5 Ways to Lose Weight Fast on New Year

After the Christmas and new year indulgences most of us surface again in a few pounds heavier. That's to be expected but no one wants still to be hanging on to that extra weight come the spring. So if your Lycra's little overstretched a few changes to the structure and content of your diet should see you lose that excess weight in no time. The right strategy should help you do this without having to struggle with poor energy levels or hunger pangs, with improving your power-to-weight ratio, performance and comfort in your regular clothes. A straightforward weight-loss plan is of course to simply eat less, however this often sees the body simply adapting by reducing its energy requirement.

Traditional low-calories diets simply starve the body's stores of carbohydrate so when your energy needs are increased, your muscle protein is used for energy. This can lead to a dwindling metabolism, as the amount of muscle that needs to be supported reduces and the metabolic rate drops. Although this may result in the scales recording a lower body weight, this is likely to be primarily muscle, carbohydrate stores and water loss and as you return to your regular diet, it is then much easier for you to lay down fat.

This is the classic pattern for weight loss and regain with some fast weight loss followed by regain and additional weight again a few months later. Following a higher protein diet that encourages regular eating and has only a small deficit in calories, however, can limit the extent of this muscle loss. With the help of a few good fats, metabolism boosting foods and smart training, you can lose the fat while driving your metabolic rate higher, too.

The reality is that as you start the new year you will probably be more motivated to make some positive changes and any single one of these changes may help you shed some of the weight you have gained over the festive season. Combining all of these changes, however, will bring the best improvements while providing a diet that will support energy, recovery and performance as well as encouraging a shrinking waistline.