When it comes to losing weight, the top strategies will always be nutrition and physical activity, so it makes sense to focus on those two things the most. But, that doesn't necessarily mean they're the only ways you can drop weight. One significant addition? Quality sleep.

Numerous studies have connected poor sleep to weight gainespecially belly fat. For example, research commentary in Environmental Health Perspectives noted that shorter sleep has been correlated with obesity, hypertension, and other metabolic disorders. (Related: 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work.)

Another study, published in the journal Sleep, found notable changes in body fat between short, average, and long-duration sleepers. Those outside the middle range of seven to eight hours were much more likely to experience gradual weight gain, even if they ate roughly the same amount of calories and got as much exercise as the average-duration sleepers.

This happens for several reasons, according to W. Chris Winter, M.D., president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine, and author of "The Sleep Solution." Here are the top changes that occur when you're skimping on shuteye.

Increased appetite and hunger: When you don't get enough sleep, your circadian rhythms get thrown off, and that tends to lead to overeating, Winter says. Even worse, you're more likely to crave high-calorie foods, especially salty or sugary snacks.

Higher stress levels: You simply feel less resilient when you're dealing with sleep issues, Winter says. You might be annoyed more quickly, or feel overwhelmed and frazzled. That can lead to a surge in your stress hormone, cortisol, and chronic elevation of that hormone in particular has been linked to increased belly fat.

More hormone issues: In addition to cortisol problems, poor sleep also negatively effects two other major hormones, leptin and ghrelin. Winter says these regulate hunger signals, making overeating even more likely.

Poor gut health: Your digestive system is responsible for much more than processing food; it's also the center of your immune system and emotional regulation. Even a few nights of bad sleep can throw this off and put you at risk. One study found that only two consecutive nights of short sleep led to disruption in gut health for study participants.

All of these effects are interlinked, says Winter. For example, if you feel stressed, you may eat more comfort foods to feel better, and that can leave you feeling sluggish and actually increase your cravings instead of diminish them. It can also be a vicious cycle: Eating junky foods may sabotage your sleep quality, further lowering your chances at effective weight loss.

"Many people find that when they focus on establishing good sleep habits, other areas of their lives start to fall into place, too," says Dr. Winter. "That includes their energy levels, food choices, exercise consistency, even their moods."

For more, be sure to check out The 5 Absolute Best Foods to Eat For Better Sleep.

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The Easiest Weight Loss Hack You Haven't Tried Yet - Yahoo Lifestyle

Losing the extra belly fat seems almost impossible. But by doing these simple exercises, you can tone your muscles and get your body back in shape.

Weight loss is always a much-talked-about issue. Other than the aesthetical issue, excess belly fat can be harmful and can make you prone to heart and lung diseases. While there are many diets to reduce belly fat, starving oneself is not the best solution to lose weight. Exercising regularly is easily the most effective way to get rid of that excess belly fat and to get in shape.

Some simple lifestyle changes and regular physical activity can help you to tone your body and to remain fit and active. Here are 5 exercises that will help you manage your belly fat and will get you in shape in no time.

Sit-ups

To do this exercise, lie flat on the floor with your knees bent and keep your hands at the back of your head. Try to bring your upper body off the floor to come in a sit-up position by your core strength and repeat. This will strengthen your abdominal muscles and will help you build strength.

Planks

Planks tone the muscles and keep your whole body engaged. Lie on the mat with your head towards the ground and balance your weight on your forearms. Keep your elbows bent and maintain this position for around 10-20 seconds.

Burpees

Stand straight and then bend your knees and go down on the floor starting with your hands. Push your legs back to get in the plank position. Jump up and stand straight with your hand raised above your head and repeat.

Russian Twist

This exercise will improve your strength and will work your core. Lie down on the ground and flex your knees. Keep your feet off the floor and hold a ball at your chest level and turn your upper body to both the sides alternatively.

Crunches

Lie down on the floor with your knees bent. Hold the back of your head with your hands and try to bring your head till your knees. This will help you tone your lower and upper abs and will strengthen your belly muscles.

Also Read:5 Yoga poses to achieve a flexible body and mobility by Grand Master Akshar

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Weight loss: Do these 5 EASY exercises to get rid of the excess belly fat - PINKVILLA

My breakfast:

I used to have a glass of milk/ vegetable oats/ upma/ besan chilla/ vermicelli/ paneer roti/ egg whites omelette on a regular basis.

My lunch: Any green sabzi made at home, with curd and salad, along with one chapati.

