Dancing with the Stars’ Ricki Lake has lost 12 inches in just three weeks on the dancing show. One of her competitors Nancy Grace says she has lost at least 10 lbs. as well. Ricki Lake, who is in the throes of planning her second wedding, says she’s more excited to try on wedding gowns with her newfound fitness. Pretty inspiring, right?
It seems each season now on the top-rated ABS show “Dancing with the Stars” someone has a physical transformation. Just last season, Kirstie Alley came on the show, became a fan favorite and now has a 100-lb. weight loss to show for it. If these aren’t motivational reasons to exercise, we don’t know what is.
So I know we can’t all workout with a professional ballroom dancer for four to eight hours a day and get a constant spray tan to hide all our imperfections, but there is one thing these stars are doing that you can do: get moving! You’ve seen the results on these amateur dancers, so sign up for a dance class or just go for a long brisk walk. Whatever it is, just start moving.
You can also try some of these six tips for weight loss:
1. Eat Red Peppers: This spicy addition to a meal can help rev up your metabolism; it’s also a good source of vitamins A, C, B6, folate, potassium, vitamin E, vitamin K and fiber.
2. Replace Your Snacks with Soups: Swapping out two typical daily snacks for two servings of soup may result in up to a 50 percent greater weight loss among overweight dieters — even if the soup and the snacks have the same exact number of calories. Your best bet is to go with soups rich in vegetables and low in sodium.
3. Drink Lots of Water: Drop more pounds faster by drinking two cups of water before each meal. You’ve probably heard that drinking water before you eat can help you lose weight, the theory behind this recommendation is that the water helps fill you up so that you end up eating less at mealtime, which leads to fewer calories consumed in the day.
4. Drink Green Tea: Chemicals in green tea, along with caffeine, are thought to burn fat and reduce weight. They also improve body measurement parameters like body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio. Try replacing your morning cup of coffee with green tea and have another cup later in the day for an afternoon pick-me-up.
5. Make Sure You Drink Your Milk: People trying to lose weight might have greater success if they have higher intakes of calcium from dairy products (e.g. milk, cheese, yogurt) and higher levels of vitamin D in their blood. Make sure you’re drinking low-fat or skim milk and try Greek yogurt since it has more protein than regular. Also, avoid flavored yogurts since they are just loaded with sugar.
6. When You Get the Weight Off, Keep it Off: Exercise is your best bet to make sure that the pounds you shed stay off. Set a limit for yourself. If you find yourself gaining more then 5 lbs., it’s time to get back on track. If you don’t like scales, simply use your clothes. If they are feeling tight, it’s time to get moving.
Finally, for more weight loss tips read this article on how to lose belly fat fast.
