1. WATER! And don't you roll those eyes, either. Water is critical on any fitness or weight loss journey. Water is life juice. You are made up of mostly water, after all! How much water?! The old adage that 8 cups a day is enough is only true for some of us. We actually need to drink half of our weight in ounces!! It looks like this:
Water is good for several reasons. It fills you up, which prevents you from consuming empty calories. It also helps to flush toxins out of the body through the urinary tract. Water also wards off constipation. Water keeps your skin moisturized and clear. It helps muscles function optimally. I could keep going, but I think you get the point. DRINK WATER!!!
2. Determine your WHY. Why isn't just a question, its a noun, too (at least in my book, grammar police!). Your WHY is a concrete thing. It is a reason for wanting to be on your fitness and weight loss journey. And I'm not talking "so I look good." I am talking about the reason that lives deep inside of your soul. Ask yourself how you will feel when you reach your goal, then ask yourself WHY you'll feel that way. Are you doing this for your family? For your health statistics? Did you make a promise to yourself? Is there a major event coming up? Do you just want to be able to play on the floor with your kids again? Whatever your why is, write it down! Read it daily! It will be the push you need when your journey gets tough.
3. Tell Someone! Accountability is the one thing that is going to keep you going when that package of Reese's Cups are staring you down in the line at the grocery store. Share your journey with a success partner. Get together with a friend and discuss your goals and your plan to get there. When I am most successful with weight loss, I am taking pictures on my phone of every meal I eat and sharing them with my success partner! That is what it takes for me. Tell your accountability partner how he or she can best help you! Tell them your WHY! Do you love tough love or need gentle encouragement? Is it food or working out that is your biggest struggle? Find a coach, a friend, or a sibling, and get to holding each other to it!
4. Eat often. This one goes against most of the crash dieting that we all did in college, a habit that is hard to break. In reality, starving your body simply encourages it to hold on to every last calorie a little bit harder. A body that knows it will be fed is more willing and able to burn them away! I have found what works best for me is eating every 2.5 to 3.5 hours. I like to eat 3 meals and have 2 nice sized snacks in between. Another option would be to evenly space all your meals and calories throughout the day. Whatever you choose, set an alarm to remind you and eat up, friend! It is worth it!
5. Plan ahead. The cliche is true: Failing to plan is planning to fail. It seems overwhelming to have to figure out what your are going to eat a few days from now, but if you aren't willing to plan a few days out, you will end up eating what is convenient. In case you haven't noticed by now, not much of the grab-n-go section of the cafeteria or gas station qualifies as healthy.
I like to use Excel because that is how my brain works but and old fashioned pen and paper are just as good. Plan out your 5-6 meals each day, even including your cheat meals! You will use that list to grocery shop. To save on money, I like to make enough to have the same meal two days in a row and also like to use the same type of meat (what is on sale) for different recipes during the week!
Here's an example of a meal plan I used when I was on the 21 Day Fix!
6. Change the way you think of food. When Americans hear the word diet, deprivation often comes to mind. In actuality, diet is a word to describe the food you eat - weight loss journey or not! It is time to start asking "What is this food going to do for me?" You need food to live. Your body needs food for energy and it deserves the best kind! It is, after all, your life source!
7. Eat real food. Your body isn't designed to handle processed foods. They are made up of things not natural to this world. Your body functions best on things that come from nature! And I know, it might not always be possible to eat 100% clean. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to pronounce all of the ingredients on a label. If you can't, it might be time to think twice! This is because most ingredients that you have a hard time saying are chemicals made up in a lab. Most of the time, these are made to mimic real food tastes to cut costs. Concentrate on your basic food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grain carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats. If you aren't sure where it falls, don't eat it.
8. Find a workout you love. This is so critical. Think about it: if you hate the workout your doing, it is THAT much harder to get it done! If you get a total high when doing kickboxing, do a kick workout! If you love the feeling you get after you lift, find something that involves lifting. It is hard enough some days to make the time for a workout. Why make it harder?!
9. Make the time. I know this might be a touchy subject, but it is true. You have to make the time. Someone busier than you is working out RIGHT NOW. Being busy is a fact of life. It is about priorities. If you can skip your workout and meal prep, I challenge you to say this: "My weight loss is not a priority today." If you can say that honestly, then don't workout. Don't prep or plan. Eat poorly. But if it is a priority, make the time! Your body will get more from a 25 minute workout than it will from 25 extra minutes of sleep!
10. Forgive yourself. This one is the hardest! You are inevitably going to have slip-ups along the way. Everyone has them, even the most fit people I know. And that is okay!!! It is okay to mess up every once in a while. Think about the typical cycle: you start your "diet" on a Monday and by Wednesday, you slip up when the lady in the next cubicle offers you a donut. After the donut lady ruins your day, you figure you might as well go to Friday's with your office girls! And then the whole week spirals out of control. If you would've just forgiven yourself for the donut, you'd have saved thousands of calories and loads of guilt! Learn to move on without looking back. Stop beating yourself up. The sooner you do, the less likely you will be to spiral out of control!
I hope these Ten Tips are as helpful for you as the have been for me!
Cheers!
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