My dinner: Super light and easy. I used to choose between clear vegetable soup, vegetable oats, sandwich or paneer chat.

Pre-workout meal: 2 Boiled Egg whites or Fruits

Post-workout meal: My Lunch, since I used to workout before lunchtime.

I indulge in (What you eat on your cheat days):I love eating dosa, chole bhature, noodles and momos and try to have them in little quantities on my cheat days. But, even then, I try my best to stick to homemade food.

My workout: My exercise regime was strictly home-based as I didn't go to any gym. It wasn't fixed but consisted of a combination of treadmill running (3-4 km), full-body workout moves, and some to target thigh and arm fat.

I also follow the K-Pop dance workout, which is my all-time favourite. Super engaging.

Also, I used to work out for 1.5-2 hours, five days a week. Two days rest for my sore muscles to recover.

Low-calorie recipes I swear by: Throughout these six months, my total calorie intake stayed between 1200-1400 calories. So, I used to have a lot of low-calorie meals such as poha, chilla, and some healthy versions of my favourite junk food (steamed wheat momos, paneer tikka wrap, bhel puri with no ketchup and loads of veggies). Of course, all usually homemade.

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Weight loss story: I started having jeera water, chia seeds water, green tea and black coffee - Times of India

A plant-based diet can help reduce heart disease risk

A plant-based diet focuses on the consumption of food from plant sources. Many follow pant based diet for weight loss. This diet focuses on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes and other plant-based products. A plant-based diet is different from a vegan diet as it allows restricted consumption of dairy and animal products. On the other hand, a vegan diet does not allow even a small amount of animal based products. Not just weight loss, plant-based diet can help boost heart health too. According to studies, following a plant-based diet can help reduce cholesterol, control the risk of type-2 diabetes and certain cancers.

A recent study revealed that plant-based diets can help boost metabolism too. Metabolism is the rate at which your body converts energy from foods and drinks consumed. Better metabolism results in weight loss. Keep reading to know how plant-based diets can help boost metabolism and a list of plant based-foods you should add to your diet.

According to the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, a plant-based diet can boost after-meal calorie burn which helps in weight loss and improves cardiometabolic risk factors in those who are overweight. For the study, the participants consumed a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. After 16 weeks, the after-meal calorie burn increased by 18.7 percent as compared to those who did not follow a plant-based diet.

Also read:Plant-Based Diet Can Boost Heart Health And Help In Weight Loss; Know Other Health Benefits

According to a study, a plant-based diet can help boost metabolism and support weight lossPhoto Credit: iStock

Protein-rich foods- tofu, cottage cheese, pulses, chia seeds, quinoa, nuts, chickpeas and beans

Also read:7 Foods Loaded With Omega-3 Fatty Acids That You Can Add To A Plant-Based Diet

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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Weight Loss: Can Plant-Based Diet Help Boost Metabolism? Here's The Answer - NDTV

One of the most common falsehoods about losing weight is the older you get, the harder it will be. However, believing this lie can be a huge mistake, considering that age may not make it harder to lose weight after all, according to a new study.

This research on age and weight loss was published in October 2020 in the journal Clinical Endocrinology and examined the correlation between obese patients and their ages. The study authors found that patients over the age of 60 were able to make lifestyle changes to lose weight just as effectively as their younger counterparts.

Between 2005 and 2016, researchers in the UK worked with a group of 242 randomly selected obese patients who participated in a hospital-based obesity service. They were put on a plan that only utilized lifestyle changes for weight loss, which included dietary and psychological support. Patients were split into two groups: those aged 60 and older and those under 60. (Related: 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work.)

Weight-loss intervention in the patients ranged anywhere from one month to 143 months, but the results showed that the group of patients aged 60 and older lost weight just as effectively as the under-60 group. Doctors and researchers measured both weight and BMI and noticed no significant difference in either metric between the groups.

The study authors concluded that in a lifestyle-change weight-loss plan, age should not play a factor. That said, they also noted that this study is hospital-based, which means it could be different for those seeking to lose weight on their own.

So, yes, it's a mistake to believe the lie that the older you get, the harder it will be to lose weight. Weight loss for older adults might simply mean going about it in a different manner to achieve the same results as someone half their age. Remember, the patients in this study were matched up with doctors to help them through the process, which ultimately proved successful. If you're setting out on a weight-loss journey of your own, it may not be a bad idea to also seek out the help of medical professionals (such as your primary care doctor, personal trainer, registered dietitian, or nutritionist) who can tailor specific lifestyle changes to you.

