The Fit Lady

There are many weight loss secrets everyone knows that they should be doing but aren’t.  We fall into the diet industry’s trap that the fast and easy way to lose weight is to buy a certain pill or do an extreme diet or exercise.

We all overlook the simple free things that will have fast and simple weight loss results.  These things show slow results but are more sustainable long term.  The slower our body adapts to new habits the easier your body accepts the changes.

It is more complicated than eat less exercise more.  What you eat and how much you eat as well as how you move are factors.  Finding the right recipe for success for your body can be simple.

Start with small changes and pay attention to how you feel.  

In a quest to lose weight we are always drawn to fast solutions.  Creating a severe calorie deficit or extreme exercise plan can make your body drop pounds fast but can be detrimental to your long term health.

 The following tips will help help you lose weight while helping you reach your long term goals.  Nothing is extreme here, sometimes we overlook the simple lifestyle changes that have huge impacts.

What are you drinking?

1. Ditch Soda (Diet drinks Included)  Our body processes water differently than other drinks.  We thrive when with an ample supply of water.  When sugar and artificial chemicals enter our water our system slows down to process it.

We don’t actually need 8 cups of water and drinking a gallon a day, as some diets want, will deplete micronutrients and electrolytes from your body.

But… drinking water is better for you than anything else and helps fill you up keeping you from overeating

I have felt the pain of having to drop soda.  My body had to go through a transition, but once I overcame that addiction the benefits keep coming.  Without soda I am more energized, have more mental clarity, and have seen a drop the bloated belly!

How much do you move?

2.  Resistance training.  Body weight exercises and weight training will provide faster weight loss than only cardio.  Muscles need more calories than fat. Restricting calories and doing tons of cardio will diminish your muscles.  When you stop doing cardio and start eating more calories you will gain more fat because your muscles have decreased.

Strength training burns calories and builds muscle.  Cardio activities are easier with stronger muscles.  Build muscle and feed your muscles the proper fuel.

At the very least, just move your body more today than you moved before.  Walk more If you sit a lot.  Find an active hobby you like and get moving, don’t overcomplicate it.

Be honest with yourself about your lack of physical activity and move more of you’ve been sedentary.  Start slow and steady.

If you work out a ton and aren’t seeing resuslts you could be over training.  Tweak your workout.  Train in new ways that keep your body from getting stuck on a plateau.

What are you eating?

3. Eat Your Veggies.  Too many diet plans get overly complicated with what you can and can’t eat.  I’m going to try to make this as simple as possible.  Your meals and snacks should include lots simple fresh foods.  So eat your veggies.

Eat Carbs? Don’t eat Carbs?  What about meat? And fruit??  

Clean out unnatural ingredients first.  It can take experimenting with your own body but eliminating whole food groups completely can be extreme and may not be entirely necessary.

I don’t believe anyone is “naturally thin”.  The skinny person is just better at moderation in the types of foods they eat.  Also, are better at listening to their “Full” signal.

If vegetables are the majority of your food intake you will feel satisfied and alive.  We know sugary and processed foods are hard on our bodies but don’t kick yourself and fall off the wagon when you eat them.  Just be consistently eating small meals with clean fresh ingredients.

4.  Skip late night Snacks. I am pointing my finger at myself on this one.  Late night snacking is usually unnecessary.  Make an effort to get your meals and snacks in at least 2 or 3 hours before you hit the sack.  This is super helpful to your digestive system.

5.  Try intermittent Fasting.  Help your digestive system even more with intermittent fasting.  This has become my favorite strategy for eliminating bloat.  Learn more about why I love intermittently fasting and how to make it work for you, read it here!

When we give ourselves a time limit for food intake we will natually eat less.

6.  Find a hobby to replace eating.  If Eating is your hobby these days its time to rethink your talents.  Remember the other things you love to do and preoccupy your mind while you’re making the transition to weight loss.  Stay busy.  Being idle can make old unhealthy  habits make a comeback.

At the very least, just move your body more today than you moved before.  Walk more I’d you sit a lot.  Find an active hobby you like and get moving, don’t overcomplicate it.

7.  Don’t overthink the “Plan” Lastly, the journey to better health should be enjoyable. Stressing over the details of your weight loss plan can keep you stuck.  Think of the reasons you want this for yourself and start enjoying the benefits day one!

Notice what foods make you feel good and energized, feeling good is the precursor to looking good.

A smaller waist size will come but you will also gain so much more during the process.  Make your plan as automatic as possible so you don’t have to be deciding anything on the fly.  When foods and workouts are planned for the week, acting out the plan becomes an easy routine rather than a mountain of stress.

Related:

3 Mental Tricks to More Body Confidence and Why You Should Care