So I’m going to share with you 10 tips to lose the last 10lbs and this is also applicable to those of you who wants to maintain your weight.

Let’s start by looking at the workouts:

1) Workout Less But Intense

Tip number 1 is to workout less but intense. No matter what workout program you're doing, you will lose weight faster if you increase the intensity. Do interval trainings instead of steady pace cardio, do explosive exercises like jump squats, increase the weight you're lifting and rest shorter to burn more calories and fat. Intensity is far more important than the length of your workouts. So spending 20-30 minutes of intense workout and giving it your maximum effort is far more effective than an hour of moderate jogging. Intense training not only helps you to burn more fat during the activity but even after the workout, which is also known as the ‘afterburn’. The more intense the exercise, the greater the afterburn effect. Your body will be more efficient in burning fat for 24 and up to 48 hours after an intense session.

2) Switch your workouts

When your body is accustomed to the same workout you do for the past 3 or 4 months, it won’t be as effective anymore.

So try something completely new. When your body is forced to adapt to new types of motion, you will start burning again. For instance if you are used to running 4 times weekly and have a very good stamina, that doesn’t mean you will have the same stamina if you were to start swimming, you will struggle initially. Instead of running four times a week, replace two of those workouts with cycling, swimming, join a yoga/pilates class or even pick up a new hobby like boxing, which is what I’m currently doing now. Some of you have mentioned that I look leaner lately, and that’s just mixing up my workout by adding 1 weekly kick-boxing session in.

I’ve seen and feel the changes myself. Switching your workouts will not only boost your metabolism but it’ll make your routine feel fresh again, it’s motivating and this is especially important to maintain your weight as well.

3) Do Strength training

Strength train at least twice per week. As I’ve mentioned earlier, as your body gets smaller, your metabolism will slowed down. This is why those last few pounds are so hard to lose.

Metabolic rate is directly linked to the amount of muscle you have. The more lean muscles you have, the higher your resting metabolic will be. If you want to tone up, strength training is the way.

Those who do a lot of cardio without strength training can be slim, but not toned. Whereas people who strength train, will tend to have a firmer physic. Strength training also helps with a better posture.

So aim to maintain muscle mass while continuing to lose weight by committing to your resistance training routine. You can always mix it up with cardio, which is what most of my workout videos are.

Now let’s move on to Food & Nutrition

4) Slash 100 – 150 calories from your daily intake.

Re-evaluate your food intake and how many calories on an average do you consume in a day. It’s worth re-calculate how many calories your body needs at your current weight, since the lighter you are, the fewer calories you may need. You can use my video here to calculate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0SoSMN4TOM

Based on the calculation, we want to cut back on some calories in order to drop the last 10lbs. You do not need to make radical changes, if you're already increasing the intensity of your workouts and eating a clean, whole-foods diet, all you need is to reduce an additional 100 – 150 calories from your daily intake.

5) High and Low calorie days

Another tip, which has proven to work for many, is to alternate between high and low calorie days. Cycling your calories, is the process of eating more on certain days and less on others.

If you always eat an average of 1,500 calories, try eating 1,300 calories one day and 1,700 the next. As long as you create a weekly deficit, you should see the pounds drop. This concept is similar to shocking your muscles into working harder by introducing new exercises. We want to shock your metabolism by cycling your calories.

6) Reduce starchy Carbs to before and after workout

I am not against carbs and they are needed as part of a balance diet. Carbs however have a unique effect on the hormone insulin, which tends to cause you to store more than you burn.

Hence, a simple and short-term method to lose weight is to cut back on carbs until you have achieved your goal, which is also the low carb high protein meal plan. Eat lean protein and vegetables at every meal and limit carbs to before and after your workouts for your body to rebuild and recover.

7) Reduce meat and feel lighter

On the contrary, if you can’t seems to limit you carb intake only to before and after workout, and you are looking for something more sustainable, why not try to reduce your meat consumption instead. Eating less meat has been proven to lighten up the scale. Plant-based foods are naturally lower in calories, and high in fiber, hence keeping you satisfied without overeating.

You can replace your meat with eggs, tofu, beans, lentils or even fish – fish are lower in calories in comparison to meat. This does not have to be a drastic change, instead choose maybe 2 days in a week to go vegetarian, or go vegetarian throughout the day and have your meat for dinner.

If you're not ready to give up meat, choose leaner cuts of meat, and go for light meat like turkey and chicken instead of red meat, they are higher in fat. Choose a healthy way to prepare it. So no frying, instead grill or broil the meat. These small changes will make a huge difference.

8) Rest

Most people think that by training harder you will speed up weight loss. That is true but we need balance by resting. If your workouts are constantly intense and your diet is too strict, you could over train and burn out.

Your muscles need rest to repair and grow. When your body is a rest, it enables recovery, improves fat loss, and helps to regulate hunger. If you train hard without having enough sleep, you could actually cut your fat loss rate in half.

Lack of sleep also triggers a hormone called ghrelin, which increases your appetite. So not only are you awake for more hours in the day, but you are hungrier for all those extra hours, which will encourage you to eat more. 8-10 hours of sleep per night is what you really need if you want to maximize your fat loss potential.

If you think you might be overtraining, where you are both mentally and physically tired, one tip that I’ve seen to be effective is to stop any physically activities for 4-7 days and then get back to your workout routine. By allowing your body and mind to rest and recover for 4-7days, you may be surprised to find the scale moving again.

9) Stand & Walk

When it comes to losing the last 10lbs and eventually maintain your weight, we should already start to lead a healthy lifestyle effortlessly. Small habits like standing up more often or get out and walk everyday will help burn an additional of 200-300calories, without having to try so darn hard. So when you can, walk to places, or make it a habit to do you morning walks.

While intense exercises tend to make us hungrier, walking does not have the same effect. It seems to be an easy way to burn body fat without increasing our hunger, which tends to having a larger meal after a workout.

10) Stop Being Obsess and Focus on performance goal

Being obsessed with this ‘magic’ number can lead to stress. Stress causes us to hold on to our precious body fat. So whenever you get obsessed or stressed out because the scale isn’t moving, guess what, your additional stress, is actually hindering the scale from moving!

Instead of focusing the ‘number’, focus on few performance goals instead. For instance, if you can’t do toe push-ups yet, make that your goal to achieve in the next month. If you have just started a dance class, make it your goal to master all the moves to perfection.

And believe me, when you achieve your performance goals, you will see the scale shift, you will look and feel better, and more importantly you had fun doing it, instead of getting stressed out.

So start having confidence that the changes you have made in your lifestyle are going to work and focus on enjoying the process instead as you get closer to your goal.

Remember fitness is for life, it’s not just a ‘magic numbers’ to achieve. Once you achieved it, then what? So mixing things up, enjoying your trainings and meals Having a more relax fitness approach will help you to maintain your weight for life.