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The #1 Weight Loss Lie You Need to Stop Believing - Yahoo Lifestyle

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Listen, Im going to get right into it: the year of 2020 can go down in the books for many of us as being the absolute worst of all the years. For some reason, we thought it was going to be litty titty, our best year yet, and we would finally get a span of 365 days where wed feel whole, get rid of toxic shit in our lives, and put ourselves first.

None of that happened. Not even a little bit. We didnt even get the year off the ground before our entire lives were changed and we had to adjust in ways we never thought we would.

As parents, we are teaching our kids and working from home. We are disinfecting everything, masking up, and not able to see loved ones during the holidays. Nothing feels normal or right, and theres nothing we can do about it.

To say its been a struggle is an understatement. To say we all need comfort however we can find it is obvious. And to criticize ourselves for putting on weight during a global pandemic is sickening.

Think about it: weve all had a lot taken away from us, and the one thing weve been able to do is cook, bake, and eat with our immediate families. We dont need to punish ourselves for it, and we absolutely dont need anyone trying to tell us the thing to do to lose the quarantine weight.

Of all the years, this isnt the time to @ anyone with your crap about losing the fluffiness theyve put on.

Dont slide into peoples DMs and try to sell your weight loss supplements.

Keep your fucking MLM bullshit to yourself and dont use this year as an excuse to build your brand, feed off of anyone feeling bad about their size, and sell more weight loss tea along with all the other fuckery that can dupe people into thinking they need to look a certain way.

There are people who have gained weight in 2020 and literally dont care.

There are people who have lost weight and feel amazing because they finally had time to exercise and meal plan like theyve always wanted to.

There are people who have run their first 5k.

There are people who havent worked out since March because they dont want to go to a gym.

And guess what? In the grand scheme of things, none of this shit matters, so long as you are doing what feels right to you.

We have all lost enough this year; weight doesnt need to be thrown into the mix.

We have all had a lot of comforts taken away from us like job security, seeing our people, sending kids to school full time, and being able to go to a concert or party.

Some have cancelled their wedding or postponed a funeral.

Do we really need to take something else away from ourselves?

No.

What we need to do is not look at a weight loss ad or read a message from someone we went to high school with about a weight loss supplement, and feel less than.

We need to enjoy ourselves. Maybe that looks like making a pie and digging in with a spoon by ourselves after the kids go to bed, or maybe that looks like starting to walk every day.

We need to recognize that we are all managing our stress the best way we can, we are home more, and there are a lot less options out there to keep us occupied. Eating is fun. Its nostalgic. Its comforting, and the tastes and smells can take us to places we havent been in a long time.

To take a shitty year and be targeted for gaining weight is only doing us a disservice.

Instead, we need to stand tall and realize our bodies are amazing as they are. I mean, look at what theyve gotten us through. How many times did you think you werent going to make it through this year? But lookyoure doing it.

I know for me, the only way Ive been able to keep my mood up is by baking with my kids.First it was bread, then it was brownies, then it was going out for ice cream every day we could this summer. It fed our souls, and it kept me from going to a bad place many times.

2020 has robbed us of a lot. Ill be damned if its going to rob me of my melty grilled cheese sandwiches and the opportunity to eat a brownie over the sink when I need a pick-me-up. Im not giving that up for anyones weight loss teas that taste like dirt and emptiness nor am I going to feel like gaining weight during a really fucking stressful time is something to be corrected.

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Miss Me With The Lose That Quarantine Weight Bullsh*t - Scary Mommy

A new weight restriction placed on two streets in Fremont is creating big roadblocks for fuel and paving companies in Epping as tension over commercial truck traffic grows between the neighboring towns.

To the surprise of Epping town officials, Fremont selectmen last month adopted a weight-limit ordinance that prohibits vehicles with a gross weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds from using Shirkin and Rogers roads.

The new rule is aimed at keeping Fremonts roads from crumbling under heavy truck traffic coming from Epping.

Shirkin Road has several businesses with heavy trucks on the Epping side but no businesses on the Fremont part of the road. The trucks and other traffic often travel a short distance on the Fremont end and turn onto Rogers Road in Fremont and then Beede Road in Epping to reach Route 101.

The route is the easiest and shortest for companies like New England Paving, which is on Shirking Road in Epping. The road is called Shirkin in Fremont and Shirking in Epping.

It definitely impacts us because a lot of our trucks are over the weight limit, said Sam Patterson, who owns the paving company with his father.

