This is my unscientific, common sense approach to weight loss for you folks trying to shed a few pounds. (Especially the group I am coaching right now. Woot!)
First of all, I need to say that if you are a bit older and have some serious weight to lose, there is no substitute for first checking with your physician. Be smart. I am not a doctor.
It used to be we were a largely labor oriented, agrarian society that had to man handle the world to live. In the information age, very few of us actually do physical labor for a living.The great majority of us aren't mending fences, working the fields, milking the cows, mucking the barn, herding the cows and slaughtering the pigs for dinner.
We pretty much get up in the morning, sit to eat, sit in the car, sit all day at work, sit in the car again, sit down to eat, and sit down to relax after all that sitting. Couple that with cheap, readily available, abundant food and enough money to eat till failure at every meal and you get the inevitably fat America.
Bottom line: If you want to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. And no matter how hard to hit your P90X, you can't out work a crummy diet. Period. Weight loss is mostly diet. Like 80%.
Again: If you want to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in.
So, here goes my gaggle of unscientific tips to getting ahead on this thing. There are tons of books out there on diet. But here are some easy to remember quick tips to get you going.
If you wanna lose weight, you have to do things differently or you will continue to get the same outcome:
1. Clean out the junk food from the house. If it is in the house, YOU WILL EAT IT! So get rid of it and stop buying it. Seriously. Like, right now. This includes, twinkies, sugared cereals, bags of potato chips, candy, cupcakes, pop tarts, processed whatever's. You know exactly what I'm talking about, Don't pretend. Just dump it.
2. You get 1 desert a week...ONE! That's it. Make it count. Pick a day and build an altar. But simple carbs, like sugar, spike your insulin levels in bad ways causing you to retain fat. So, no candy, no cake, no cupcakes, no chocolate, no ice cream, no fancy coffee, no pumpkin super season latte's. NONE. If you cheat on these things you might as well duct tape it to your gut 'cause that's where it's gonna go. This goes for appetizers as well. Do you really need to eat a food that is designed to make you wanna eat? really?
3. No sugared drinks. Coke, Gatorade, Snapple whatever. NONE. If you have to have the bubbles, drink diet or some bubbly zero carb water. Better yet. Just drink water. You don't need me to tell you the benefit of that.
4. Don't eat till failure. When at a meal, eat about 2/3rd of what you think you want. That's right. Leave it on the plate. Step away from the fries! Always walk away from the table hungry. It takes time for your hunger pangs to catch up with your actual intake. If you eat till you FEEL full you have most likely overeaten. HOT TIP! - If you are trying to lose weight, YOU WILL BE HUNGRY. Alot. Get used to it. No way around it. It's a good thing.
5. Obviously, the kind of calories you take in matter. Popcorn is not a food group. Much of what we eat is empty calories. And with food that is low in actual benefit, it takes more of it to get the nutrition our bodies actually need. If you eat better food, you need less of it. Lean meats, vegetables, fruits etc... use your head. You know what to do.
6. A meal replacement is a great way to reduce your calories. Great nutrition that takes the place of one meal a day. I like Shakeology. Been doing it for a few months. Love it. Amazing profile and only 140 calories. A bunch of recipes out there for variety. Portable and easy.
7. Eat 6 small meals a day, especially if you are doing heavy workouts. A Balance bar. P90X bar. Meal replacement. Protein Supplement. Fruit. Nuts. Half a good sandwich. Your body will store fewer calories when it doesn't think it is going to be a long time til the next meal. Some options here if you are looking for bars and other supplements - http://beachbodycoach.com/troykennedy
8. One of my favorite tricks, since I have a sweet tooth, is apples. Whenever I am jonesing for candy or something, I eat an apple. It gives you the good kind of complex carbs and fills the space. By the time I finish it, I am over the candy urge. Your mileage may vary. Also, if you are at a restaurant and have a choice in side dishes don't get the cheesy corn. Don't get the fries. Get the salad with low fat dressing or get the vegetables.
9. Try not to eat after 7pm. Your body tends to store this fuel as it is going to hibernate soon via bedtime.
10. Use your head. You are all smart adults. Quit rationalizing your poor food choices. You know exactly what I'm talking about. "But I LIKE food X..and a lot of it!" What do you like more; food x or diabetes? What do you like more; food x or living to know your grandchildren? What do you like more; food x or being crotchety and old by the time you are 55? What do you like more; food x or a pacemaker? What do you like more; food x or a longer, higher quality of life? Not trying to be melodramatic. However, this is reality. And, it is the people we love the most who also have to clean up the mess when we are irresponsible with our health.
11. Eat breakfast. Those who skip, really screw up their metabolism and subsequent weight loss. Eat a good, high protein breakfast, low simple carbs (read: No sweet cereal. If it's sweet, it is most likely triggering an insulin response that causes fat retention) preferably within half an hour of waking to restart your metabolism.
I shoot straight because I love you. I guarantee you, if you follow these very simple guidelines, you will see terrific progress. It will take time. You didn't get where you are doing Eat90X! But stay with it. A year from now, you will be amazed.
Model wise living for your children. And remember; It is easier to keep the weight off than to get rid of it later. There is tremendous power in the cumulative effect of your daily choices over time. Like 90 days, for instance.
Your body is a gift from God. Manage it well.
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