High Calorie-Burning Tips For The New Year

But before I start, if you have a health issue or you are just a bit concerned about how calorie-burning might affect your health, please consult your doctor first. Especially for those people who are trying to build up some strength after being ill or have been inactive for a long period of time. Always remember, safety comes first.

• TAKE YOUR TIME: Despite so many influencers on social media would like you to believe that they magically transformed their bodies in seconds, obvious changes to your physical appearance and health will never happen overnight. Nobody who has never workout before can intend to build 10 kilos of lean muscle in just a few weeks, nor do you lose tons of weight and keep it off in a short time. Practising a long-term healthy mindset is more important than anything else. Step by step changes, building and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the only magic component here, as opposed to those dangerous calorie-restricted diets, food supplements, or unsupervised workouts that can only hurt your metabolism and make you weaker sooner or later.
• GET MOTIVATED: Motivation is key and you most likely won't achieve anything at least you are well motivated. Keeping your motivation high is the key to success. For example, pairing an activity you like (such as listening to music) with something you do not really like (e.g. exercise) will allow you to enjoy a pleasurable activity when you are doing something you do not like. This will sort of trick your brain, attaching positive associations to both types of activities. 
• CHALLENGE YOURSELF: A good way to start a new version of yourself is by setting up a challenge. This does not mean that you need to do something difficult: you can start by buying a fitness wearable tracker and aim for the so much wanted 10,000 steps a day or start doing push-ups. This is a great way to start and set up the bases for a well-established mindset, and a "must-do" even for those days when you really feel like doing nothing. Even if one day you are forced to miss your challenge, that would be fine, try to catch up the day after. Every little step you take will bring you closer to a healthier version of yourself. Sometimes challenges work better when you involve someone else so that you can both challenge each other. Then, once the challenge is completed or on the way, it is time to start thinking about your next challenge.
• TRACK IT ALL: Tracking what you eat and move as a way of counting calories (in and out) is important to both following your progress and building up habits and your motivation out of your achievements.

• MIXED AEROBICS / ANAEROBICS EXERCISES: Running is the easiest exercise you can get into since all you have to do is to put on your running shoes and start running. Aerobic/Cardio exercises such as running or cycling are the most effective way to burn calories and lose fat,  and is great for your heart and circulatory health. But by building muscle, you will increase the basal metabolic rate (BMR), helping you to burn more calories while resting because muscles require more energy for maintenance. So the best is to do a combination of both exercises, the so-called Hybrid Workout. Aim for 30-60 mins of aerobic exercise (running, brisk walking or cycling) and at least 10-20 mins of anaerobic exercise such as full workout calisthenic or the typical weight lifting exercises.
• HIIT is here to help: The one very trendy type of workout nowadays is High-Intensity Interval Training. Though being mostly a type of aerobic exercise, for comparison, this is equivalent to a mix of aerobic/anaerobic exercise, due to the high-intensity involved (~anaerobic).

• PRACTISE CALORIE-COUNTING: As mentioned above, a recent clinical study and scientific publication by Virtual Personal Trainer has shown the importance of tracking for long-term weight loss and maintenance.
• MIND SNACKS CONSUMPTION: Having foods that are healthy and not high calorific is fundamental for losing weight and maintenance. Another bad idea is to start cooking when you are hungry since typically, you will start having lots of snacks during the cooking process which might result in you having an average extra of 100-200 calories into your diet (per meal) on top of the number of calories you are about to eat after cooking. 
• RIGHT vs WRONG DRINKS: Another important thing to do, to kickstart your metabolism, is to drink tons of water or any sugar-free substitute such as coffee or tea. This will help you to eliminate toxins, hydrate your body and boost satisfaction, making you feel full longer time, and reducing food intake. Drinking less alcohol will also boost weight loss as alcoholic drinks are high-calorie, bad for your metabolism and in excess not good for your heart health and just generally not necessary. 
• BE AWARE OF EMPTY CALORIES: These are the types of calories that people often do not take into account such as alcoholic and sugared drinks and oils. For example, lattes and other flavored hot drinks typically contain a small amount of worth healthy nutritious calories, rather than tons of useless ones. Another example is the oils used for cooking. Oils and fats in general are super high-calorie energy-dense types of food and it gets mixed up with the rest of the ingredients of the foods you cook. Be mindful about every calorie you eat to avoid not seeing weight loss results: every calorie count.
• PREPARE MEALS WITH TIME: Prepping meals in advance not only can help you to save some dollars but it can also help you to choose good and healthy foods around when you are hungry.
• SAY NO TO TEMPTATIONS: The best way not to get tempted is to remove all the temptations from around you. Do not fill the cupboards with snacks. Do not stock up on alcoholic drinks. Do not buy 3 packs of chocolate cakes because there is a 3-for-2 offer. Do not eat while you are playing with your phone, just be you and the food. By being healthy-minded and conscious about what you eat, you will feel less hungry by the time you finish your meal.

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