How to reduce your body fat percentage

It's many a girl's dream to lose a noticeable amount of fat in just over a week.

Personal trainer Nicholas Polo says it's absolutely possible - if you think like an athlete. 

Doing short sets of heavy weights every day will melt away fat without having to pound for hours on the cross trainer.

And drinking Korean ginseng tea - which keeps blood sugar stable - and plenty of water, will keep hunger cravings at bay.

Writing for Healthista, below he shares his top 12 tips for super fast fat loss...

Personal trainer Nicholas Polo says it's possible to lose around five per cent body fat in ten days by thinking like an athlete or an actor transforming themselves for an upcoming role

The difference between losing fat and losing fat in record time is the same as driving on a road with speed bumps versus cruising on the highway. 

Which one is more fun? Understanding why fat loss takes longer than you expect will help you develop strategies to stay on target.

Hormonally speaking, women tend to burn fat at a slower pace than men.

Bad news? Not necessarily. Women in general are more mentally determined and can stay more focused at the task in hand.

The truth is that under the right training and nutrition programme a person can lose an average of five per cent body fat in as little as ten days.

During those ten days, you will have to take your journey seriously. 

You will have to think like an athlete going for the gold or an actor transforming themselves for an upcoming role. 

That means you will have to train daily and intensively but for no more than 20 minutes, stay away from foods that increase blood sugar and fuel up with all the necessary vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

That will give your body a good jump start and set your hormones in a metabolic boost that will quickly fight the fat away.

Following your ten day diet, things can relax but by then you will know what works best for your body and what doesn’t .

This will help you not only maintain your results - but continue improving them over time.

Ginseng tea keeps blood sugar levels stable, which stops spikes in hunger and helps to hone a flat stomach

1. DRINK KOREAN GINSENG OR GREEN TEA

If you check the diet plan of body competitors you will find that almost everyone is on green tea. 

The truth is, many kinds of teas have been associated with fat loss. 

However the one that I have found the best in getting rid of the bloating and keep the stomach flat is Korean Ginseng Tea.

And among other health benefits, the Korean Ginseng tea is a great blood sugar stabiliser.

Korean Ginseng (the brand) is a great product out there not just for taste but also results. So cheers to that.

Schedule the diet for after your period, as changes in hormones, bloating, cravings and a decrease in your iron level could affect the results (file photo)

2. DIET AFTER YOUR PERIOD

Women tend to eat differently depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle. 

Changes in hormones, bloating and cravings - as well as decrease in your iron level - could affect the results of your 10 day diet. 

So it's best to schedule your diet to start after your period. 

Get support. Having a personal trainer is not affordable for everyone and some will say my view on this is somewhat biased. 

But the truth is there is no substitute to a one-to-one training. 

The world’s best athletes have all coaches. There is a reason for it. 

To lose fat quickly, carry out 'drop sets': doing three sets of size repetitions of the heaviest amount possible

3. DO DROP SETS 

This is a resistance training technique where you perform an exercise at the maximum possible resistance (weight) for a number of reps. 

Then you reduce the weight immediately without break and continue for more reps until you reach failure.

Perform three to four sets and limit the reps of each set to six to ensure body definition and strength increase rather than bulkiness.

That means that the weight you start on your first set should be heavy enough so that you will not be able to do more than six reps without reducing the weight.

Don't bother doing cardio for more than 20 minutes, as this will burn muscle as well as fat

Once you finish one exercise quickly proceed to the next one.

For a great read on lifting heavy try Bob Harper’s The Skinny Rules (£10.99 Random House)  

4. DON'T BOTHER WITH CARDIO

Prolonged cardio, anyway. 

Doing cardio for over 20 minutes will burn fat but will also burn muscle. 

This is not your healthiest option. 

As we age we lose about 5 per cent muscle mass every decade.

Studies have shown that for every pound of muscle we gain, we burn about 50 extra calories a day. 

So, lift, pull and push weights and go for drop sets. 

Getting your cardio in from a short drop set workout is much more efficient and effective compared to the traditional hour long workouts.

5. KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET

Following drop sets weight training means your workout is going to be pretty intense. 

As you are going to be training on a daily basis for 10 days or so, limit your workout to 20 minutes to avoid overtraining.

An intense but short daily workout will do just the trick. 

Follow a split routine programme (day one: legs and abs, day two: chest and triceps, day three: shoulders and abs, day four: back and biceps, etc) to allow sufficient muscle rest in between workouts.

