5 Fat Burning Low-Impact Exercises For Weight Loss

You’ve probably heard that heart-pumping cardio exercises like running and jump rope are great for burning fat. While that is true, these high-impact exercises put significant strain on your joints and might cause an overuse injury.

But not to worry! There are low-impact exercises that will get your heart pumping and give you a good sweat without putting stress on your joints. These exercises are great for people who are new to working out, recovering from injury or simply want a lighter workout. Don’t be fooled though; you’ll still feel the burn in your muscles.

Keep reading to find out the best low-impact exercises for weight loss.

1. Brisk walking

Walking is the easiest way to torch calories. Whether it’s on the ground or the treadmill, an hour of brisk walking can burn 200 – 500 calories. To boost your workout, you can wear a weighted vest or carry light dumbbells as you walk. Walking uphill can also help you burn as many calories as you would while running.

Keep your walks fun by exploring a new area around your neighbourhood or going on a hike with a friend! You’d be surprised at how effective this simple activity can be for weight loss and maintenance.

 2. Swimming

 Swimming tops the list when it comes to being joint-friendly. Nonetheless, it offers a full-body workout that works on your strength, cardio and flexibility all at the same time. The water provides resistance that pushes your muscles to work hard, but with barely any stress on your joints.

Depending on your weight, an hour in the pool can help you burn 300 – 500 calories.

 3. Power yoga 

Power yoga involves quick transitions between traditional yoga poses. The swift movements speed up your heart rate and get you sweating in no time. On average, a one-hour session of power yoga can burn about 400 calories.

The poses are a workout for your entire body, improving your strength and flexibility. Power yoga also builds lean muscle mass which boosts your metabolism as well. This intense form of yoga is a popular option for those working towards weight loss.

 4. Pilates

Pilates is a popular low-impact exercise that focuses on strengthening your core. Pilates improves your flexibility, posture, balance and overall strength. At the same time, it builds muscle and burns fat, which enhances your metabolism.

There are many pilates studios in Singapore that offer classes using a reformer, which is a resistance device that is customisable to your capacity. But if going to a studio sounds intimidating for you, there are plenty of pilates workouts on YouTube that you can follow at home. All you need is an exercise mat!

An hour of pilates typically burns about 360 calories.

5. Cycling

Cycling is another low-impact cardio exercise if done at a moderate pace. Riding with the correct amount of resistance will not only alleviate stress from your joints but burn 400 – 600+ calories in an hour. Make your rides more exciting by alternating between hilly terrains, flat ground and sprints. Cycling can be done outdoors on a bicycle or in the gym on a stationary one.

Exercise is essential for weight loss and overall health. However, it takes time before your efforts pay off. If you’d like to maximise the results a little quicker, consider a slimming treatment to supplement your workouts.

At Slim Couture, we offer an all-natural TCM slimming treatment that boosts your metabolism and improves your overall health without any side effects. Taking care of your body inside and out is the key to reaching your health goals!

4 Ways To Accelerate Your Metabolic Rate Naturally

Your body’s metabolism plays a vital role in weight loss. Metabolism refers to how your body burns calories for processes like breathing and blood circulation. How many calories you burn, however, depends on your individual metabolic rate. The faster it is, the more calories you burn.

If you’re looking to shed some weight, here are four things that you can do to speed up your metabolic rate naturally.

1. Eat more protein

Any food you eat will increase your metabolism for a short time after. This is caused by the thermic effect of food (TEF), whereby your body burns extra calories to digest and metabolise what you eat.

Protein is shown to have the highest TEF out of all the food groups, increasing your metabolic rate by 20 – 30%. Protein is also shown to keep you full for more extended periods of time, so you won’t be overeating or binging on snacks! As such, including protein in your diet helps you to burn more calories throughout the day.

2. Do HIIT workouts

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts consist of short bursts of intense cardio and strength exercises with periods of low-intensity recovery. One benefit of HIIT, which makes it a favourite for weight loss, is its ability to burn a large number of calories in a short period of time.

However, HIIT provides a high ‘afterburn’ as well. After a workout, your body goes through excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). EPOC causes your body to draw oxygen and burn calories at an enhanced rate to restore itself to its normal state. HIIT is shown to cause a significantly higher EPOC than other exercises due to its high intensity.

3. Get your caffeine dose

 If you’re a fan of coffee, you’re in luck! Studies show that caffeine in coffee can boost your metabolism by 3 – 11%. The same goes for oolong and green tea, which are shown to increase metabolism by 4 – 5%. Caffeine is also a fat burner, as it stimulates the nervous system to signal fat cells to break down fats in the body. This fat burning causes an increase in metabolic rate.

Furthermore, coffee and tea are low in calories when drunk without sugar or milk, making them a good beverage option for weight loss.

Boost your metabolism holistically

Taking care of your body as a whole is another method to accelerate your metabolic rate. If you’d like to enhance your metabolism holistically, there are specialised TCM slimming treatments available in Singapore to do just that. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a popular form of holistic treatment as it’s a natural approach to curing specific ailments.

Slim Couture offers a non-invasive TCM slimming treatment that uses specialised techniques to help you lose weight healthily. One of the techniques used, Guasha, uses a special apparatus that stimulates blood flow and circulation to increase metabolism. And if you’re worried about maintaining your weight after your treatment, Slim Couture offers post-treatment support with a comprehensive diet plan to ease your worries.

