17 Ways to Achieve Your Weight Loss Goal in 2017

If your goal this year is to get lean and shed fat, you’re not alone. In fact, staying fit and losing weight are among the top New Year’s resolutions people make, according to a Nielsen survey. But most of us don’t follow through: The same survey found that 76 percent of people don’t actually follow a weight loss or diet program.

So, how can you ensure 2017 will be different? Equip yourself with these science-backed tips from three fitness and nutrition pros who know exactly what it takes to lose weight. From what to do in the gym to what to make in the kitchen, these slim-down strategies will help you shed the unwanted pounds for good. 

The number-one mistake guys make in the gym? Skipping a warm-up, says Edward Jackowski, Ph.D., founder of Exude Fitness and author of Hold It! You’re Exercising Wrong. It may save a few minutes, but flexibility is crucial in helping your muscles grow, he says. And it’ll help you crush the rest of your workout: Research shows that doing dynamic stretches helped wrestlers improve their sustained power, strength, and muscular endurance. For a quick but effective warm-up, Jackowski suggests 10 minutes of light cardio and a 5-minute full-body stretch.

There’s a reason everyone’s talking about high-intensity interval training (HIIT): It works. “HIIT is effective because it delivers a maximal effort in a minimal amount of time, which is more appealing to a lot of people who don’t want to slosh around on a treadmill for an hour,” says Dan Trink, co-owner of Fortitude Strength Club in New York City. The basic guideline for HIIT is a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio of rest to hard work, eventually working up to 1:1 ratio (i.e., 60 seconds of active recovery to 60 seconds of work).

And the benefits continue long after you leave the gym. “HIIT workouts create an oxygen debt (since you use up excessive oxygen during training) which requires a large sustained effort to ‘repay,’ so you are burning additional calories for hours,” Trink explains. Research also shows HIIT can help lower body fat and improve endurance—in less time than a traditional cardio session.

SEE ALSO: Try these 11 fat-blasting HIIT Workouts

Yep, there can be too much of a good thing. Overstressing your body (like doing HIIT daily) can cause cortisol levels to rise, which makes weight loss difficult, says Jeremy Scott, trainer and owner of Jeremy Scott Fitness. “You simply can’t train 100 percent balls out every session, so having a balance and knowing your body is key,” he explains. “A good balance of HIIT sessions as well as some LISS [low-impact steady state cardio] is great to give your body and your CNS [central nervous system] some rest.”

The number-one mistake men make when they’re looking to drop pounds? “They don’t do enough cardio in order to shed the weight,” says Jackowski. One way to amp it up: Jump rope between sets when you’re lifting weights. “Jumping rope is the best type of cardio,” he says. “It has one-sixth the impact of running on your joints, and you can do it anywhere.”

One to two days per week, Jackowski recommends logging 30 to 40 minutes of low-intensity cardio exercise—jogging, cycling on a stationary bike, or using the elliptical. (He likes cycling since it’s low-impact.) You can stretch and/or do abs on this day too, Jackowski says, but the idea is to give your muscles a break from lifting.  

SEE ALSO: 5 Cardio Workouts You Should Be Doing

Full-body strength workouts can be more effective than split routines when you’re trying to drop pounds. In a split routine, you may still work secondary muscle groups on back-to-back days—and not allow your muscles to properly rest, which prevents them from growing, Jackowski explains. In full-body routines, you’ll work all the major muscle groups at once, which will burn more calories, create lean muscle, and make your body more efficient so it burns fat at rest, Scott explains. He recommends a program filled with compound movements—such as squats, deadlifts, heavy pressing and pulling, along with sled pushes. (Here’s a  6-week fat-blasting total-body workout routine you can follow.)

SEE ALSO: 30-Minute Full-Body Workout

Nike’s right about this one. If you’re not feeling motivated, tell yourself you’ll just do 5 minutes a stationary bike—and we bet you’re going to do more. “After 5 minutes you start to sweat and you’re in a completely different mindset,” Jackowski says. On those blah days, try extending your warm-up, he suggests. Think of it as a way to prime your body—and your brain.

“Hands down, it’s your nutrition that’s going to strip away stubborn body fat,” Scott says. The best way to keep track of what you’re eating? Actually track it! “Without knowing what is going into your body (macros) how can you really gauge where the progress is being or lost? You can’t,” explains Scott. “Tracking, understanding, and being able to adjust your macros based on how you look and feel is crucial. A little education along with daily action of tracking goes a long way in terms of seeing major results fast.” Research backs it up: One study showed that people who keep a food diary tend to lose more weight than those who don’t. 