The restriction will affect other businesses, too, mainly fuel companies that operate large oil and propane trucks and have used the Fremont route for years. They will be forced to take a longer route through rural streets in Epping to get to Route 101.

Fremonts decision to adopt an ordinance that directly impacts Epping and its businesses didnt sit well with some Epping selectmen.

Epping Selectman Joe Trombley lashed out at Fremont officials at a board meeting Monday.

Im completely disgusted with the town next to us doing something like this, he said.

Trombley insisted that Epping selectmen intended to work with Fremont to come up with a reasonable solution to address the road concerns. He called the decision completely unneighborly and a slap in the face.

Epping Town Administrator Gregory Dodge said he also was disappointed the ordinance was adopted.

We wanted to be part of the solution, and we were blocked out, he said.

Epping selectmen attended a meeting with Fremont selectmen last year to begin discussions and hoped to meet again to work something out.

We were looking to work collaboratively with Fremont on a solution, said Dodge, who wished Fremont had made a last-ditch effort to meet with Epping before passing the ordinance.

Fremont road-weary

Fremont selectmen argued they moved forward with the ordinance because they had seen no action from Epping or the impacted businesses.

Fremont selectmen chairman Gene Cordes said little progress was made in the past with Epping officials and others, including the state Department of Transportation and state legislators.

Town officials eventually conducted an engineering study of the roads existing condition and capacity and discussed options with the town attorney.

Cordes said Epping had little motivation to change.

Meanwhile, our roads are getting beat up, he said.

Fremont recently had to make emergency repairs to a section of Shirkin Road and had no money for the work, Cordes said.

The best solution would be to create a frontage road that would allow the trucks from the Shirking Road businesses to easily access Route 101, he said.

The commercial development is approved in Epping, but the transportation plan is coming through Fremont, Cordes said. There really needs to be community energy pulling in the same direction here. It may take people beyond Epping and Fremont.

The ordinance allows for exemptions in some cases. For instance, a property owner or commercial business could seek an exemption if they show that the limit would entail practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship. They would also have to comply with other rules regarding bonding and restoration.

Selectmen may issue a special permit for the operation of vehicles over the 26,000-pound limit if they determined that the vehicle wont cause unreasonable damage or extraordinary expense to the roads. The owner or operator would also have to provide security through cash, letter of credit or bond in an amount that selectmen find sufficient to pay for any repairs from damage that could be caused by the vehicles.

Epping faces traffic jam

I think both sides have to meet in the middle, said Bill Fletcher, vice president of Fletchs Sandblasting and Painting on Shirking Road in Epping.

Fletcher said he understands Fremonts concerns about truck traffic.

Theyve got a good point. Its a big industrial area and they get no benefit from it, he said.

Fletcher said the turns on the Fremont route are easier for larger trucks.

He has applied for an exception from the town of Fremont to use their side as some tractor-trailers access his business.

The change in truck traffic flow caused by Fremonts ordinance also is a concern for some Epping residents, who expect to see more traffic on their roads. Their complaints are the same ones made by Fremont residents and town officials for years.

Eppings Jenness Road, one of the roads the trucks would use as an alternate route, is narrow with several tight curves, said Dave Mylott, who lives on the road.

It is already in need of repair. Forcing large heavy commercial vehicles down it will be both destructive to the road and a serious hazard to our residents and cars traveling in our neighborhood, Mylott said.

Paul Leavis, who has lived on Jenness Road for 45 years, had the same concern.

I dont think the infrastructure of this road will stand up to that traffic very long, he said.

Leavis also worries about the safety of people who walk along the street, including children on bikes.

I think theres a chance for problems, he said.

Excerpt from:
Weight loss: Fremont says Epping trucks can take their heavy loads somewhere else - The Union Leader

Kari Kadak, 38, shares the changes he made to his lifestyle which helped him lose weight and get fit, and how working out and eating healthy with his partner helped him to stay motivated during the pandemic.

10 years ago, I rode dirt bikes and I went to the gym a few times a week. Then I had a serious accident that damaged one of the nerves in my spine. Doctors told me that I might not be able to walk any more, and I had to do something fast as my left leg muscles were getting weaker every day. I decided not to have surgery; instead I started doing some weight training mixed with home stretching exercises that helped me to cure my back. However, I then began to gain weight.

I have always loved to eat well, but always chose healthy, organic ingredients. I would say that my problem was that I could not control my appetite, portion sizes, and could not find nutritional balance. I always had a little bit too much sourdough bread, or a few scoops too of ice cream too many, or I should have stopped with one Negroni cocktail but I always had maybe one or two more.

