Keep Weight Loss Simple

As February rolls around, people start making excuses up to not go to the gym. People make their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight or get in shape but unfortunately they do not stick with it. They may lose some weight but stop going and are confused why they are gaining the weight back and then some. Why do you think this happens?

The key to losing and keeping weight off is to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Most people that want to lose weight do not realize that simple small changes in your lifestyle can help you lose weight. The trick to reaching your goal is to keep it simple. A drastic change in your diet may give you rapid weight loss but will not be best for you in the long run.

A few tips that will help get you started on the right track are:

  • Eating natural foods
  • Creating a sustainable lifestyle change
  • Start exercising
  • Don’t over-think things

Eat whole foods. This does not mean you have to go to the best organic food marts and buy organic foods and free range meats, instead this means to buy food that you have to prepare. Before you say “I don’t have time to cook” let me ask you this; Is cutting an hour worth of television out each day to prepare healthy meals so you can live a happy and healthy lifestyle worth it? Buy things on the outside rows of the grocery store; fresh or flash frozen vegetables, fresh meats or frozen meats like ice glazed natural chicken breasts. Purchasing whole foods and learning how to cook will be one of the biggest positive life changing things you can do.

Here is something you may have not known:

Two and a half pounds of boneless skinless chicken breast are about 1000 calories. A Taco Bell XXL Steak nachos is 1200 calories.

One of the most important things over everything is that you do not look at this as a diet or a temporary thing. Being fit and healthy is not temporary, it is a lifestyle.You must be consistent and make this a sustainable lifestyle change. It is important that you make changes slowly so you can adapt. Going from satisfying your sweet tooth and eating out and drinking soda all the time to eating only natural whole foods and drinking water will feel like you are depriving yourself. That’s why ‘diets’ do not work. Start slow and keep making positive changes and you are well on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

Exercise will help support weight loss as well as help pave a healthy lifestyle. A general rule of at least 20 minutes of exercise three days of a week is going to be optimal for improving your health. Exercising gives you an energy boost and puts you in a good mood from the endorphins released. If you add in resistance training you will tone up by building lean muscle which increases how many calories you burn even while sleeping.

Last and most certainly not least, do not over-think everything. Start slow and do not compare yourself to anyone. Use others as motivation but do not think that since you are not able to run miles at a time that you are not going to make progress and lose weight. Write your progress down, eat whole foods and just get started.

Remember that the hardest part about anything is that first step.

 

References:

Taco Bell Nutrition Information

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