Letting yourself go – even over 30 years – can triple your cancer risk. So, cut it out
There's a reason the word Dadbod is touted with such dissaproval- it's the very antithesis of a longer life. So when new research found that being continually overweight from 20s onwards could triple your cancer risk, we had to step in. We get it, you've got a busy lifestyle - your work, your partner, your social life - and sometimes it's your training routine that gets sidelined.
But, even if this non-stop lifestyle may prevent you from hitting the gym as often as you should, you shouldn’t sacrifice your health for your paycheck just yet. We’ve got some health-boosting fat loss tips that can be applied to everyday life, stopping you from slipping into a sedentary spiral.
Maximise your daily cuppa
Your choice of brew could mean the difference between supercharged and super-sized. A cup of coffee with milk and sugar can hide 100 extra calories compared to your black Americano. If you’re not a fan of the bitter stuff, you don’t have to lose out on caffeine’s metabolism-boosting benefits. The antioxidants in green tea called catechins maximise your metabolic rate, but the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine has suggested that green tea may play a role in reversing stress. Anxiety increases your body’s production of cortisol, a hormone that contributes to belly fat storage. Not only does green tea chill you out – it helps you dispose of excess calories efficiently, too.
If you’re really tight for time, nutritionist and weight management specialist Rhiannon Lambert recommends condensing the benefits of green tea into a single shot of matcha (£25 per box, teapigs.com), a concentrated tea that theJournal of Chromatology found contains 137 times more catechins than normal green tea. Optimise your mid-morning drinks run and give health another shot.
Work out more efficiently
Just because you can’t fit in a full hour’s gym session doesn’t mean you can throw in the towel completely. You need to make sure that every minute counts. Full-body blitz workouts and high-intensity interval training will harness the power of EPOC to leave you burning all day long.
“With low intensity steady-state exercise like running, the clock stops when you stop,” says PT Rogan Allport. “HIIT will spike your metabolic rate, so even after you leave the gym your body will be burning fat because your metabolism is still working.” Simple full-body movements like kettlebell swings at high reps will kickstart your heart, or you could try something a bit more advanced like this brutal barbell complex.
Become an early riser
Consider sneaking in a quick 10-minute HIIT circuit before breakfast. Doing cardio after you’ve fasted burns 20% more fat than a gym sesh after a meal. A study in the Journal of Physiology found it improves your body’s response to sugary treats, staving off diabetes. Getting up 10 minutes early for a burpee blast won’t just strip inches from your waist – it could add years onto your life, too.
But what if even the strongest coffee won’t prize you out of bed before 7am? iPhone users can get Step Out Of Bed, an alarm that will only turn off once you take 30 paces in the morning. Android users can get Alarmy, an app which will turn off once you snap a pic of a certain object. Fine if it’s your coffee pot, not so much if it’s your pillow.
Snack better
Step away from the chocolate biccies; your snacking needs to be smarter if you’re looking to shed pounds. “You want to be making sure that the snacks you are eating are not causing a release of insulin, which triggers fat storage,” says Lambert. She recommends protein-based snacks, like beef jerky. These provide no insulin spike and helps fuel muscle growth.
“Almonds are also a great snack with healthy fats,” adds Lambert. A study by researchers from Penn State University found consuming a handful daily led to smaller waistlines and decreased body fat percentage. Other high-fibre snacks like kale crisps or a pear will keep you fuller for longer, while cashews and pumpkin seeds will top you up with zinc, a mineral that not only helps prevent diabetes but ups testosterone too. Stopping your body from storing fat while boosting your sex drive – that's how to snack right.
Get back to nature
“Get up and go for a walk every two hours and more importantly get some fresh air,” suggests Lambert. Bonus points if you can find a park: researchers at the University of Michigan found that pastoral scenes were proven to reduce stress, which means nature can prevent the increase of blubber-boosting cortisol as well as getting you out of your office chair.
Bringing stress home with you interferes with your sleeping patterns, and not getting enough shuteye is another unlikely weight-gain sleeper agent. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says when you get too little rest, your metabolism slows down and makes it easier for your body to store fat. A potted plant or landscape desktop background will have a similar calming effect at home as a walk in the park does at work. Bring outside indoors to banish your waisltine woes.
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