instant runner's high in just 20 minutes? I was floored.

And the added perk? My belly looked slimmer. I could see definition in my obliques. I had obliques! By no means am I saying I have a six-pack after a month of running in the woods, but I see now that I was pushing myself in the wrong way. I was working harder, not smarter. If you're struggling with a weight-loss plateau from running, the answer for you, too, might be found in the woods.

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This Surprising METAL Might Help you Burn More Fat

For the study, the team of researchers studied mice with a genetic mutation (called Wilson’s disease also found in humans) that causes an accumulation of copper in the liver. 

Their findings: The mice with extra copper in their livers had lower than normal fat levels compared to the control group of mice. Meanwhile, the mice with less copper in their fatty tissues had more fatty deposits.

“We noticed that the more copper present, the more fat is broken down and used for energy,” says study author Chris Chang, Ph.D. 

So how does it all work? Copper basically keeps your body in fat-burning mode while you do absolutely nothing, says Chang. “We don’t continuously burn fat, especially while at rest, but we’ve found that copper basically blocks the 'off switch' for fat burning.” (Sounds like a genius discovery to us.)

The study authors also believe a copper deficiency could be linked to obesity, but more research needs to be done.

While the body doesn’t produce copper naturally, we need about 700 micrograms of the metal each day. The best place to get it: foods like leafy greens, beans, mushrooms, shellfish, oysters, nuts, and seeds.

With that said, don’t go chowing on copper supplements (or sucking on pennies, ew) because too much copper can be toxic. “You really can’t eat too many leafy green veggies, so your best bet is to get copper through a clean diet,” says Chang. #KaleYeah. 

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This is the Most Weight you can Safely Lose in a Month by Only Changing your Diet

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not how weight loss works, at least the lasting kind. "Aim to lose one to two pounds in a week for long-term weight loss," says Marissa Lippert, R.D., author of The Cheater's Diet and owner of Nourish Kitchen + Table in New York City that's four to eight pounds in a month or about a half a dress size. 

Oh, and crash diets that promise you'll lose 30 pounds in 30 days don't work drastically slashing calories can sabotage your efforts, ultimately stalling weight loss. "Your metabolism is going to slow down because it's not getting the fuel it needs to burn calories efficiently," says Lippert, who warns women not to go below 1,200 calories a day.

Science agrees: Research shows that calorie-restriction plans often fail, with one-third to two-thirds of dieters regaining more weight than they lost on their diets. 

You know what else fails? Calorie counting. Sure, it can ultimately whittle your waist one pound of weight is equivalent to 3,500 calories, so skimming 500 calories a day means about a pound a week but number-crunching every meal is tedious and time-consuming and can take the joy out of eating. "If you get wrapped up in the numbers, it's very hard to sustain long-term changes," says Lippert. "Focus on eating whole foods instead and the calories will fall into place as they should."

Little Changes Really Do Add Up :

"Small steps are the key to changing your eating habits," says Lippert. "If you do something that's extreme, it's tough to feel motivated to keep doing it." And there's plenty of research to back it up, with studies showing that those who make small diet changes lose more weight and are more likely to keep it off than those on traditional diets. "Everyone is different, but focusing on three to five specific goals allows you to hone and solidify them to ensure lasting habit change," adds Lippert. 

On that note, here are the simple tweaks your diet needs for slow, steady, and lasting weight loss.

If you cut out your daily soda habit, you'll lose one pound in a month. One 12-ounce can of soda has 140 calories and a whopping 39 grams (15 teaspoons) of sugar.

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 4,200 calories

If you replace a glass of orange juice with an orange, you'll lose a half a pound in a month. Swapping the juice for whole fruit saves you 48 calories per day. 

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 1,440 calories

If you skip your weekly ice cream binge, you'll lose 1 pound in a month. Polishing off a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey is 1,200 calories a pop.

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 4,800 calories

If you skip the whipped cream on your Starbucks beverage, you'll lose one pound in a month. A Starbucks Grande Mocha Frappuccino is 280 calories, but add the whipped cream and it shoots up to 390 calories. (Maybe reconsider that Starbucks coconut milk latte, too.)

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 3,300 calories

If you cut back from two glasses of wine to one, you'll lose one pound in a month. You can still have your vino, just cap your Cab at one glass per day.

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 3,660 calories a month 

If you go meatless for dinner on Monday, you'll lose a half a pound in a month. Swapping your usual steak and potatoes for a hefty Grilled Vegetable Stack sandwich saves you 423 calories. (Try these five delicious meatless meals.)

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 1,692 calories

If you skip the bread basket, you'll lose half a pound in a month. Even just indulging once a week when you're out to dinner can add up (three breadsticks = 420 calories).

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 1,680 calories

If you downsize your salad dressing, you'll lose one pound in a month. Yes to a daily salad, just trim the olive oil from 2 tablespoons to 1 tablespoon and you'll cut 120 calories per day.

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 3,600 calories

If you don't get everything on your burrito, you'll lose one and a half pounds in a month. Adding sour cream, cheese, and guac adds an extra 1,230 calories per burrito.