In order to lose fat, we must cut out sugar as it causes spikes in blood sugar levels. For a flat stomach, ditch bread, flour, gluten grains, rice and potatoes, and eat healthy fats like olive oil and protein instead

6. LIFT HEAVY

Don’t worry, you will not become Arnold. 

That would take a couple of hours of daily training and a lot more testosterone than you could possibly wish for. 

Lifting heavy weights in a drop set workout is one of the best ways to maximize fat burn in the shortest period of time without getting bulky.  

7.GO SUGAR FREE

Our body is fuelled with carbohydrates, fat and proteins which are used as our energy source throughout our day. 

Although fat is what we want to shave off, ironically, fatty food itself, does not make you fat. 

Our body utilises sugar and carbs with high Glycaemic Index (GI) and high Glycaemic Load (GL) as a first source of energy before it starts to burn fat.

Your flat stomach’s best friend is food that keeps your blood sugar at a steady state and not set you through hunger spikes and binging. 

So no breads, flour, gluten grains, rice and potato. 

Drinking more than two alcoholic drink stalls the body's metabolism for up to three days

A typical breakfast could be eggs with bacon; salmon or prawns with avocado for lunch and beef or bison with lettuce for dinner. 

Plan your dinner so that there is a two-hour fast before bedtime. Add plenty of olive oil and get your fats from the right source.

For your 10 day diet period, limit your fruit intake to avocado; yes it is a fruit.

Following your 10 day diet you may increase your fruit intake variety by adding berries, grapefruit and apricots.

8. NO ALCOHOL

I always said this went without saying but because I was asked this before, I thought I’d mention it again: no alcohol. 

Most of the alcohol you drink is converted into your body’s primary source of fuel for energy. 

Your body will use that fuel before it uses the fat. 

So you will store the fat from the fish and chips you had because your body is getting all its energy from the beer you chucked down instead.

More than two drinks could mean your metabolism is stalled for as long as three days. 

If you are on a 10 day fat loss programme, you don’t have three days to waste.  

9. TAKE BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS

Monitor your progress with photos, measurements and tests.

Before and after photos may sound vain, but it is amazing what emotional satisfaction people get once they see that the hard work paid off. 

But apart from the mental boost, the idea is to know that the plan works and quantify its success so you can stay on track way past your 10 day programme. 

The BodPod test offered by the Westminster University is a scientifically proven body composition test that tells you very accurately your fat percentage in just a few minutes. 

Knowing what that figure is and periodically checking it again will set your mind in the right path and help you stay on course over time. 

Taking before and after photos of your progress can give people a mental boost, keeping them on track

10. DRINK WATER

Everyone agrees water is important from fat loss all the way to muscle gain however most of us tend to forget to drink enough. 

Trick yourself to drinking enough by getting a good quality water bottle. 

That will help you stay on course without having to keep track of all the cups you had during the day. 

Stick to still as bottled sparkling carries extra salt.

Water is important for losing fat and gaining muscle, however most of us tend to forget to drink enough

11. TAKE SUPPLEMENTS

Sure, it’s best to get your vitamins and fibre from food but if you want to have an unfair advantage over those sceptic minds who want to stay average, you need to make sure you stay fuelled up.

Protein shakes and creatine are equally important when you train to ensure a progressive fat loss and not muscle loss. 

Go for protein shakes with low sugar content. 

SPIRUTEIN powder has had good results with all my clients but there are others. 

Same goes for omega-3 fats and fibre. 

Psyllium Husk fibre is an excellent supplement that will keep you regular and not bloated. Take one teaspoon in the evening with a full glass of water.

Take supplements including fibre, omega-3 and protein shakes with low sugar content for the best results

12. PLAN AHEAD

They say success is the residue of good planning. Record fat loss means you have to get the maximum results in the shortest time. 

That means no room for error. If you are going to go on a 10 day diet, it’s best to do that during a period few or no social outings and dinner parties. 

Always pre-plan your meals to avoid derails and setbacks. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t leave home without your lunch box. 

There are some good choices out there if you happen to be out and about. 

Wagamama’s tuna steak salad is a good example but best to ask to substitute the quinoa with avocado and green salad. 

Pret A Manger’s crayfish with avocado salad, but with olive oil instead of its packaged dressing, is another good choice.  

For more information, visit Nicholas' website.

This article originally appeared and has been reproduced with the permission of Healthista.  

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