A couple of years and two kids later, I started traveling a lot with my family. Our work requires it. I couldn't find the rhythm of how to eat, how to move, or work out correctly. I hated the idea of wasting time doing something and not understanding the impact of it. I was constantly experimenting with different approaches, such as classical weight training and CrossFit combined with the Paleo and keto diets. I lost weight, but also all my muscle mass but at the same time, while my fat percentage stayed the same. To top everything, I ended up with knee surgery that led again to weight gain. No no matter what I did, my weight climbed slowly up, until I was 110 kg (242 pounds).

It all changed in 2019 November, when I joined the Ultimate Performance LiveUp program. I had tried many approaches before, so for me it was important to do something simple and easy to apply, based on real results and studies. The LiveUp program is all about that. At this point, I kept my expectations low and made a promise to myself to do the program and see where it took me.

I started counting my steps and measuring exactly how much water I was drinking; I now aim for 12,500 steps and 6 liters a day. The workouts were simple bodybuilding exercises that could be found on the internet, but the order of the exercises, tempo, and the right time to change them during the transformation were crucial. I continued eating my favorite meals, I was just more aware of when to eat. I eat more carbs when I have worked out and less when I haven't. My favorite workout is a simple and hard deadlift. It is fun to keep track of weight and add some next time, and it feels great when the numbers get bigger.

I was highly motivated for the first three months, and seeing results coming slowly each week was motivating; I was losing around 1 kg (2.2 pounds) per week. Then, when the pandemic and lockdown hit, I was unmotivated to continue as the gyms were closed and everything seemed hopeless. Body composition was the last thing on my mind, so I took a month off from the program.

During this time, LiveUp introduced live home workouts and video check-in systems. I was not very motivated and it seemed silly to be training with people from behind a screen. Then my wife joined the women's version of the program, as we decided that there is nothing else to do anyway and better to keep us healthy this crazy time. So food prep and working out seemed more fun as they were things we could do together. I couldn't buy any equipment as everything was shut down or sold out. I found one second-hand vintage kettlebell that nobody wanted as it was too heavy, and I got a resistance band. I also did some bodyweight exercises, like slow tempo chinups. The only problem was the steps; I had to walk in the garden and behind my house, and took my Kindle so I could read while I was getting my steps in.

I lost a total of 25 kgs (44 pounds), and now weigh 85 kgs (187 pounds). I feel confident again, focused, and strong. I sleep better and have more energy. The structure has also helped me to be less stressed in my everyday life, and my wife and I have made friends through the program. If you're just getting started, I would say: be persistent. There's never going to be the right day, season, or year, you have to just get started. Don't make excuses, and keep the end goal in mind.

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I Lost More Than 40 Pounds and Got Fit Without Giving Up Any of My Favorite Foods - menshealth.com

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Esports players might be viewed as individuals who sit around, eat junk food and guzzle down sugary drinks, but a new study finds these gamers are just the opposite.

A team from Queensland University of Technology uncovered uncovered players are up to 21 percent more likely to have a healthier body weight than the average person.

The survey also reveals that esport gamers smoke and drink less than the general public and are significantly more active as a result of certain video games.

Although a majority are in tip top shape, the study did find that 4.03 percent of esports players are more likely to be morbidly obese than the general public.

Video courtesy ofQueensland University of Technology

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) conducted the study by surveying 1,400 gamers from 65 countries in, what they say is, the first study to investigate the BMI (Body Mass Index) status of a global sample of esports players.

QUT esports researcher Michael Trotter said: 'The findings challenge the stereotype of the morbidly obese gamer.'

'When you think of esports, there are often concerns raised regarding sedentary behavior and poor health as a result, and the study revealed some interesting and mixed results.'

Trotter and his team collected the surveys and found players were between nine and 21 percent more likely to have a healthier body weight than the general public.

'As part of their training regime, elite esports athletes spend more than an hour per day engaging in physical exercise as a strategy to enhance gameplay and manage stress,' he said.

'Only top-level players surveyed met physical activity guidelines, with the best players exercising on average four days a week.'

Along with having a healthier body weight, the study found a majority of gamers do not smoke and drink less than the general public as well.

Players are 7.8 percent more likely to abstain from drinking daily, and of those players who do drink, only 0.5 percent reported having a drink daily.

And only 3.7 percent of the gamers said they smoked daily, which is compared to the global 18.7 percent.