TCM slimming is an effective treatment to speed up your metabolic rate and improve your overall health naturally.

5 Weight Loss Tips That Are Scientifically Proven To Work

Nowadays, you can find many ways to lose weight on the internet. Just with a click of a button, you will be able to find countless diet plans, supplements or hacks to lose weight. But – not everything you read online is factual.

Here we have 5 effective weight loss tips that have been tested and proven!

1. Have an efficient amount of sleep

Getting enough sleep is an important factor when it comes to weight loss. When your body doesn’t get enough sleep, you are running on low energy and will feel lethargic. Studies have shown that there is an increase in late-night snacking and you will tend to eat foods that are high in carbohydrate, calories and fats.

Being fatigue will also decrease your chances of getting any form of exercise because you will be less motivated. It is recommended to get at least 7-9 hours of sleep if you are trying to lose weight.

2. Increase your water intake

Water suppresses your appetite as it fills up your stomach and helps you burn calories. Studies have shown that drinking more water has a significant influence on the reduction in weight loss, body mass index (BMI) and body fat. An extra tip – cold water will give you more impressive results as your body uses extra calories to warm the water up to body temperature!

3. Drink some green tea

This is different from the sweetened drinks you get from your convenient stores! Green tea is one of the healthiest drinks, but adding sugar in them would lead to more unnecessary calories! Green tea contains caffeine and catechin (an antioxidant) which have been found to help speed up metabolism, thus having a small but positive impact on weight loss. So if you’re limiting yourself to sugary drinks but have gotten bored of just drinking water, try having some green tea!

4. Manage your stress levels

When you are stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol which causes your blood pressure to rise. This will lead to an increase in your appetite and cravings for sugary food, causing you to overeat or eat unhealthily. Now you know why you always crave for ‘comfort food’ when stressed! So don’t forget to destress and take a breather when needed! Here are some ways you can reduce stress levels:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Exercising
• Doing the things you love
• Breathing techniques

5. Take Spicy food

Numerous studies indicate that spices like cumin, capsicum and peppers can raise your metabolic rate while slowing down your appetite. Spicy food can help decrease caloric intake, reduce body fat tissues, and have been shown to fight obesity. But remember not to go overboard!

Conclusion

There is no short-cut when it comes to losing weight. Although the above suggestions made have all been scientifically proven to work, a healthy diet and regular exercise are important too.

In fact, you can try our TCM Slimming at Slim Couture to shed the extra weight. We incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques in our weight loss programs and provide post-treatment support to help you in your weight loss journey.

5 Easy Tips To Help You Reduce Your Cellulite Appearance

Cellulite forms and appears when you have too much body fat and insufficient muscle, and many try getting rid of it by spending thousands on liposuction or purchasing expensive over-the-counter creams. If you’re tired of hiding your cellulite behind long skirts and pants, check out our tips to help you reduce its appearance.

 1. Dry body brushing

Start your day with dry body washing. Lightly and gently sweep a dry body brush all over your skin before you step into the shower, starting from your ankles and slowly moving up. Always brush in the direction towards the center of your body as this gives your circulation a significant boost, eliminating toxins at the same time. Before you get out of the shower, blast your thighs with cold water to get blood flowing to that area.

2. Eat foods which tackle it

 Often, toxins are the cause of cellulite. These toxins not only decrease skin elasticity, but also lowers the rate of circulation in the body, causing cellulite to form. Therefore, eat as many bright-coloured fruits and vegetables as they contain the greatest amount of antioxidants, helping our bodies shed toxins. A perfect example of such foods is berries, so eat some strawberries or blackberries daily. Mangoes and bananas also aid in enhancing blood flow, preventing cellulite. Foods containing a lot of vitamin C play a significant role too as they increase levels of collagen in the skin, promoting elasticity. Such examples include broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage and spinach. Don’t forget about skin-strengthening foods such as chicken and avocados.

To add on, ‘diuretics’ foods also ward off cellulite. They help lessen the occurrence of bloating and fluid retention. Accumulated fluid can possibly stimulate cellulite so apart from drinking water, include foods like cucumber and onions in your meal. Avoid consuming processed fatty foods like cheese, sausages and cake as they contain additives, salt or a high amount of sugar which can cause too much toxin in the body.

 3. Exercise 

Apart from helping you to lose weight, exercising can get your blood flowing better. Cycling and jogging are deemed as effective as they target the thighs, bottoms and hips. You can also try squats to reduce the appearance of cellulite on your bottom and thighs. Other exercises you can do include lunges and kickboxing.

 4. Cellulite cups

This requires a specialised type of therapy which utilises a rubber suction cup to stimulate blood flow, creating more oxygen getting rid of toxins by getting the blood to flow. The pressure and suction from these cups loosen the muscles and will help to relieve pain too.

5. Avoid caffeine 

Studies have shown that caffeine can deteriorate your cellulite situation because of the adverse effects it has on blood flow. It also prevents you from getting sufficient oxygen and sufficient nutrients to the skin tissue. Limit your coffee taking by drinking only one cup a day.

At Slim Couture, we adopt Traditional Chinese Medicine practices to help you slim down. Our signature TCM slimming treatment will stimulate blood flow and trigger increased metabolism to remove body toxins, improve cellulite appearance and lose weight. Start your weight loss journey with us and achieve your desired body today.