We are starting a new weight loss program at work and it got me thinking about some of the things I try to do to watch mine. Here are a few tricks that have worked for me if you're looking for any nuggets.....and you don't have to be into this Ironman stuff to do them. Anyone can use these!
1. Weigh every day. Every. Day. It keeps you close to fluctuations in your weight so you can react quickly. If you wait til next week to weigh, you might have gained 3 pounds without even seeing it coming!
2. Weight loss is the wrong term. We’re in this to lose FAT. Cut fat and the pounds will come off.
3. Do it for yourself. Take yourself out of the group of 10 and focus on yourself and your goals.
4. Make small goals for yourself along the way. This isn’t Begin with the End in Mind, this is What can I do Today to be on Target for Tomorrow.
5. Stay on a routine. Plan your meals and hit your weekly workouts when you’ve scheduled them.
6. There are no “cheat meals.” I’m really sorry about that. Fat loss, fitness, health – it’s a lifestyle change and a commitment. Save Thanksgiving dinner for Thanksgiving.
7. Bring your lunch to work and the snacks you need to get through your day – including your workouts – but no more. The snack machine is NOT your friend and it is not there to bail you out. There is nothing in there that is helpful to fat loss.
8. There are no magic pills. It’s very simple: fat loss equals work put out and fuel put in. Exercise. Eat right. Each of those is a step in the right direction, but neither will get you where you want to be without the other.
9. That said, ALL food is energy IF you use it by completing your workouts. Otherwise, any excess eating you did in the day becomes fat.
10. Protect your exercise time. This is a commitment to yourself. Don’t give in when someone tries to steal your exercise time!
11. No food after 8 pm. Try to get dinner done in the early evening. Your metabolism is slowing down at night, and a late meal will settle more as fat while you sleep since your body is too inactive to use the meal as energy. If it can’t be used, it has to be stored…..and we are all built with wonderful spots on our bellies and butts to store fat.
12. I have one exception to that last rule. Have a couple spoonfuls of lowfat cottage cheese right before bed. Cottage cheese has a high amount of caseine protein, which releases over time. So, it’s a good way to get protein over the hours that you sleep.
13. No calories from drinks. Drinks are for hydrating not eating. If you must, choose a drink rich in nutrients and down it when it counts most – orange juice in the morning, chocolate milk after a workout (a good muscle rebuilding protein source). But absolutely no non-diet sodas (includes lemonade, sweet tea, energy drinks, etc.). If you do anything, cutting out non-diet sodas is perhaps the biggest step you can make!
14. Energy drinks like Gatorade are not going to help with fat loss. They are for getting you through a 2 hr + workout and that’s all. If you’re not doing that, don’t drink ‘em.
15. Fat loss isn’t the only goal worth focusing on. Key in on strength increases, being able to go farther or faster, your belt size, more energy during the day, etc. Use them all, cuz there will be plateaus and you’ll need the other accomplishments to get you through!
16. Eat like a rock star for breakfast, a career dude for lunch, and a poor college kid for dinner. A big breakfast fills you up longer (and when your metabolism is at its best!) so it actually helps you lose weight! If you don’t have time for breakfast, use a meal replacement shake on the go.
17. Not “No Carbs.” Just “Watch Carbs.” Keep them early in the day when your metabolism is working double time and can convert the carbs to energy, and make dinner more protein based when your body needs to recover from the day’s activities. You need some carbs to have energy for the exercise you’ll be doing.
18. Get the bulk of your carbs from fruits and vegetables. Try not to eat breads at night at all.
19. Get your protein from lean meats like chicken, fish, and turkey. You can also get them from legumes (beans) and tofu, if you can hack that stuff.
20. Healthy meals are easier when the family gets with the program. Try to get them to do this with you. And there are LOTS of fun tasty ways to eat healthy.
21. Understand when you’re hungry, what is it that you are hungry for? Satisfy THAT need. Need energy? Fruit, not a non-diet soda or candy. Need salt? Nuts, not chips. Beef jerky is actually very satisfying and high in protein!
22. Drink lots of water. Flavor it and you’ll drink more! Seltzer water even has bubbles that make you feel full!
23. Alcohol. Hmm, tough one. Just try and moderate it. Here’s a good way to look at it: EARN your drinks. Get that workout done and you earn it. Skip the workout, you don’t earn it. Wine is probably the healthiest, beer and dark alcohols are the least healthy.
24. Did you know dark chocolate is okay (75% dark chocolate or more)? Give yourself a treat of a modest portion every day!
25. To burn fat you have to get your heart rate up. Cardio trumps lifting weights. Get most of your weekly exercise from aerobic cardio activity. Insert a little weight work to boost metabolism and stay strong and injury free, but curling dumbbells or laying on a bench doing presses is not going to burn fat at a fast enough rate.
26. It’s odd that “spot training” doesn’t burn fat in the spot you target. Go for a run and the fat doesn’t come off your legs. It comes off your belly, right where it settles. That’s just how it works. So, get that heart rate up and do your cardio.
27. Think cardio is boring? Find something you can do and a place to do it that makes it fun! Running, biking, swimming, soccer, tennis, basketball! We have a greenway, Boyd Lee Park, etc. And there are always groups of folks to do it with.
28. Exercising with friends is much easier than by yourself and you hold each other accountable when you commit to workout with them.
29. If you get hungry during the day and are about to eat something you hadn’t planned on, come see me first. Give me a chance to help you find something that will tie you over with a minimal impact on your calorie intake and a maximal intake on the nutrients you need before you dive for that Honeybun! Ask me about recipes, vitamins, anything. If I don’t know I’ll find out!
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