In our modern society, many people are leading a sedentary lifestyle with no physical activity and poor nutrition. Consequently, health issues are on the rise raising growing concerns such that staying fit and trim seems to be a challenge for most people nowadays. Every year in January most people have a resolution to lose weight, and they always ask the same question, "How can I lose weight?" Not only how to lose weight but how to lose weight quickly and safely at the comfort of their home. Here are 6 simple tips:

Burn more calories than you consume

First and foremost, when it comes to losing weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. For example if your daily calorie intake is 3000, you need to burn more than 3000 calories to start losing weight. This is called a calorie deficit. Of course what you eat will be used up as energy gradually because our bodies naturally burn calories when we are active not only when we are exercising. But you'll need that extra effort via exercise to start using these excess calories in the form of body fat as fuel in order to lose weight. Say you're burning 3500 calories, these extra 500 calories spent will make use of your fat stores for energy and this is what you want.

One of the easiest and fastest ways to be able to burn more calories than you consume is to limit your carb intake drastically because generally people tend to consume excess carbs and this adds calories fast. When you limit your carb intake, you will focus more on protein and fats thereby following a keto diet. Carbs are converted to glucose into our blood which is used as energy for our daily activities and any excess glucose is stored as glycogen primarily in our liver and muscle tissues but when the latter are saturated with glycogen, the excess is stored as fat reserves. When your body's glucose level drops, it will make use of your glycogen stores to supply energy when needed. The goal of the keto diet is to deplete your glycogen stores and make use of your fat reserves instead to fuel energy and in doing so, you will burn your belly fat and lose weight. Some people who go on a keto diet usually have recourse to a specific type of supplement designed for this nutrition routine like Keto Collagen Protein Powder With MCT Oil. It's important to note that adhering to a keto diet is not recommended for an extended period of time.

Start with some bodyweight exercises

Getting exercise everyday can be a challenge but you don't necessarily need to hit the gym or go in the park to lose some weight. You can do so at home by building muscle without weights. The challenge is to perform some bodyweight exercises which will definitely help you get started and can be performed freely without any equipment. Try doing several sets of squats(4 sets of 25), lunges(2 sets of 25 for each leg), push-ups(5-8 sets of 10), leg raises(2 sets of 25), sit-ups(2 sets of 25), crunches(2 sets of 25), skipping rope(as much as you can) and jumping jacks(6-8 sets of 25). Jumping jacks are one of the best bodyweight cardio exercises you can do at home without any equipment, if you perform them intensely enough, you will burn fat and lose weight.

Get minimum rest in between like 1-2 minutes between each exercise and 30 seconds between sets. If you can't perform the number of sets and repeats, simply do as much as you can or gradually increase them to build up your progress.

Using bodyweight exercises is all you need to start raising your metabolic activity and shedding unwanted body fat. To accelerate this process, you can perform them using the high intensity training strategy. For example when you're doing push-ups, do so at an accelerated pace or more vigorously meaning your heart will beat faster and you will burn more calories. It's a proven fact that the faster your heart beats, the more calories you will burn but be careful because if you're not fit, raising your heart rate too much can be counterproductive and potentially hazardous. You'd better start slow and once you're fitter, you can increase the intensity of the exercises.

Getting at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity will be enough to change your body fat levels. It is said between 30 minutes to 1 hour is enough to arrive at great weight loss results you can be proud of.

Plan your meals

If you're on the go, then making your meals ahead of time will also help you cut extra calories. Spend more time in your kitchen preparing healthy meals as this will pay off in the long run. Tupperware will be your best friend. How many times have you been in a hurry and forgotten to eat and instead went to the drive-through? Having a plan in place for quick grab and go meals will help guard against calorie laden meals.

Choose healthier cooking methods

When cooking your food, opt for baking, steaming, boiling and stir frying instead of deep frying. You don't need the unnecessary calories from the unhealthy oils but privileging a drizzle of olive oil or flaxseed oil in your salad dressing is recommended as these type of oils are packed with omega-3 monounsaturated fats, the healthy kind. The great thing about omega-3 fats is they can actually promote fat loss due to their essential fatty acids(EFAs) content. Of course, don't go overboard with them as they also have calories. Anything in excess is never good.

