To lose body fat for good, you need to shake up your approach—and shake it up often. Plateaus suck, especially when you’re working hard in the gym and in the kitchen to make sure you’re doing all the right things to cut fat. You strength train a few times a week, you’re eating healthy, you’re doing cardio. What more can you do? Often, all you need are a few simple tweaks to get back on track to continue to shred body fat, and get closer to that coveted six-pack.

To lose body fat, heed these 17 tips, all of which work to help you lose body fat. Within a few weeks, you’ll start seeing more definition in your arms and midsection—without sacrificing the gains in the weight room. Not only will you look better in the mirror, but you’ll also be healthier overall.

17 Ways to Lose Body Fat for Good

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1. Drop Your Calorie Intake by 500
To slash fat, you must maintain a caloric deficit, which means you must consume fewer calories than you burn per day. Yet, often, we underestimate how much we take in, and overestimate how much we use.
Instead, keep a food journal for three to four days and track exactly how many calories you’re eating and drinking. Then, gently reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories per day to boost your fat loss. Measure your body fat every few weeks with fat calipers to make sure you’re moving the right direction.

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As we age, it can seem like our bodies are breaking down. We lose our hearing, our vision, our mobility, and our memory. We develop back pain, neck pain, diabetes, and depression. But one recent study, published in Cell, suggests calorie restriction is a comprehensive way to solve most aging ails. Aging, the study’s authors […] More

With the beginning of spring, daydreams about beach days, barbecues, and hours spent outside are likely flooding your mind right now. And we’re guessing that there’s one thing that all of these mental meanderings have in common: tasty, fresh food. 3 Delicious and Healthy Comfort Food Recipes (That Also Make Great Leftovers) Photo: Courtesy of […] More

If you’re searching for that extra kick-in-the-seat to get through your treadmill session, try music. Not just any music though: Listening to faster-tempo tunes between 170 and 190 beats per minute (bpm) was found to have the greatest effect on getting people’s heart rate up while lowering their perceived effort, according to a recent study by Andrea De Giorgio, associate professor in physiological psychology at eCampus University in Italy.

During the experiment, people worked out in silence or with slow, medium, or fast-paced music. Overall, the faster the beat, the easier the workout felt, which is key since research shows that the limiting factor in people’s workouts is usually mental, not physical. “Rhythmic patterns of music facilitate the execution of movement, creating a feedback loop,” says De Giorgio. “In the context of exercise, certain music can be strategically chosen in order to induce physio-psychological responses that lead to better performance, as well as regulating mood and shifting attention. Try “Go Off” by M.I.A. (170 bpm), “Arabesque” by Coldplay (172 bpm), and “Follow God” by Kanye West (180 bpm).

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I had dismissed the news as clickbait, but here McConaughey is, Zooming in the same wood-paneled room that he appeared in on Colbert—except this evening, a tall, gold-fringed American flag stood behind his shoulder.
Matthew McConaughey driving his car in Texas Photograph by Camila Alves McConaughey & Levi Alves McConaughey
I ask, “So, you’re really not going to run for Texas governor?”
“I said, I have no plans to,” McConaughey replies, sipping.
“OK, so what about the White House?” I chuckle; McConaughey doesn’t.
“Listen, I think everybody should at least entertain the idea. It’s a form of actually defining your values: ‘What if I was president of the whole world?’ You’re forced to consider your priorities.”
Just hypothetically speaking, I say, what would his campaign slogan be?
“Ha, ha, ha. Oh, I get sent a lot of ’em. I love it. There was one I really liked: ‘Make America All Right, All Right, All Right, Again.’ That’s a fun one.”
“But for me…” he pauses a second. “It’s ‘Meet Me in the Middle—I Dare You.’ ” He held up his thumbs and fore-fingers, and mimicked reading the campaign slogan on a bumper sticker. It’s the same type of social pragmatism that fills his book: When facing any crisis, I’ve found that a good plan is to first recognize the problem, then stabilize the situation, organize the response, then respond. (Folks, he’s running.)
Matthew McConaughey relaxing at home Photograph by Camila Alves McConaughey & Levi Alves McConaughey
“You can’t have unity without confrontation. And to have confrontation, you have to at least validate the other’s position. We don’t even do that. So I’d say, I’ll meet you in the middle. I dare you. It’s a challenge, a radical move. You come this way, I’ll come your way. That’s how democracy works.” More