On any given day, millions of Americans, maybe even YOU, are trying to manage their weight with diet plans, exercise routines, and even elective surgeries like liposuction and tummy tucks. Successful plans that keep the weight off and help us get healthier are long-term lifestyle changes. Less successful or “temporary” results come from miracle cures, magic workout plans, and shortcuts using surgeries, etc. Unfortunately, these often lead to burnout instead of new habits.
After years of helping people lose weight and transform their health, I’ve identified a couple Dos and Don’ts for the journey of getting back the body that you love and enjoy.
Keep in mind that any good plan can adapt over time. Recognize that getting healthy, which includes getting to your ideal weight, will require lifestyle changes that eventually become habits.
Here are some of my Do’s and Don’ts.
Do: Create a short and long-term plan. Make your initial plan very winable.
Don’t: Beat yourself up looking at only short-term results. It took you a long time to create the body and health that you have. Be fair to yourself and let time be on your side. Weight loss goals should be set on a yearly basis and worked backwards. I.e.: You want to be 20lbs lighter next year = lose 1.6lbs per month. Easy Breezy!
Do: Exercise and move your body. Interval training always works best. 3-5 days of training per week should suffice.
Don’t: Think that hammering your body more with intense workouts will have any positive changes in your weight management. You cannot outrun or out-exercise a bad diet.
Do: Change your eating habits. Identify your worst vice. I.e.: ice cream at night, breads, gluten, alcohol. Keep in mind, for things to change… YOU must change.
ALERT: 70-80% or more of all weight loss goals will take place through nutrition alone.
Don’t: Say it’s too hard or too expensive to eat well. Usually this means that you don’t want change bad enough. The truth about our food supply is that it has never been as bad as it currently is. GMOs, hidden sugars, processed foods, chemicals, etc.—this is what we are dealing with. Become your own food advocate. Become educated and invest in your health. Good food is not too expensive; rather, processed and sugary foods are simply very cheap. You get what you pay for.
Do: Keep track. Keeping a food log for just 7 days may rock your world. Keep track of everything you put in your mouth. Then take a minute to look up the total number of grams in “carbs” you eat per day. Ideally shoot for less than 100g. Eventually closer to 50-70g. If you’re over 100g of carbs a day, it will be difficult to lose weight. Ex: Banana = 27g, one serving French fries = 50g, two slices of bread =25g.
Don’t: Let this overwhelm or discourage you. One cup of spinach = 1.1g!, one egg = 0.6g, and most fiber-rich foods and animal proteins have very few carbohydrates. The reason we want to reduce carbohydrate intake is due to its impact on blood sugar. Simple carbohydrates and sugar cause your body to release insulin. Insulin is a FAT storage hormone.
Do: Measure your results with body fat percentage and waist circumference. To measure body fat, an effective hand-held device made by Omron is very consistent and affordable ($50).
For waist circumference, measure the thinnest part between your bottom ribs and your belly button. This is where most of the dangerous fat called visceral fat builds up. Go online and buy “myotape” for body measuring. Both of these measuring devices will need to be used consistently to see changes.
Don’t: Put all your emphasis on your weight! Should we monitor it? Yes. Yet it doesn’t tell the whole story. Over the years I’ve coached thousands of people on weight loss, and occasionally people get amazing results yet stay disappointed. Improved sleep, more energy, etc., yet the weight doesn’t change and they become disheartened. Often weight is the last thing to change. This is not uncommon and often expected. This is why it is important to have multiple measuring sticks to monitor your health.
If you want help losing weight and making the proper lifestyle changes call our office for a consultation.
visit www.balance30a. com
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