I’m not sure if you’re aware but January is weight loss awareness month. That means that this is the best month to get focused on your weight loss goals for this year and to get off the couch and into the gym. The thing about weight loss is that it can be difficult and there are many ways to go about it that aren’t always successful. How do you lose weight when there are so many conflicting opinions? Don’t worry, we have some tried and true techniques that will help you reach your weight loss goals so that you can look and feel better.
This is common sense right. Everybody knows that if you want to lose weight, you have to change your diet. The thing that most people argue about what foods to eat and how often. How about we make it easy for you? You want to avoid fried foods altogether. Fast food burgers and fries are delicious but loaded in sugars and salts. Same thing with sodas and sugary drinks. It’s also good to avoid frozen or canned foods that are full of salt. If you enjoy bread, it’s time to eat less of it or switch to whole wheat. Breads are great but they are full of carbohydrates which is a form of sugar.
Basically, avoid foods that are high in salt and sugar. Eating out can be great usually the foods are high in calories as well. A key to weight loss is burning more calories than you consume, so you’re better off sticking to home cooked meals.
So, what do you eat instead? If you’re craving something sweet, go for berries that contain plenty of nutrients and also give you some natural sugars that are much healthier than the processed kind found in most foods. Figs and dates can also be sweet enough. Get more veggies into your diet of course but also go for leaner meats like turkey or chicken. These are better for your heart and usually contain less calories than pork or beef. You could also eat more fish like salmon or tuna, which have omega 3 acids that improve circulation and heart health. They key is to get healthier ingredients for your meals.
I have a friend who is having a tough time losing weight. He eats healthy food but at strange times. His first meal of the day will be at 3 and it usually is a large meal. Then he won’t eat again until 8 PM when it’s a normal sized meal, then he has a large meal at 2 AM as well. Naturally, every time he wakes up, he has not lost any weight on the scale. The reason being is his body does not have enough time to burn off the calories he consumes. If you eat right before sleeping, your body tends to absorb the calories consumed because your body is not active. If you eat your meals during the day, then your body has time to burn everything off.
I told my friend that I once lost 25 pounds in one month by changing when I ate. I had a small meal when I woke up to give me energy, then I have a medium sized meal for lunch and then another medium sized meal for dinner. The trick was that my dinner was always at 4 or 5. I also went to the gym around 6 or 7 to burn off the calories. The rest of the evening, I didn’t eat until the next morning’s breakfast and every time I woke up and checked the scale, I was a little bit lighter. I told this to my friend and he scoffed. But he still hasn’t lost any weight, and has even gained some, while I ended up losing an additional 10 pounds on top of that before ending my diet. Change your food schedule and you might see some real results.
I am not saying anything new that hasn’t been said before but the reason I am repeating it, is because these are the things that have produced results. That being said, another technique that will help you lose weight is to focus on anaerobic workouts vs aerobic workouts. Anerobic workouts are things like jumping, sprinting, or lifting weights. These are supposed to be high effort but in small doses. Compare this to aerobic workouts like swimming or running, where it is more about the distance and time. Higher intensity exercises improve your metabolism compared to lower intensity workouts.
The biggest success I had at losing weight at the gym was from lifting weights. Every day I would go and run for 15 minutes, bike for 15, and use the elliptical for 15. I burned a lot of calories but I usually gained it back. When I began lifting weights before running, I noticed the weight loss would continue. My metabolism was being boosted by the anerobic workouts vs the aerobic workouts. The results were much different between both types of exercise. Hence, now when I am looking to lose weight, I focus more on lifting weights than running for long periods of times. I definitely enjoy seeing better results after putting in the work. Combine that routine with the Performance Hydration IV drip and you can help your body recover faster.
If you’re looking to lose weight this month, one major thing you need is consistency. If you go hard one week and take off the next, your results will be inconsistent. If you want consistent weight loss you need to plan your diet and workouts each week and make sure you squeeze in enough time to take care of it, otherwise you’ll be disappointed. Make sure to work out at east 3-4 times a week for at least 45 minutes. It helps to work out the same time each day, so it becomes a habit.
Other things to keep in mind for weight loss are sleep patterns. Make sure to get at least 8 hours a night and make sure you go to sleep and wake up around the same times every day. This will give your body the energy it needs to get you through your day and also help your metabolism keep the weight off. Sleep is incredibly important to our health and if we neglect it, it can affect our weight gain as well.
If you want to lose weight this month, all you have do is use some common sense. Eat healthier, exercise smarter, be consistent, and get some sleep. It’s that easy and you’ll love the results.