Take an active role in your grocery shopping

It is up to you to be involved in your personal weight loss efforts. You must take an active role in your own grocery shopping. Most junk foods are contained on the inner sections of the grocery store. It is essential that you avoid temptation so that you can stay on task with your weight loss efforts. Focus more on fat-burning and nutrient-dense foods like
100% wholegrain oats, oat bran, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, eggs, fish, chicken/turkey breast, lean beef/buffalo/bison, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, brown rice, sweet potatoes, yams, greek yogurt, skim/low-fat milk, cottage cheese, olive oil, vegetables and fruits instead of empty calorie foods which are mostly processed foods like white bread, cakes, biscuits, jam, donuts, pastries, ice cream, potato chips, cookies, soda pop, beer and so on. Have water as your beverage of choice and drink green tea as well. One of the best green teas you can have is Matcha green tea which have lots of antioxidants and proven fat burning properties. Making the habit of consuming one daily cup of Matcha green tea is a great step forward.

When eating, always control your food portions and don't go overboard with any item notably carbs as your body can only assimilate a certain amount of calories at one sitting with the excess calories getting stored as adipose tissue which is body fat. To have an idea how to get the food portion size right, measure a fist-sized portion of complex carbs, protein and vegetables. This is considered a balanced and nutritious meal and can be eaten 2 times a day for lunch and dinner. Some examples of food item combination are brown rice/chicken breast/kale, sweet potato/cod/spinach, quinoa/salmon/broccoli, brown rice/lean bison/asparagus. For breakfast, why not have some wholegrain oats or oat bran mixed with some low-fat milk, some fruits like apples, bananas or blueberries and sweetened with manuka honey plus 1-2 boiled eggs to start your day. If you're hungry in late afternoon, consider snacking on some nuts like almonds or walnuts, this is really healthy and will keep hunger pangs at bay even with just a couple of these. Picking the right foods is crucial and of utmost importance for your weight loss journey and never let yourself starve as this is not the ideal way to lose weight healthily.

Use supplements

Making use of supplements can offer you an upper edge in your quest for weight loss. I am not talking about fat burners here, but rather using a pre workout. A pre workout will enhance your workout intensity and performance by boosting your energy and strength levels and consequently you can train with more endurance, focus, power and stamina helping you lose weight even faster. A pre workout can come in the form of powder or capsules and if you are health conscious, I will totally recommend a pre workout without artificial sweeteners like sucralose for peace of mind. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener about 600 times sweeter than table sugar and although it's made from real sugar, it's non-caloric but that's not a good news for people who want to lose weight as sucralose is not natural since it's chemically altered. I would still prefer something like stevia or honey as natural sweetener.

Consider also branched chain amino acids(BCAAs) as these will help your body build and maintain lean muscle mass, reduce muscle soreness post-workout and drop body fat faster. BCAAs are available in capsules or powder too and a better and healthier choice would be choosing a bcaa powder without artificial sweeteners. I always check ingredients in any supplement if I intend to buy them and I usually avoid those containing artificial ingredients such as artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors as I am doubtful to their long term effects on health with prolonged use.

If you want to have recourse to whey protein supplements, try the thermogenic whey protein which is becoming increasingly popular for people who want to burn fat and lose weight. This type of supplement is like 3 in 1 as you get whey protein, pre workout and fat burner. Whey protein will definitely help you lose weight as it is low in calories but yet satiating and combined with a proper exercise regimen, you'll shed the pounds even faster. There are also other types of protein supplements you can consume, these include hydrolyzed whey protein, grass fed whey isolate, whey concentrate, micellar casein, egg albumin and protein blends. Micellar casein protein for instance is low in calories, slow digesting and will keep hunger pangs at bay. Having enough protein in your diet will build muscle, kick your metabolism into high gear and stimulate the fat burning process.


During your weight loss journey, healthy nutrition is key for rapid weight loss but it can be sometimes difficult to eat healthily, this is why a nutritional supplement like a protein bar can be very convenient at times so as to prevent binging and unhealthy eating.

By adhering to these simple tips, you can get started right away in your weight loss journey. The battle starts at home itself and you need to pay special attention to your lifestyle and eating habits, this is where the problem lies most of the time.

All the best,
Jean Lam