'Exercise and physical activity play a role in success in esports and should be a focus for players and organisations training esports players,' Trotter said.

'This will mean that in the future, young gamers will have more reason and motivation to be physically active.

'Grassroots esports pathways, such as growing university and high school esports, are likely to be the best place for young esports players to develop good health habits for gamers.'

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Video game players are healthier and in better shape than the average - msnNOW

So many people in life want to jump straight to the finish line. We want immediate results, that magic pill. But, to achieve anything great in life, there is no shortcut. This month, Im going to take you through why taking your time to reach your physical goals is so important, and how to achieve your dream physique.

The two goals I most often hear from people are: I want to put on some muscle and get bigger and I want to lose weight and get skinnier.

But lets think about that. In an attempt to put on muscle, if we put on weight too fast, were likely to put on an excess amount of fat, which we dont want. In an attempt to become skinny quickly, we may go on a crash diet that will help us to lose the weight, but will simultaneously result in losing a very large amount of muscle. Even worse, this puts us in an unsustainable position where we are in danger of rebounding quickly and putting on all the weight we lost, plus possibly even more.

So how do we achieve this fine balance?

You may have heard the terms bulking and cutting in the bodybuilding world. This can easily be a very effective tool in your fitness arsenal, helping you towards your fitness goals, not just Arnolds.

The idea behind bulking and cutting is that since its difficult to add muscle when youre losing weight, and difficult to lose fat when youre gaining weight, you need to work towards your goal in stages. Its simple science. Combining these two one after the other allows you to put on muscle for a period of time, while ideally limiting the fat gain. Then cut the fat you put on, while limiting muscle loss. The end result will then hopefully see you gaining the amount of muscle youd like, without increasing your fat percentage. Actors constantly employ this tactic for their film roles.

This is a training phase in which you put on bulk, or size. In order to put on some muscle, you need to eat more calories than youre expending on a daily basis. This nutrition strategy should be combined with a weightlifting programme that allows the muscles to be torn apart and rested in order to allow them to grow back bigger and stronger. For the nutrition aspect, I would recommend eating 300-500 calories in excess of your daily caloric expenditure. Keeping the excess minimal will assist in keeping your fat gain minimal as you move towards your goals. The aim is to eat enough protein, carbohydrates and fats, to be able to grow, but to work out the ratio in a manner thats suited towards your particular body type. For example, if youre a hard gainer, ie, someone who struggles to put on weight, you may need to eat more carbohydrates and fats than someone like me who puts on fat very easily.

As for the weight training portion, I would recommend training one body part a day for a 45- or 60-minute stretch. Try to work in some compound exercises such as benchpresses and dumbbell chest presses and perhaps squats, and stiff leg deadlifts. You can finish up with some shaping exercises such as flys for chest; and quad extensions and hamstring curls for legs. The ideal set and rep range for muscle growth is generally 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions. A minimum of one rest day should be taken each week. All of these are general recommendations. Your individual regimen will vary depending on your skill and experience level.

Cutting is a little trickier. As mentioned, youd start this phase after completing a strong bulking phase. The goal is to keep the gains that youve made during the bulking phase, so you should take the cutting phase nice and slow. The aim should be to lose 450gm per week. This should help you to complete the process at a pace thatll allow you to maintain your final weight as opposed to bouncing back hard. A controlled pace will also help in maintaining as much muscle as possible, while losing weight.

Similar to the bulking phase, the caloric deficit here should be about 300-500 calories per day. This should be combined with a slightly higher intensity workout programme. I would recommend training two body parts a day, and focus more on the 12-15 repetition range. You can change up your workout routine by adding in some supersets and drop sets as well. While the cardio activity should remain fairly low if any at all during the bulking phase during cutting, you should increase the cardio to multiple times per week, if your schedule permits. HIIT cardio is something fun to try as well. Ten second sprints on the beach followed by 10 second walks are my favourite. Ten sets.

These methods involve a lot of trial and error to discover the perfect formula for each individual. As you develop your physique, you may need to adjust even further. But this is a proven method thatll allow you to reach your physical goals at the end of the day.

The biggest takeaway should be that anything worthwhile is not achieved overnight. Everything earned in life always tastes sweeter than if achieved instantly. If you want to reach your physical goals, set a long term plan in place and take one step closer to it, day by day. In your physical journey, just as in life, sometimes you need to take a couple of steps back, in order to take several steps forward.

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Prakash Amritraj on why taking your time to achieve your dream physique is important - GQ India