1: Eat less often 

Take longer stretches in between meals. Instead of eating several small meals per day and feeling hungry all day long, eat two to three larger satisfying meals and take at least six-hour breaks in between each meal. This helps optimize the two most important hormones for fat loss: insulin and leptin. (More on this topic at Why you must optimize Leptin for rapid fat loss and hormone optimization) 

Frequent eating impedes releasing stored body fat for energy. However, when you take longer stretches between meals, you get a snack of stored body fat several times per day. Three hours after you eat, blood sugar levels will start going down, and you will release energy from stored body fat to keep levels steady. Eating less often will also improve digestion as you will have more enzymes built up at each meal for optimal utilization of nutrients. 

You will find that you’re not as hungry with larger meals eaten less frequently. With frequent small meals, you’re never satisfied and your entire day revolves around when you will get your next fix. You should not feel stuffed after any meal, but you should feel content and not even think about another meal for several hours. 

#2 Eat slower and chew more 

Most people eat like my late yellow lab Rabia. Rabia used to eat so fast and furiously that it didn’t look like she chewed anything. She looked like a vacuum cleaner at each meal. She managed to get away with it and made it to 16 which is incredible for a yellow lab. However, don’t follow her lead. Take your time at each meal and chew each bite thoroughly. This will feel tedious at first. Yet over time, you will find you enjoy each meal much more and will not need to eat anywhere near as much to feel content. In addition, you can finally say goodbye to gut issues such as bloating, gas, and many other unpleasant side effects of not only eating the wrong foods but eating way too fast. Digestive enzymes and probiotics are also useful to improve gut health.

You will never achieve your fat loss or fitness goals with poor gut health so take it seriously. 

#3: Intermittent fasting 

Practice intermittent fasting 1-2 times per week. With intermittent fasting, you engage in a water fast for the first eight hours of each day. You can consume black coffee, and tea, but avoid consuming meals or snacks. Also, don’t take BCAA as they will increase insulin and glucose and ruin the benefits. Intermittent fasting will improve both leptin and insulin sensitivity as well as ramp up growth hormone levels. Growth hormone is a powerful fat burner and is correlated with longevity as well.

For added benefit, start each day by squeezing a lemon into a glass of water. Add in a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar and a pinch of sea salt as well. This is a powerful liver cleanser and a great way to start the day. 

#4 Use magnesium for deep sleep 

Take 200-500mg of magnesium before bedtime to get into a relaxed state for optimal sleep. In addition to being one of the most important minerals for everything from heart health to healthy bones, magnesium is a natural muscle relaxant that will help you get into a deep sleep state every night. 

Deep sleep is essential for restoration and will also mitigate sugar cravings and the tendency to overeat. Magnesium citrate is a good oral form of magnesium. However, my favorite form of magnesium supplementation is magnesium oil which you apply to the skin before bedtime. (Check out Aggressive Strength Recovery Oil) 

#5 Move! 

Engage in intense exercise. If you have been overweight for a long time, you need a shock to the system. Just eating less and walking around the block is not going to cut it. Although getting in 10,000 steps a day makes a big difference. My dog Reyna and I get in 10,000 plus steps daily and I have to make I am eating enough each day to avoid losing too much weight! Make sure you have clearance from your physician to practice intense exercise and work up to interval training. 

Interval training is a form of intense conditioning in which you engage in short bursts of all out efforts followed by bursts of moderate intensity for several intervals. For example, sprint all out for 50 yards and then walk back to the starting point. Repeat for 8-10 intervals 2-3 times per week. This is powerful stuff for fat loss and crushing anxiety as well! I always feel better after several all-out sprints and it is my favorite form of interval training. 

Another example of interval training is thirty seconds of an all out effort on an elliptical machine, followed by sixty seconds of moderate intensity for 10-15 rounds. Put on some great music and go for it.

Kettlebell swing for several round of 15-20 reps also works very well. One of my favorite options is ten sets of fifteen reps on double kettlebell swings outside the feet with one minute breaks. 

Experiment with several forms of interval training and find something you enjoy.

#6 Crush Estrogen Dominance

Estrogen dominance is on the rise in both men and women which is all too obvious.  More and more overweight men store body fat like overweight women which are frightening, to say the least! 

Having too much estrogen will make it impossible to lose stubborn body fat and will also make you feel terrible so you’re less likely to engage in intense exercise and practice a healthy lifestyle.

Men need to improve the ratio of testosterone to estrogen and women need to improve the ratio of progesterone to estrogen. Moreover, both men and women need more of the healthy estrogen estriol and less of the pro-carcinogenic estrogen estrone. 

Make sure you avoid eating factory farmed meat, eggs, and dairy which is unfortunately where the majority of all three come from. In addition to being extremely cruel to animals, consuming such products is not remotely healthy and thinking otherwise is perfecting the art of being delusional. You can’t possibly expect to be healthy eating unhealthy animals that are pumped up with all kinds of hormones, chemicals, antibiotics and who knows what else. 

If you have high levels of estrogen (if you’re overweight, you most certainly do) then cut out alcohol completely. Alcohol consumption converts testosterone into estrogen and ruins insulin sensitivity. Beer in particular is loaded with hops which is highly estrogenic. Yes, this explains why many beer drinkers have “bitch tits” and look six months pregnant. 

A healthy diet focused on a balance of good fats, low glycemic carbohydrates, and high-quality protein will go a long way to improving hormone balance and fat loss. 

For added benefit, men can take my Aggressive Strength Testosterone Booster to ramp up the natural production of testosterone as well as mitigate estrogen levels (More info at Aggressive Strength Testosterone Booster). Women can take my estrogen control supplement EC to address estrogen dominance and improve the ratio of progesterone to estrogen. Men with high levels of estrogen will also find EC very helpful to reduce stubborn body fat and improve the ratio of testosterone to estrogen.