Bob Harper from Biggest Loser has been helping people lose weight (read the latest groundbreaking research) for years, and has been super successful at it. Here are 5 tips that he thinks are the most important to slim down for summer.
1. Hydration, hydration, hydration – This is number one according to Bob and he wants you to stay hydrated all day. Bob says that once you wake up, the first thing you need to do is have a tall glass of water. It will get your digestion going and your metabolism revved up. Then, throughout the day, before each time you eat, down another tall glass of water. It will help slow down your eating and keep you from overeating.
2. Protein – Make sure you have protein at every meal. Morning, noon and night. It will keep you fuller longer.
3. Don’t drink your calories – Some of those coffee drinks can be upwards of 500 to 600 calories. Not to mention, be careful at happy hour. A margarita can also be in that same calorie range. Bob says, “Eat your calories, don’t ever drink your calories!”
4. Know your stuff – It is important that you start measuring your food, and know what you are consuming by reading all the nutrition facts of everything you are putting in your body. There is so much processed foods out there, we don’t even know anymore what we are putting in our bodies. Most important things you need to know when reading nutrition facts:
- Serving size
- Fat
- Calories
Bob Harper is awesome! I grapple with the “don’t drink your calories” thing. I am super careful not to drink soda, coffee drinks, alcohol–but I make a smoothie every day with pretty much my full day’s worth of fruits and veg. Ugh! I wonder what he would say to that.
I love Bob Harper! And surprisingly I have been doing most of these things: the splurge meal and the water drinking come to mind. I have also been staying away from the gourmet coffee drinks at Starbucks; plain iced coffee with splenda has become my drink of choice.