Weight loss is always a long journey and people always say that there are no shortcuts, but that isn’t actually true. It’s true that there is no easy way to lose weight and you always need to put some hard work in. However, there are some simple ways that you can speed up your weight loss and reach your goals a lot faster. These are some of the best shortcuts to help you burn more fat. 

Image From Pixabay CCO License

Start Strength Training 

If you are trying to shed weight, you are probably focusing on cardio activity and you might not think that strength training will do much for you. You’re not trying to build muscle, so why would you bother lifting weights? The thing is, strength training helps to speed up your metabolism, which makes it a lot easier to burn fat. You also convert muscle to fat when you lift weights, so it helps you tone up and burn more fat at the same time. Strength training is always an important part of your workout routine because you can lose muscle mass if you do a lot of cardio so lifting weights will help to maintain your muscle. 

Try Fat Burning Supplements 

A lot of people claim that fat burning supplements don’t work but that isn’t the case. There are a lot of fat burning supplements that won’t do anything for you but there are still some that will help you to speed up weight loss. Check out this review of the Best Fat Burning Supplements for Women to find products that actually work. However, it’s important to remember that they’re not a substitute for exercise and diet, they just help to speed the process along. The reason that a lot of people say that fat burning supplements don’t work is that they take them without doing anything else and expect results. But as long as you keep up with your exercise routine, they can help you to burn more fat in a shorter space of time. 

Eat More Protein 

Any diet that cuts back on calories will help you to lose weight, but a high protein, low-carb diet like the keto diet is the most effective way to burn fat and maintain your muscle mass at the same time. Eating high protein foods is obviously important but if you are working out a lot, you should try using some protein shakes or bars as well. You’ll find that you have a lot more energy and it’s also better for your recovery if you eat plenty of protein. If you often get sore muscles after working out, that’s a sign that you need more protein in your diet. 

Take More Rest Days 

People often think that working out more often means that they will burn more fat, but if you push yourself too hard, the opposite will happen. When you are overworked, you won’t be able to push yourself as hard so you won’t actually burn as much fat. But if you take more rest days, your workouts will be far more effective and you’ll burn fat faster. 

Although there is no easy way to lose weight, these simple changes to your routine will act as shortcuts and help you burn fat faster. 

 Are you struggling to find the motivation or energy that you need to get through some of the most difficult days of the week? If so, then you might want to consider some of the best ways to build up your levels of energy and give yourself the new found power you need. Here are some of the options that you can explore. 

I can't believe our sweet girl is already beyond three months old! She is growing so fast and it has been so fun to watch her grow and develop. With a baby, comes a lot of stuff. When registering for our daughter, I spoke with new moms, read message boards, and looked at checklists. We probably registered for a hundred things that people insisted we had to have. However, I realized these last three months, that babies don't need much. As long as their basic needs are met, they really don't need all these gadgets and fancy things. I can't believe how many expensive items I have read about people insisting a baby needs, when really they just need a clean diaper, milk, and a good swaddle. Don't waste your money on bottle warmers, breathing monitors, and fancy bassinets. These are the top ten items your little one needs...or that you need for your own sanity!

Hatch Rest Sound Machine, Night Light, & Time to Rise: We use the Hatch as a sound machine and night light, but will use it as our daughter ages as a night light and time to rise. The Hatch has a variety of different noises and colors, with our Addy preferring the orange light and the laundry machine sounds! My favorite part of Hatch is that I can control it via an app on my phone and set a timer to it. I am able to get the Hatch set up before we take baby in to bed and set it to go off 15-20 minutes after she falls asleep.

Unicherry Baby Scale: We originally got the scale because COVID had us unsure if well baby visits would be happening. But we were so grateful to have it when our daughter was born premature and we had to actively make sure she was gaining weight. We use this scale once a week to check our daughter's progress and are so glad we have this! We checked it's accuracy with our pediatrician's scale and found them to be aligned. 

Boba Wrap Baby Carrier: For awhile this carrier was the only way that I could get our baby to nap. I'd have to put her in it and just sit down for her to sleep at all during the day. While we have broken that habit, it is extremely helpful to have when I have stuff I need to get done around the house and she just wants to be held by mama. It is easy to use, easy to clean, and a great purchase for the price.

Oogie Bear: I knew there would be many new joys to parenting, but one that I did not expect was the joy I would get when digging boogers out of my daughter's nose! The Oogie Bear works so much better than bulb syringes, it's easy to clean, and can help with removing wet or dry snot from your child's nose. It is made from rubber so it doesn't hurt baby's nose at all and it has a bear head on it to be sure that it doesn't go too far into baby's nose.

Fisher Price Bouncer: This is another area where you really don't need anything fancy. I had registered for the $200 Baby Bjorn Bouncer where you have to bounce it yourself with your foot. Thankfully we didn't get it because this $20 Fisher Price bouncer is one of the best things we have for our baby. It vibrates and has a removable toy bar that baby enjoys batting at. We put her in it after every feed for about 15 minutes to ensure that she doesn't spit up. We also put her in it while we are eating dinner. I have heard of Mom's using it while they shower, but with both of us home working remotely right now, this is not a concern of ours. 

Love to Dream Swaddle or as we like to call it, the arms up swaddle. While our daughter has transitioned herself out of swaddles (thank God she did that on her own, I have heard it is awful!) this was a great swaddle for us for two months. She preferred sleeping with her arms up by her face, so this gave her the capability to do that, while also being swaddled. The sleep sack design makes it super easy to put baby in and it taught our baby to self sooth. They also make transitional and independent sleep swaddles, but because baby has transitioned herself out of swaddling, we haven't tried those.

Electric Nail File: While our daughter was in the NICU they recommended to us that we file her nails instead of clipping them because of how thin her skin was. We started out using standard nail files, but it was taking so long to be able to get her nails filed and it wasn't getting a good file either. I looked up recommendations online and saw suggestions for electric nail files. Now I am giving the same suggestion because this was a game changer! It removes any fear of cutting baby's skin and gets the filing done quickly. It has different heads for different ages and has different speeds to best fit your needs. 

Boon Grass Drying Racks: These drying racks are helpful in getting bottles, bottle parts, and pump arts dried quickly. The racks don't take up a lot of space and have a tray underneath for the water to drain to. There are accessory add ons available for allowing more space for drying items, but we do not feel a need to have those. We have three racks and love them. 

Fisher Price Deluxe Kick & Play Piano Gym: This play gym is perfect to keep baby entertained for hours and can last them for a couple years. Our baby currently loves this play gym. She hits at the animals, stares at herself in the mirror, kicks the piano, and has so much fun with this interactive mat. As baby ages you can move the toy bar and piano to better engage your child. The songs, while be it annoying after hearing everyday for months, are cute songs. There are three stages to the piano and songs based on child's development. It helps with sensory development, gross motor skills, and early academics. Tummy time can also be done on the mat. 

Pacifier Wipes: Our daughter can not function properly unless she is sucking on her pacifier. Because of this, we are often cleaning her pacifier. However, we do not always have access to a sink or clean water, so we have pacifier wipes! These wipes contain natural ingredients and get the pacifier clean in an instant. They can also be used on toys. We have them in our diaper bags, as well as our diaper caddys. Because of convivence we often use them at home even when we do have access to a sink or clean water. There are many different brands out there, but we prefer Dr. Talbot's because it is all natural.