How to Get Back in Shape if you are Overweight!!
This is not an exhaustive list. If you have any tips to add, please add in the comments!! Love to hear what's working for others.
10) Drink more water. I recommend that you work your way up to drinking half your body weight in ounces per day. You don't need to do this all at once. But start gradually working in that direction. You will be making more frequent bathroom trips LOL, but as soon as your body gets adjusted to the additional intake, that should smooth itself out.
9) Don't reduce your calories too much. Can't emphasize this too much. Many of my clients come to me with a history of dieting and undereating. They have suppressed their metabolism so much, that there is no room left to cut anymore calories and I am in the strange situation of insisting that they eat more in order to lose the weight they are wanting to lose.
8) Eat more protein. Protein is very satiating and it is very metabolically expensive to digest. In other words, you stay full longer and burn more calories when you get enough protein. In addition, there are ton of muscle repair and muscle building benefits to eating protein. AND as you age, you need more protein, not less, because your body is not as efficient in breaking it down and utilizing it. Almost nobody with normal kidney function consistently eats enough protein.
7) Get adequate sleep. Guilty here. Sleep is when you make your gains. Athletes sleep 7-9 hours a night or more. When you work with me, especially in person, I consider you to an athlete and expect you to sleep like one. It's a work in progress for me and a constant battle, but one that's worth fighting.
6) Eat slowly. There is a time lag between when your stomach is full and when your brain recognizes it. That's why the old advice is to chew your food thoroughly. Check out this blog post I wrote.
5) Choose healthy fats. Fat is an essential nutrient that your body cannot live without. There are many different types of fats, most of them good, but we get omega 5's in an overabundance because of the modern food is processed. We all need to balance out those omega 5's with plenty of fish, fish oil, and olive oil. Fat is essential for hormonal and overall health. A good supplement for Omega 3 fatty acids can be found here, if you are not getting enough fish.
4) Consistency. What is the best diet? The one that you can stick to for the long-term. Almost all of them will work temporarily, but the one that fits your lifestyle and can be incorporated as a habit is the one that will result in consistently meeting your goals.
3) Intermittent Fasting. There is tons of research on IF above and beyond weight loss. I've written about it extensively.
Here is a good article:
And another one here:
2) Exercise. You should not be surprised that an exercise program will help speed up the weight loss process AND have many, many other benefits such as improving your blood markers, your metabolic numbers, strength, speed, endurance, agility...all of the above.
I recommend CrossFit because it's constantly varied; it's functional; it's intense; and at our gym at least, there is a great sense of community which is great for your mental health.
Crossfit can literally save your life.
1) Limit processed carbs. Carbs get a bad name, but really it's the processed carbs that are your enemy. Processed carbs such as pastries, high sugar deserts, soft drinks, sweet tea, gatorade, and especially high fructose corn syrup which is added to almost everything because it's cheap and tastes good. This is number one for a reason.
If you need individual help, we have another round of Plateau Busters starting April 5th. Message me or comment below.
And if you found value in this post, please give it a comment, like, and a share!!
Allright? Peace out!!
Rich