There is something for everyone, but how do we tie these ideas together to create weight loss and a healthier life and body?
Nutrition
Nutrition is the key to you achieving optimum health. Have you ever heard the metaphor that your body is like a fine tuned car and if you give your car junky, depleted gas to run on it will eventually breakdown? It is important that you are always searching for the most nutrient rich foods to fuel your body with. It is also important to test and figure out which foods work best for you. For example, there are many successful people who follow either a vegan or a paleo type diet. Neither is “wrong,” nor do they work for all people. You must find what works for you even when others become your critics.
Nutrition is also the key to weight loss. You may work your butt off in the gym but if you are not eating correctly, you will not see the results you are looking for. Here are a few key nutrition guidelines:
- Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. All of these Earth grown goodies are loaded with vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, enzymes and antioxidants.
- Try to buy organic when it is plausible.
- Eat a variety of healthy fats.
- When eating animal products, try to buy free range, anti-biotic and hormone free.
- Limit processed foods and those with chemical ingredients that you don’t understand.
- Limit refined carbohydrates since they have been stripped of their natural goodness.
- Limit added sugars and sweeteners.
- If a food causes an allergic reaction within your body- don’t eat it. Obviously your body thinks that it is a poison, even if you can medicate to reduce/relieve symptoms you are still damaging your body microscopically.
- Don’t skip meals but also don’t over-indulge at meals.
- If you want to lose weight, reduce your calories slightly. If you dramatically cut calories your body will retaliate.
Water
It is common knowledge that our bodies, like most things on earth, are comprised of mostly water. Drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health. Drinking water not only helps maintain fluid balance within the body but it also keeps your skin looking healthy and radiant, and helps your kidneys and bowels detox. Water even energizes your muscles by delivering essential electrolytes.
When it comes to weight loss, drinking water is definitely a strong strategy. While water doesn’t have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help. Also, if your belly is full of water, chances are you will eat less. Try these tips:
- Flavor water with fresh fruits (berries, orange, lemon, grapefruit slices), fresh vegetables (sliced cucumbers or carrots), or fresh herbs (lemon verbena, mint, rosemary).
- Drink warm water with lemon in the morning to help detoxify.
- Drink cold water in the morning to help wake up.
- Drink a large glass of water before any meal or snack.
Juicing
Whether you go full throttle with a juice cleanse or simply have one every few days, you will benefit from this earthy elixir. When you make and drink a fresh juice it is like taking a super potent multi-vitamin that hits your system in about 15 minutes. Your body doesn’t even have to be taxed with digestion. The more often that you can deliver this abundance of nutrition means the more your body can maximize healing from within.
But how does juicing help with weight loss? As mentioned before, with an abundance of nutrients your body is able to heal itself and is naturally less defensive towards calorie deprivation due to decreased eating or increased expenditure (exercise). It will also be able to repair from exercise and weight training more quickly and efficiently giving you your dream body faster. Cravings are usually caused because your body wants a nutrient it doesn’t have. Juicing ensures that you are getting as many crave-busting nutrients as possible. Another way juicing helps with weight loss is because you should be full after drinking 64 oz. of green juice and satisfied until your next meal.
- Choose a base: cucumber, celery, lettuce.
- Add leafy greens.
- Add some herbs.
- Add a little zing: ginger.
- Add lemon.
- Add a fruit to sweeten it up.
Exercise
Exercise can benefit the body and mind in so many ways. It will help reduce stress, improve mood, help you sleep, make you feel better, strengthen your heart and lungs, and help you detox. Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss through burning calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn.
When shedding weight we want to ensure that what is under our layers of excess fat looks good too. In our country many people diet (both effectively and ineffectively) but few people actually exercise. Or, you have people who just do hours and hours of cardio. Cardio is amazing and it has its place. It will definitely help you burn calories and improve your heart and lungs, but if you really want a tight, toned and well-shaped body, break-up with the elliptical and date the weights. My exercise recommendations are simple:
- Workout 6/7 days a week.
- Fuel before every work out.
- Lift weights 4-5 times per week.
- Do cardio HIIT (high intensity interval training) 2-3 times per week.
- Practice yoga, or at the very least practice balancing and stretch.
- Refuel after each work out.
- On non-workout days still get out and get active.
- Eat to succeed: [
Commitment, Dedication and Results
To summarize here with respect to weight loss, we must keep in mind that weight loss is not a sprint, it is a marathon. What does that mean? Simply this:
Most likely your current collective weight and health situation has been caused by years of bad exercise and eating habits and therefore you should expect satisfying results to take a while too.
Remain committed and dedicated to your S.M.A.R.T./ER goals, follow the above guidelines, look for more help and information, and you WILL reach the results you work for.
S Specific Significant, simple
M Measurable Motivational, manageable, meaningful
A Attainable Appropriate, achievable, actionable, action-focused
R Relevant Result-based, results-oriented, resonant, realistic
T Time-bound Time-specific, trackable, tangible
E Evaluate Ethical, excitable, enjoyable, engaging, ecological
R Reevaluate Reward, reassess, revisit, record
And remember you are never alone because we’re in this together.