It’s spring and that means we begin to peel off layers. Tank tops, sundresses and other arm showing garments or on their way in and for those arm conscious fashionistas, it’s a dreaded time of year. But you can fend off fat arms before summer time if you just learn to control your mouth. Well, your mouth and what you put in it! You can’t get rid of flabby arms if you don’t control your calorie intake. And it’s not as hard as it seems.
The key is to learn how to manipulate your hunger while simultaneously increasing the nutrients going to your active tissues instead of your fat storing areas. This will let your body know that it’s getting all the nutrients it needs without having to push you to eat more. If you follow the following steps, you’ll not only be tank top ready but bikini ready in no time!
- Don’t eliminate food groups – The only exception here is the last meal of your day, before bed. During this time eliminating carbs can potentially increase growth hormone output. For the most part, however, you never want to eliminate food groups. If you take out carbs, your blood sugar will plummet and you will get hungry. If you take out vegetables, you will not have as much bulk in your stomach which will leave you hungry. And if you take out protein, you will miss out on hormonal changes that make you feel full and you will get hungry.
- Avoid long stretches of time without eating – Regardless of how big a meal is, after three hours your body will start to digest its own tissues in order to survive. This happens because your body doesn’t have a good mechanism for storing carbs and protein after the three hour mark. So if you eat controlled quantities of food every three hours, you can feel fuller on less food-you avoid low blood sugar and the digestion of your own tissues.
- Avoid the whole grain craze – Whole grains aren’t unhealthy, but they aren’t the healthiest source of carbs either. For hunger control, you are far better off focusing on legumes and beans. They have much more fiber, about 300% more, and keep your blood sugar stable. Recall that stable blood sugar reduces the drive to eat.
- Strive to reduce body fat – Although a catch 22, as you lose body fat you become more sensitive to insulin. In other words, your body becomes better at shuffling a higher percentage of what you eat to active tissues instead of fat tissues. This means that you can eat little less while still getting the same amount of nutrition.
- Don’t forget to eat even if you are taking stimulants – Whether you are taking diet pills, coffee or drinking loose leaf teas, you can’t forget to keep on eating every couple of hours. Because although you may not be hungry while the stimulant is in your system, once it wears off your drive to eat will be uncontrollable and you’ll fall off the healthy eating wagon.
- Crank up your vegetable intake: This is the only food group that will increase your sense of fullness and your nutrient load while not increasing your caloric intake. A simple approach here is to simply cover half of your plate with vegetables every time you eat. Trick yourself by filling your plate with veggies as opposed to other high caloric stuff and you’ll win the battle of the bulge!
Don’t try to suppress hunger, it’s a losing battle. Your drive to eat is simply too strong to dismiss. Instead, learn how to manage it so that you get by on less food for faster arm fat loss!