It’s sad, but true: Studies shows that frequent dieters are likely to gain back the weight in the long run. “The biggest problem that so many make when it comes to healthy eating is following trendy diets that are not particularly sustainable,” Trink explains. That said, if a certain eating system or pattern is working for you, the key is to be consistent. “If you have a guide, like intermittent fasting or carb cycling—whatever it is—I think people do much better than just making it up week by week,” Scott says. 

SEE ALSO: The ‘Show Time’ Diet

As boring as it may be, try to stick with water. Even if you’ve ditched soda, new research shows the diet kind can also wreck weight loss efforts. Adult beverages add up, too. “Alcohol has 7 calories per gram which is nearly double that of protein and carbohydrates, plus it fills none of your nutritional needs,” Trink says. So when you drink, you’re simply consuming extra calories that provide no purpose (besides weakening your self-control). And the caloric surplus is a sure recipe for weight gain, Trink says. “A glass of wine isn’t going to make you fat, but it’s rare to see people who go on routine benders maintaining good body composition.”

SEE ALSO: How Much Water Do You Need?

It’s all too easy to fall victim to containers of Chinese food on nights you’re too tired or busy to cook. But to make sure your weight loss efforts don’t derail, it’s essential to plan ahead. Your secret weapon: Sunday meal prep. “I like the ritual of preparing a few different meals on Sunday afternoon with enough quantity to get you through the week,” Trink says. “This way you always have controlled, self-cooked meals.” Need inspiration? Here’s a healthy, simple—and affordable—meal plan. 

SEE ALSO: 5 Key Points For A Successful Meal Prep

This is a surefire way to lose one to two pounds per week, Jackowski says. “At night after your workout my number-one tip is to eat zero starch.” This means bread, potatoes, pasta, rice—but not necessarily “carbs” like vegetables. (In other words, all starches are carbs, but not all carbs are starches.) And yes, sugary stuff is off limits, too. “A great dinner would be a salad and protein—fish, chicken, steak, or veal chop—and tons of veggies,” Jackowski says. 

SEE ALSO: The Seven Deadly Sins Of Dieting

Speaking of macros, you’ll want to put protein front and center in your diet as you lose weight. One recent study suggested that eating a high-protein diet (about three times the recommended amount of protein) helped overweight men gain muscle while shedding about 12 pounds of body fat over an intense 6-week weight loss regimen. Make sure you have plenty of protein at every meal—and supplements can help.

SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know about IIFYM

No, you don’t have to meditate for 15 minutes over each meal, but being mindful as you eat may help you make smarter choices and aid in weight loss. Research suggests eating too quickly or while distracted may lead to overeating instead of stopping when you’re full as well as digestive issues, Harvard health experts suggest. Start by eating at least one meal per day slowly and attentively (no TV!); taking smaller bites and chewing them well; and think about whether you’re truly hungry (or just bored) when you reach for a snack, Harvard health experts suggest. 

It’s the unsung hero of losing weight. “People really, really underestimate the value of sleep when it comes to the weight loss process,” Trink says. When you skimp on sleep, you miss out on many hormonal and metabolic processes that aid in weight loss—plus you’re more likely to make bad nutritional choices when you’re tired. Here’s why: “When your leptin [hormone] levels drop from lack of sleep, it signals the brain to eat more,” Scott explains. Too few zzz’s also cause a spike in cortisol levels, which tell your body to save energy while you are awake, making you more likely to hang onto fat. “Carve out 7 to 9 hours a night to get restorative sleep if you truly want to be lean,” he suggests.

Meeting a friend at the gym can really pay off. Research shows that people who had a “gym buddy” both work out more frequently and have more fun doing so than people who hit the gym solo, so they’re more likely to stick with their program. Trink notes that training small groups of four can be supermotivating for clients. Find someone with a similar schedule and goals as yours, so you can encourage each other and hold each other accountable. 

SEE ALSO: Dolph Lundgren’s Partner Workout

While working out is certainly important, it’s not the only factor in losing weight. Most men rely on their workouts as the main or sole effort in their attempt to lose weight, but other priorities such as adequate sleep, proper nutrition, hydration, stress relief, and other lifestyle factors will go much further than just crushing workouts for a couple of hours per week, Trink explains. If you’re obsessing over your workouts and not seeing a change on the scale, take a step back and consider other factors that could affect your weight loss goals. 

SEE ALSO: 6 Things You Should Do After Every Workout

“Weight loss is a mental game,” Trink says. And being stressed out can cause your body to hang onto unwanted pounds. Stress reduction techniques such as meditation, journaling, mindfulness, or anything that can help you decompress will certainly help you in achieving your goals, Trink says. “Anything that helps you keep your head on straight is a good idea.” 

SEE ALSO: 10 Foods to Eat to Beat Stress