Want to know how I did it?! Let me tell you:
1. DIETING - What and how to eat for quick weight-loss
The information I came across (in laymen's terms):
a. Your body is most likely programmed to store carbohydrates (starches) as fat, making you pack on the pounds every time you eat.
b. If you cut out starches for 4 weeks, and stick to proteins and most veggies (not the starchy one's: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, corn), you reset your body's programming.
c. After the 4 weeks, your body will use carbohydrates to build muscle instead, making a lean, mean You!
How I applied it:
a. I had Oats for breakfast (not instant oats, the good old normal oats you need to make on the stove), with honey and cinnamon.
b. For lunch most days I made salad with whatever I could find in the fridge (tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, feta cheese, an apple, tuna, etc).
c. For dinner I had a protein (chicken or fish mostly, just because I've never been too fond of red meat, but you can have any meat) with steamed mixed veggies. I even had the odd carrot, baby corn or peas with the mixed veggies, but as it was moderate I didn't fuss about it too much.
d.During the day I snacked continuously, not too bothered by counting what I'm having, on different kinds of proteins (eggs - boiled or scrambled, nuts, yogurt, cheese, etc).
e. I cut out soda pops, and fruit juices - which are filled with sugars - and cut down on coffee and tea. I mostly stuck to good old H2O - water!
f. One day in a week I carbo-loaded. I had pasta, or potatoes, or bread, or anything else I felt like. This was in order to fool my body into thinking there is ample supply of starches, otherwise it thinks it has to go into storage mode to keep me from dying of hunger.
2. EXERCISE - How to make the MOST of your training time for quick weight-loss
The information I came across (in laymen's terms):
a. Training in the right heart rate zone has a huge effect on your goal for exercising.
b. If you train in the zone of between 60% and 75% of your maximum heart rate, your body goes to stored fat (the one's packed around your thighs and stomach!) and uses this for fuel.
c. If you train a bit harder and work up a proper sweat, your body needs more fuel, faster, and will go get it from what's available in your blood stream (all the carbohydrates you ate in the preceding 48 hours will be readily available there).
d. Thus, what you ate in the past two days will not be stored and won't add to your bulges, but the bulges you already have will mostly likely stay the same.
How I applied it:
a. I cycled (in the gym) at the desired heart rate (60% - 75% of my max) whenever I could. Sometimes once a week, other times I managed 3 times a week.
b. Having to stay in this training zone felt like I was sitting on my sofa having a relaxing time - which feels silly in the gym where people walk around and look at you with strange facial expressions! I'm sure they thought I was wasting my time! I ended up following Facebook or Twitter on my mobile while cycling, just so that I didn't have to see them looking at me!
c. But 5 weeks down the road I'm smiling and they're still sweating and struggling.
How to calculate your heart rate zones
a. Take 220, and subtract your age (in my case 220 - 33 = 187). This is 100%, your maximum heart rate!
b. Now, take this number, and multiply it by 60% and then by 75% (in my case,112 and 140). This is the most optimum training zone for quick weight-loss! Easy peasy!