CALORIES SAVED IN A MONTH: 4,920 calories

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These Gradual Changes Helped me Lose 95 Pounds in Just Over One Year

April Alexander was raised by a mom who cooked fresh, balanced meals. Then came middle school, where bullying led April to gorge on junk food.

Before: 240 pounds

After: 145 pounds

A disdain of gym class and sports, compounded by her poor diet, brought April's weight to more than 200 pounds by age 16. Throughout high school and college, and well into her career as a government contractor, she flip flopped between binge eating and stints of calorie deprivation.

In 2013, the then 30-year old Virginia resident balked when the scale tipped 240 pounds, but it took a double whammy of life events for her to actually prioritize her health. Read on for her inspiring weight-loss journey.

October 2013 

After losing her job in June, April loses her mother to a heart attack, which spurs her to finally change her habits. She starts eating organic, ditches processed carbs, and tracks her meals to shed 58 pounds in six months.

April's tip: One of April's favorite lunches is a green salad decked out with strawberries, cherry tomotoes, almonds, and vinagrette, like the one above. 

January 2014 

April begins working out: Thirty minutes of cardio daily, plus three days of weight lifting.

February 2014 

After other gym goers start asking for tips on form, April decides to become a certified personal trainer.

April's tip: "No matter how many times I fell trying to perfect this handstand, I told myself I'd get back up because I'm not a failure."

April 2014 

Down to about 160 and steadily losing a few pounds per month, April bumps up her lifting to four days a week. She favors Ezekiel bread, egg whites, and fruit for breakfast; a green salad with chicken and nuts for lunch; and veggies with lean protein for dinner.

July 2014 

Seeing her muscle definition encourages April to strength train five days a week. She also meets with a nutritionist, who notices April is overdoing her protein and adds more complex carbs to the mix.

December 2014 

April realizes she's reached her goal of 145 pounds, and she's built up 10 clients for her training business, Beautiful Bodies. "People telling me that I've motivated them that's the best reward," says April, now 33.

April's tip: "I like using resistance bands with clients who are just beginning to lift. It helps with the form and strengthens muscles."

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The Truth about Carb Cycling for Weight Loss

What Carb Cycling Means:

There are a lot of carb cycling regimens out there. For example, some serious athletes, like bodybuilders, who know exactly when and how long they’ll work out each day follow a weekly pattern, says Brian Murray, an A.C.E.-certified personal trainer and certified nutritionist.

That might include a high-carb day followed by three days of eating very little carbohydrates. For these kinds of plans, dieters keep track of each gram of carbs they consume, says Murray.

The exact amount of carbohydrates they eat totally depends on their weight, muscle mass, goals, and activity levels, he says. But for the average active woman looking to lose weight, the best way to take on carb cycling is on a day-to-day basis, says Murray.  

How it Works:

On days when you’re crushing it at the gym or training for a race, carbs are your BFF. Your body burns through them (along with fat) for energy instead of protein. That allows the muscle-building nutrient to focus on doing its job.

But on days when you don't leave the couch, eating extra carbs could encourage your body to store that unused glucose in your fat cells. By eating less carbs on a rest day, your body turns to fat for energy instead of the sugary and starchy foods it usually gobbles up, says Georgie Fear, R.D., author of Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss.

Can it Help you Lose Weight?

For those days when you’re playing desk jockey or couch potato, there are definite weight loss benefits to chowing on fewer carbs. “You don’t need to be hoarding all these extra calories if they’re not going to be used," says Fear. "Unlike your fat and protein intake, your carb needs vary from one day to the next.” Also, when you swap carbs for protein and veggies, it becomes trickier to overeat (most of us don’t binge on broccoli and chicken), so that helps your waistline.

Should you Try it?

While there's nothing dangerous about switching up the way you consume carbs, "measuring things down to the gram puts you in a restrictive mindset, which can leave you craving those foods you’re missing out on,” says Fear.

Carb cycling without a set of gram guidelines seems like it would be less effective (especially compared to the plans bodybuilders follow). But since everyone's needs are different, sticking to a one-size fits all plan isn't the best method for meeting your weight-loss goals, says Fear.

With that being said, Fear outlines how to make a carb-cycling diet work for you.

What a High-Carb Day Looks Like:

On an average day, around 60 percent of your calories should come from complex carbs. That’s about 900 calories if you're eating 1,500 calories a day.

On high-carb days, when you've planned a high-energy workout, like metabolic conditioning, interval training, sprints, or a long-distance run, add an extra serving or two of whole grains, fruits, or legumes. “If you’re gassed 10 minutes into your workout, you should try adding another serving,” says Fear.

What a Low-Carb Day Looks Like:

On days when you don't work out at all or do something low-key, like jogging for 30 minutes or taking a hatha yoga class, try swapping a serving or two of your regular carb intake with leafy veggies, lean protein, or healthy fats. For example, if you normally have a whole-wheat turkey sandwich for lunch, try a turkey and spinach salad with cheese instead, says Fear.

