Last Fall, I gained some weight during an intense online Biology class. When I say intense, I mean INTENSE!! I had no time to exercise, I ate quick & easy (aka unhealthy) meals, and I barely slept. For 8 weeks! I'm not even sure how I survived. When I finally recovered my wits after class ended, I tried to lose the weight. I struggled. And I struggled. And I struggled. I was making things too complicated. I made a few changes and the weight started falling off. What to know what I did??
Eat simply - don't over-complicate your meals. Stick to clean, natural, whole foods. Avoid artificial ingredients, chemicals, and additives. IF you have to eat some processed, prepackaged food (and now-a-days who can avoid it 100% of the time?) make sure it has as few ingredients as possible. If you don't know what an ingredient is, don't eat it! We like to plan meals around several staple items and fresh produce. Beans, grains, quinoa, amaranth, romaine, kale, apples, and bananas (with some random fruits and veggies thrown in for variety). Lunch and dinner are often one of several salads I try to eat weekly.
Walk 250-500 steps an hour - that's 3,000 to 6,000 steps over 12 hours. It's only a few minutes of walking each hour. Adding these steps is especially important if you sit at a desk all day. Walk at your desk. Walk while you sit. Do whatever it takes to move your body. I've read it takes 20-30 steps to burn a single calorie. That's an extra 150 to 300 calories extra you are burning. Not only are you burning extra calories, you are also keeping your metabolism working all day.
Eat a little less than a serving size - whatever a serving size is for what you are eating, eat a few bites less. If it's 15 almonds, eat 13. 1 cup of grapes, eat 9/10 of a cup. When you eat slightly less, your body is still satisfied, but you've saved some calories. You have to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound. Eating a little less can add up those deficit calories quickly. If you are counting calories, enter the full serving amount of calories to "trick" yourself into eating less.
Burn 500-1000 calories more than you consume - Knowing how many calories to eat is confusing. Overly limiting your calories is frustrating. Going over your calorie goal causes guilt. I mentioned earlier it takes a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound. That's a deficit of 500 calories a day for a 1 pound weight loss a week, or 1000 calories for 2 pounds. Instead of stressing about how many calories to eat a day, aim to burn an extra 1000 calories. Make sure to take into account your basal metabolic rate (how many calories your body burns just to survive doing nothing) and exercise. And don't forget to make those calories come from healthy and clean foods!!!
Once a week push yourself past your limits - Our bodies are masters at adapting. They become "used to" our workouts and don't have to work as hard. Don't believe me? Look into the Principle of Overload and the Principle of Diminishing Returns. Basically, we need to do more than our muscles can handle and after time, our benefits lessen. Not cool, right? So at least once a week, we need to push ourselves past what we think we can handle. Now, I don't mean doing so much you hurt yourself. Nor do I mean make it so hard you get frustrated and give up. But, do a little bit more. You normally walk for 30 minutes - do 35 instead. You normally lift 50 pounds - try 55. You run at 5.0 mph - try 5.2. Or maybe you only like to do one type of workout. You like Pilates - try Zumba. You strictly weight lift - try crossfit. Whatever it is, just push your body out of it's comfort zone!
If you give my tips a try, I'd love to hear about your results. And as always, you have any questions or need more ideas, send me a message. I'd love to hear from you. Now, don't forget....
