I Maintain 10–12% Body Fat With Chocolate And These Other Habits

Copy these strategies to become and stay fit.

Being in good shape has many advantages. It’s healthy, it makes you feel good, and it helps you cope with the physical challenges of everyday life. It also makes us attractive, who doesn’t want that?

Nevertheless, there are more and more overweight people, especially in the USA. Although many try to lose weight, by far not all of them manage to achieve a longer-term change. Often the so-called Yo-yo effect occurs and ensures that the lost pounds are quickly back on the hips.

I have luckily found a lifestyle that I am happy with and that allows me to maintain a low body fat percentage of 10–12% throughout the year without feeling like I am sacrificing anything.

1. Commuting By Bike

I ride my bike to the university. This way I integrate a total of 45 min cardio workouts into my daily routine every day and burn quite a few calories. The best part is that it saves me money and doesn’t take up any extra time.

And on top of that, I’m doing something good for the environment. I hope I can motivate some of you to go to work or university by bike, especially in the summer.

2. Few Liquid Calories

I drink almost only water and tea. This saves me unnecessary calories that many others get from sugary drinks. These are not only unhealthy but also do not even make us full. On the contrary, we then want more and more sugar. I think that especially drinks like cola has a large share in the increasing number of obese. For many people, it would be a game-changer to give up liquid calories as well.

Here are a few examples:

• 100ml Coca-Cola contains 42 calories and 11g of sugar.
• Ice Tea: 29 calories, 7 g sugar
• Fanta: 38 calories, 9 g sugar
• Sprite: 42 calories, 9 g sugar

Drinking a few glasses a day adds up to quite a few calories.

3. A (Mostly) Healthy Diet

I’m not obsessed with eating clean. Nevertheless, I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and generally eat quite healthy. I also don’t drink alcohol very often.

However, I do indulge in chocolate almost daily. This treat helps me avoid the yo-yo effect. I don’t have the feeling of having to give up anything and therefore manage to maintain my healthy lifestyle better without getting food cravings as is often the case with strict diets.

4. Hitting The Gym

In addition to my daily bike rides, I go to the gym several times a week, not only to build muscle but also to keep my body fat percentage low.

In terms of calorie consumption, strength training cannot compete with endurance sports, such as running, cycling, or swimming. However, you continue to burn more calories for many hours after strength training. This afterburn effect is because you easily damage your muscles during strength training.

For the regeneration and the following adaptation, your body needs a lot of energy and thus burns more calories. This effect can last for more than a day.

5. Drinks That Promote Fat Burning

Another aspect that helps me keep my metabolism going is drinking drinks like green tea, black coffee, and ginger tea, as they all boost fat burning.

Summary:

To maintain a low body fat percentage, you need to live an overall active and healthy life. For me, especially the following habits work very well to do so:

• Commuting by bike.
• Consuming few liquid calories.
• A healthy diet with some treats.
• Strength training.
• Coffee, green tea, and ginger tea.

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