The Bottom Line: It's important to avoid a transactional mindset about food, says Fear. Thoughts like, "I ran an extra mile, so I can eat this," are a slippery slope to an unhealthy relationship with food.

That said, "having higher carbs on some days and lower carbs on other days is how the body naturally regulates itself," says Fear. "So there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of some of the benefits of reducing carbs."

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The Tiny Goals I Set that Helped Me Drop 40 Pounds and Deadlift 255 Pounds

THE CHANGE:

The summer after my sophomore year of college, I finally felt like enough was enough.  I’d been hitting the gym a couple of times a week and trying to go for healthy meals, like turkey sandwiches and salads, when I could. But I knew I needed to make a serious change.

I came across a 21 Day Challenge on Twitter that suggested cutting out pastries, donuts, cookies, chips, and soda for three weeks, and I decided to try it out. After a month, I lost about 10 pounds. That's when the motivation to change my lifestyle really kicked in.

THE WORKOUTS:

When I first started cranking my fitness game up a notch, I focused on building my running endurance. In the beginning, I could only run about a mile at a time. As I got better, I signed up for a few 5-Ks and eventually found running to be fun not torturous.

I lifted weights with some friends, but never felt fully comfortable strength training until I started working with a trainer (about two years into my fitness journey). He taught me about proper form, how to use different kinds of equipment, like kettlebells, and how to plan out my workouts. I totally fell in love with lifting and even learned a few power-lifting moves.

The gym became a place of empowerment, instead of a place of intimidation.

THE FOOD:

My body felt so good after kicking refined carbs and sweets to the curb. Adios, bloating! 

I started cooking for myself and finding ways to get more veggies into my diet. I ate zucchini noodles instead of spaghetti, and even nixed burger buns for portabella mushrooms.

After years of not eating breakfast, I realized that eating five or six smaller meals throughout the day kept me feeling satisfied. I made sure each of my meals had lean protein like chicken or turkey, and I pumped up the green veggies, too.

One of the toughest changes was cutting back on alcohol as much as possible, saving it only for special occasions.

THE REWARD:

After three years, I’ve lost 40 pounds and transformed my entire outlook on life. I was always  an energetic and loud person, but worried that people saw me as the funny fat kid. On top of that, I never had the confidence to wear a two-piece bathing suit growing up, but I bought my first bikini last summer!

Now I push myself to be better every day and reach the goals I set. I feel physically and mentally stronger than ever. I can even deadlift 255 pounds!

Michelle’s Number One Tip:

You don’t have to try crazy diets and cleanses to feel better and fitter. Just try to cut one type of junk food at a time. It’s a slow process, but it’s OK to take it one step at a time. Your body and your life won’t change overnight.

It’s taken me three years to come this far, and there’s no stopping me now.

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The Personal Victories 5 Real Women Treasure More than their Weight Loss

After years of stress eating, Whitney DePasquale found a healthier way to blow off steam: daily circuit workouts that included badass moves like tire flips. After 11 months of exercise and healthy eating, DePasquale's mental and emotional transformation surprised her even more than the physical changes she saw.

“Every relationship I have whether personal or professional has grown stronger because of my improved self-confidence,” she says. “I no longer doubt myself or my abilities because I know I can do anything I set my mind to.”

“My Mindset About Food is Much Healthier”

When a vicious cycle of restrictive diets and hardcore CrossFit workouts left trainer Dell Farrell feeling burnt out, a more flexible relationship with food and a focus on strength training helped her become fitter and happier than ever.

“I used to stress constantly and cancel dinner plans because I was rigid about what foods I could eat,” says Farrell. “Now that I focus on eating whole foods, while still enjoying ice cream and pizza, I'm not obsessed with dieting,” she says. “It’s so freeing to live a more balanced lifestyle.”

“Fitness Isn't A Chore, It's a Passion”

Former college athlete Johnelle Burnett joined a 12-week transformation challenge at her gym to lose the weight she’d gained during her pregnancies. After hitting the gym hard and winning the challenge, Burnett realized how much she loved working toward new fitness goals.

“I’m currently three weeks out from my first full marathon,” says Burnett. “I even took swimming lessons so that I can participate in triathlons this summer,” she adds. “I love finding new challenges to really put my soul and energy into.”

“I Feel Strong Enough to Tackle Life’s Challenges”

When Groupon inspired Lauren Plucino to try kickboxing workouts and a new meal delivery service, she discovered how much a healthy lifestyle could help her deal with the everyday life.

“My stress level has improved so much since I started eating healthy and working out,” says Plucino. “It’s still hard to deal with stress at work or with family, but now that I have the energy to deal with it. I have a better attitude.”

"I Can Keep Up with My Daughter" 

Anyce Banks was borderline diabetic when she found out she was pregnant. Her daughter inspired a complete lifestyle makeover, and after three years of clean eating, workout classes, and weights, Banks has never felt healthier. 

"My daugher loves to be outside and go to the park," she says. "For so long, I just sent her up the slide and waited at the bottom. I'll never forget the first time I could go down the slide with her because I was small enough to fit." 

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