Every girls New Years’  resolution is to lose weight. Most of us ate poorly over the holidays, and we now feel guiltier than that time we went on a midnight McDonalds bender last semester. To top it off, spring break isn’t that far away and I know all of you ladies out there want to fit into that hot, sexy bikini for Cancun! So where to start? I never said this was going to be easy, but everything begins with an entire lifestyle change. Follow these tips that I’ve used to lose weight fast and you’ll be on your way to looking better and feeling better.

1. Drink a lot of water. No alcohol (yes, I said NO alcohol), sodas, sugary juices or coffee. While coffee does make you go to the bathroom, the excessive sugar and calories could reverse the effect. If you really need coffee, get organic coffee and add low-fat milk and one packet of raw sugar. 

2. Drink a lot of green tea. Go to a local vitamin store or to Whole Foods and buy powdered green tea. This helps significantly increase your metabolism and burn more calories. If you buy the kind in the packet, you will need to drink several of them a day.  This is because the packet itself actually blocks out the real good stuff that helps you the most. 

3. Eat a lot of protein and don’t fry it up or cover it in grease or other fatty ingredients. In fact, eat more protein than you body needs in a day. If you are getting more protein than you need, your body will go into carb-burning mode because it will realize that it is getting enough food and doesn’t need to store carbs and sugars in the form of fat. Carbs are also brain fuel and the primary source of energy when working out. If you have enough protein, your body will start using all of these carbs. To find resources on how to calculate your daily protein intake go to mypramid.gov

4. Eat very few carbohydrates. You body does need carbs and saturated fats. You may become sick if you completely eliminate them from your diet. 

5. CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO. Ladies, we burn so many calories through cardio. Try for 45-60 minutes 5 days a week. Switch between treadmill, cycling, and the elliptical. Make sure you are working out at your calorie-burning heart rate because if you don’t, you are running and sweating for nothing because your body isn’t burning anything. (To find out your calorie-burning heart rate, visit mypyramid.gov)

6. Make full-out protein shakes with whey protein, yogurt, fish oil, Vitamin C, and fiber. Don’t skimp out here. This is a super-easy way to get protein if you have trouble, like me, eating as much protein as you need. I make my protein shake with about 45 grams of total protein from all of the ingredients I put in.  Also, I put one scoop more of fiber than I need. This helps clean out your body faster. 

For more ideas on how to spice up your weight lose extravaganza, I suggest you pick up Michael Thurmond’s  “12 Day Body Shaping Miracle.” The book has meal plans and exercise plans based on different body types and calorie-burning heart rates which is really helpful because it caters to just about everyone.

— By Erin McClary