For those trying to lose weight, the world is a confusing place. You want to do something about those extra pounds you have gained, but you don’t know what to believe, where to start, or what will help you. A quick search on the internet will give you multiple ways to lose weight, such as intermittent fasting, paleo diet, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), weight training, detox diets, etc. Still, not all of them are backed by science and may not work for everyone. Most times, when you lose weight through these techniques and then decide to go back to your regular diet, you will find that you will quickly put on more weight than you lost. This is mainly because your body will try to make up for the loss and rapidly start storing fats to prepare for another possible starvation mode.
The only way to lose weight and keep it that way is consistency. You don’t need to starve for days or work out for hours every day. It can be as easy as half an hour of exercise and continuing a healthy diet, but you must do so for a more extended period, maybe even for the rest of your life. For this to be doable, you must focus on the long-term goal of becoming and staying fit than a short-term goal of shedding a few pounds for the summer or a wedding. This technique will help you live a better, healthier, happier, and longer life.
Exercising Your Way into Good Health
Most people worldwide live sedentary lives, meaning that they sit during most of the day at work or home and have minimal walking or moving. Nearly 2 million deaths are caused each year because of a lack of physical activity, making WHO warn about sedentary lifestyle being among the top 10 causes of disability and death. According to one of WHO’s reports,
Quote:
“Sedentary lifestyles increase all causes of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, and increase the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety. According to WHO, 60 to 85% of people in the world–from both developed and developing countries–lead sedentary lifestyles, making it one of the more serious yet insufficiently addressed public health problems of our time. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of children are also insufficiently active, with serious implications for their future health. Physical inactivity, along with increasing tobacco use and poor diet and nutrition, is increasingly becoming part of today’s lifestyle leading to the rapid rise of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or obesity.”
World Health Organization
It is quite clear that exercise is one of the most necessary components of leading a healthy life. However, you don’t have to go into extreme exercising because, honestly, who has the time for it? What is most important is that you get into a routine of 30-45 mins of exercise each day. Make a daily plan that changes the exercises you do and make sure you fit in many cardio exercises and some weight training into it. Focus on different body parts and not just the belly fat – don’t forget that spot reduction is a myth. You can start working out for three days a week and gradually move to 5-6 days a week if you can. Take complete rest at least one day every week and drink plenty of water even when you are not exercising. The sweating can make you dehydrated and cause an accumulation of water weight if you don’t rehydrate enough. You can also choose outdoor exercises such as cycling, jump rope, running, jogging, swimming, or playing a sport that involves running. Anything that keeps you moving will do the trick. Here is a sample workout routine for you to try –
- Monday – 10x squats, 10x jumping jacks, 10x wall/knee/regular push-ups, 20-second plank, 10x burpees, 10x crunches – repeat thrice
- Tuesday – 30 minutes running/jogging/fast walking
- Wednesday – 10x mountain climbers, 10x Russian twists, 10x lunges, 10x bicycle crunches, 10x high knees, 30-second wall sit, 20-second plank- repeat thrice
- Thursday – Rest
- Friday – 20 minutes running, 20 minutes yoga
- Saturday – 10x lunges, 10x jumping jacks, 10x wall/knee/regular push-ups, 10x oblique crunches, 20-second plank, 10x burpees – repeat thrice
- Sunday – Rest
Take 10-second breaks between each exercise and 20-second breaks between each repetition cycle. Keep a water bottle handy. Don’t forget to take a few minutes before and after your workout for warm-up and cool-down stretches, respectively, for preparing or relaxing your muscles. You can also do some stretching yoga with calming music to relax your mind.
Eating Correctly for A Healthy Life
Food is an integral part of our daily lives. As the saying goes – we are what we eat. What we eat determines not just the shapes of our bodies but also our physical fitness levels and mental health. Eating healthy keeps our mind happy because our body is happy with the nutrition we are providing for it. Self-love is more than just loving ourselves for the way we are; it is taking care of our body and mind – the two most precious belongings of any individual that must not be compromised under any circumstances.
Exercising alone will not work for weight loss. As is widely accepted, there must be a calorie deficit for your body to start burning the stored fat, especially the sneaky and dangerous one hiding around your organs, known as visceral fat. A calorie deficit occurs when you burn more calories than you consume. This, however, does not mean you eat less and instead means that you must eat more consciously. In addition, you must know which types of food are highly calorific and which are not. Food also consists of many essential nutrients, and you must not ignore them either. Vitamins, nutrients, and proteins are essential to building muscles when you exercise, and muscles burn fat. Dr. Mark Hyman’s book Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? can be an excellent guide for beginners to understand just that. Dr. Hyman, medical director and founder of The UltraWellness Center, is a New York Times bestselling author in the diet and nutrition genre. This book covers all types of food with explanations on which ones can be harmful to health and which ones are beneficial. His scientific breakdown of food, based on research findings, presents a holistic view of how food affects our health, environment, and society while providing a guide to achieving optimal health and weight.
Again, planning is important here too. You must plan your meals for the upcoming week to go to the supermarket and get the ingredients. You can also prepare meals in advance and store them in the fridge or freezer; this can be exceptionally helpful if you usually have a busy schedule. Your meals must consist of a protein and a carbohydrate source and be 60-70% fresh vegetables. It is always better to include fresh meat and vegetables than canned ones. Food loses nutrition during the canning process, and consumption of food sitting in preservatives for months is not very healthy. Freshly prepared food always has better taste and superior nutrient content than processed food. Processed food includes sugary drinks, ice-creams, candies, chocolate bars, and fried food, and you must drastically limit your consumption of these items. They are very tempting, but whenever you feel you are close to giving in to the temptation, think of how hard you have been exercising and if you are willing to let those efforts be wasted.
Another great way to connect with the food you eat is to take part in the choosing process, such as hand-picking vegetables at the farmer’s market, mushroom foraging, or growing herbs and veggies in your very own kitchen garden. It is vital to not only plan what you will eat but also how much. Overeating healthy food is as bad as eating junk because those calories count too. Therefore, you must limit your intake during each meal. For this, you can use calorie counting sites or apps that will tell you precisely how many calories you are eating. If all this planning is too much for you, you can always turn to meal prep services such as Blue Apron. Inform them about the number of servings you need and your food preferences, and they will send you fresh ingredients along with recipes so that you can prepare your meals at home. Their vast menu makes the food great on the palate and light on the calories – a great option for food-loving fitness enthusiasts.
An alternative to it is to get eatables that don’t need cooking. This category includes fruits, vegetables such as carrots or zucchini, yogurt, and cereals such as corn flakes and oats. What better way of snacking than a healthy, fresh, juicy apple? Daily Harvest is another service that home-delivers freshly-made ready-to-eat healthy food such as oat or chia bowls, smoothies, soups, lattes, and ice-creams. All of their products are vegan, delivered frozen, completely customizable, contain only natural sugars like fruits and honey, and free of preservatives or fillers.
If you are serious about losing those extra pounds, today is always the best day to start. First, start planning when you will exercise and what routine you will follow. If exercises bore you, do an activity that you enjoy, such as playing baseball or running with your dog. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you cannot keep up with the exercising or the dieting. You can restart working on it any day; believe in yourself and try your best to keep up with the plan.
What are your favorite healthy meals-to-go?
Share with us below about your weight loss journey!
