How to Get Rid of Chubbiness

Chubbiness can affect your self-image and self-confidence and keep you from living the life you want to live. To get rid of excess body fat, you have to make a commitment to yourself and to a new lifestyle. Taking drastic measures, such as starvation dieting and over-exercising, will have an adverse affect on your health and may lead to weight gain and yo-yo dieting. But with a healthy amount of exercise and a reduced-calorie diet, you can gradually peel away the layers of fat.

Instructions

• 1

  Cut back your daily caloric intake. Medline Plus recommends creating a healthy caloric deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day. Because there are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat, you lose one to two pounds per week.

• 2

  Improve your eating habits. Limit bad fats such as butter and coconut oil and opt instead for healthy fats, such as olive oil and canola oil. Replace simple carbohydrates, including white bread and white rice, with complex carbohydrates, such as whole-grain bread and brown rice. Fill up on fiber and vitamins from fruits and vegetables. Eat calcium-rich low-fat or non-fat dairy products and enjoy skinless chicken, turkey, fish, nuts and beans for protein.

• 3

  Divide you food intake over five to six small meals per day. Eating frequent meals provides your body with constant energy and keeps your metabolism activated. It also makes you feel less hungry because you are eating every two to three hours.

• 4

  Set aside at least 45 minutes, three times a week for cardiovascular exercise. Burn calories by jogging, swimming, biking, skipping or stair-climbing. If you are new to exercising, gradually build up your endurance. Start with 15-minute sessions and increase the length of your workouts as you get stronger. The more intense your workouts, the more calories you burn. Add variety in the form of group classes or purchase an exercise tape for days you don't feel like going outdoors or to a gym to workout.

• 5

  Perform strength training exercises on two or three days of the week to maintain and increase muscle tissue. Exercise your arms, legs, chest, shoulders, back and abdominal muscles. Muscle tissue requires more energy to sustain itself and therefore your body's metabolism works harder and you burn fat. Take on a full-body approach, as you cannot spot-reduce fat.

• 6

  Make water your staple beverage because it aids in boosting metabolism and promotes digestive health. Water helps your kidneys function properly so your liver doesn't have to take over and is able to metabolize more fat. Water also makes you feel fuller so you don't overeat.

• 7

  Get eight hours of sleep every night. Sleep equips you with the ability to better withstand stress. High stress levels promote the release of cortisol in your body. This stress hormone is linked to weight gain and cravings. While you sleep, your body also restores itself from the day before. The muscles that were broken down from exercising are repaired and get stronger during sleep.