9 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT The nuggets of knowledge you need to thin your flab

You know that spare tire you’re aching to get rid of? I can help you ditch it faster. And no, this won’t involve any fad diets or made-up and rediculous-looking gym moves. Just science. A lot of strange, weird, wonderful science. I can’t promise it won’t be weird, but I can promise it’ll get the digits moving in the opposite direction on your scales.

If you want to lose weight, then my spare tire carrying friend, you need to read this;

1. You should sleep more to lose weight

Throw away your alarm clock. Cancel your wake-up call. Evict your rooster. Whatever. Just make sure you sleep in. Why? A study by the Associated Professional Sleep Societies found you’ll lose three times more fat while copping zzz's than sitting in front of the idiot box. That’s because your brain (which only comprises of 2% of your total weight) uses 20% of your body’s energy. And when you enter REM sleep your grey matter works harder than normal, therefore burning more calories.

And here’s the final nail in your 6a.m. 3k's coffin: getting up early will make you hungry. Seriously hungry. As a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinoloy and Metabolism found, sleeping less than six hours depresses your brain’s supply of leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full), while turning on your tap of ghrelin, also known as your ‘hunger hormone’ – that’s a cocktail for an unwarranted midnight snack, or even a pizza binge-fest! The verdict - put cravings to bed and supercharge your weight loss with a guilt-free duvet day.

2. You should workout less to shed more weight

Less? Yup, you heard me. Research in the American Journal of Physiology found men who hit the gym 30 minutes each day will burn 100% more blubber over a period of 13 weeks than those who work out at the same intensity for an hour. Why? well, scientists found sticking to shorter sessions makes you more motivated to give your all rather than aimlessly plodding away on the treadmill like a freaking lemming.

So, now I'm guessing after reading that you’re thumbing through back issues in your library of Fitness mags, and scouring Google, looking for a 30-minute workout about now, right? Fear not, my pot-bellied friend. Try this three-move circuit.

Set your trusty Gym Boss App for 30 minutes, your mission; to complete 10 reps of each exercise before moving to the next. Try not to take a breather until that half an hour timer beeps

Move one: glute bridge

- Lie flat on the floor with your legs bent.

- Drive through your heels to push your hips upwards as far as you can before pausing and returning to the start position.

Move two: one-arm kettlebell push-press

- Hold a kettlebell by your shoulder.

- Keeping your torso upright, bend your knees and drive through your legs to press the kettlebell above your head.

- Lower it back to your shoulder and repeat.

Move three: side jack knife

- Lie on your side with your right leg on top of your left.

- Put your right hand behind your head, elbow flared out, and the other on the floor in front of you for balance.

- Contract your obliques to bring your right leg and elbow together, then slowly lower. Perform all your reps on one side before swapping sides.

3. You can’t target your weight loss

So, for the love of God! Stop doing all those crunches. If you truly want to ditch the belly fat then you’ve got to burn all over. Why? Your 15 sets of sit-ups require fuel (which is stored as fat), which your muscles will take from anywhere on your body – not just from your midsection That’s right, just like Unicorns, or your chances of BASE jumping with the Sweedish Bikini Team, spot reduction is a myth,

If you truly want to lose weight the fast way then it's time to ditch isolation moves like bicep curls and opt for compound exercises like burpees (yeah, I said it!) that target several muscle groups at once. That way you’ll use more energy, forcing your body to break down your fat and remove that flabby midriff and those "moobs" you've been sporting.

4. Changing your metabolism is easy

You know that guy in the office? The skinny one who gets away with continuously chowing down on whatever is on the Breakfast Tray in the Coffee Room? He’s got genetically high metabolism. And you can rev yours even higher.

Yup, even if you’re a beginner, completing just three small weight sessions a week will double the calories you burn while at rest, according to the brains at the Journal of Strength and Conditioning who research this kind of thing for a living. So go on, what’s more important than hitting the gym right now to ignite your body’s fat-burning furnace? Actually, reading the rest of this article definitely is. As you were.

5. Writing can help you lose weight

But not just any writing. Jotting a list of reasons to skip the gym in favor of a Madden NFL '16 binge won’t help. However, according to a study published in the journal Psychological Science, dedicating a few minutes per day to listing your goals (a better physique/relationship/Penny Can score) will make you feel more in control of your life and more determined to lose weight.

6. Chocolate can trim your waistline

If there is a god he’s probably one of the researchers from the University of L'Aquila that showed 100g-200g of chocolate improves your insulin sensitivity. And why’s that good for fat loss? Well, the better your insulin sensitivity, the more likely your body will use the energy found in your food, rather than storing it as fat.

However, only dark chocolate bars (the ones high in cocoa) contain the chemicals that cause this effect. Lesson learned: satisfy your lunchtime sweet tooth with a Lindt rather than a Snickers bar for your fast-track ticket to sub-10% body fat - woohoo!

7. Eating fat won’t make you fat

We finally managed to throw out Hard Rock Cafe shirts, Hanson and Edward Furlong’s career, but there’s still one thing from the nineties that stuck: fat. People are still terrified of it. And for no reason.

Here’s the truth: healthy fats in foods such as salmon are key to prevent blood clotting and regulating your heart rhythm. No, really. The Nutrition Journal did a study that found adding avocado to your lunch box reduces your desire to snack over the next five hours by 28%!

In fact, the demonization of fat is adding to your flab. Eating less fat has helped cause our current obesity crisis. Hate to say that I already warned you about it, but, well, I 100% definitely did!

8. Losing weight boosts your brainpower

Which, as an already sharp individual, you’ll know is a pretty big achievement. But it’s true, going down a notch on your belt will increase your cerebral horsepower; a new study from the University of Manitoba found overweight people have less of the smarter stuff in their noggin than slimmer subjects.

Why? Losing weight strengthens your brain’s ‘salience network’ ­­— the system that controls willpower, motivation and decision making — literally increasing your brain matter. In other words, decide to pick up a dumbbell today and you’ll instantly have the mental strength to undergo a full fat-burning body transformation.

9. You’ll see more of you...ahem, naughty bits

You read that right. Research published in Psychology and Neuroscience found that one in three men are so overweight that their gut blocks the view of their "happy place". Which would be a scarier stat if it wasn’t for the same study’s silver lining: “for every 30-50lbs of weight loss you will regain an inch of visible penis” (I'm presuming they mean your own). Added bonus - you'll probably get to see more of your better half's naughty bits by loosing your flab!

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