That’s right guys, its bikini season! If you’re like me and ready to hit the beach for summer vacation, then it is important to discuss the beneficiaries of exercise and eating healthy instead of believing in a magic diet pill will shed your pounds away.
According to a recent ABC news article, a study was conducted by observing up to 4,000 obese individuals where half of them took diet supplements without exercise, and the other half simply developed a healthy diet and exercised three times per week.
“This study, though observational in design, supports weight loss through proper eating and activity — a fact that is often challenged in today’s quick-fix world,” said Connie Diekman, Director of University Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis.
The study revealed that those who exercised and developed healthy eating habits noticed more significant weight loss than those who simply took diet pills and ate healthful foods. The individuals who took diet pills relied heavily on them, causing them to more likely gain even more weight than before if they stopped taking them.
“Diet and exercise are reflecting a commitment,” said Keith Ayoob, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. “Without a commitment, there will be no success. With commitment to gradual changes, you keep your eye on the bigger picture and are able to accept that quick fixes are never the answer”.
Just as this article stated, slow and steady wins the race, and so does commitment.
Ready to get sexy?! Here are a few tips to get you started!
1. Make a Commitment
Make a workout schedule. Remember, workouts do not have to be hours long per day. If you are starting off, a simple 20-30 minute workout three times a week is more beneficial than taking a supplement and praying that it works. It’s also better than spending more than 20 minutes watching TV or surfing through Netflix when you have free time. If you are one of those people who don’t believe you have free time, 10 minute workouts are just as effective, and you will still notice an improvement in your health overtime.
2. Don’t Drink Your Calories
Water will become your best friend in the course of a day. It flushes out your system of any toxins throughout the body, hydrates you, AND won’t leave behind any aspartame, calories, sugars or carbs. We all have enough of that with the foods we eat daily in the dining hall guys.
3. Veggies, Fruits and Protein
Time to start eating clean! Vegetables and fruits will provide you with essential nutrients for your body. Low in calories and fat, they provide you with antioxidants that will boost immunities in your body from cancers, other sicknesses and oxidant stress. (Fiber is also pretty important unless you want those long stays in the bathroom…) Protein has the necessary nutrients to build muscle after your workouts, and not to mention keep you full longer, so you won’t go after any sugary or carb-compacted junk foods throughout your day!
4. Throw the Scale Away
Weighing yourself everyday will only cause you pain. I promise ladies, you will end up breaking the scale from a loss of patience. A lot of times the scale will freak you out because as you begin to transition into a healthier lifestyle, you will notice a drastic influx and never-ending changes in your weight. Due to the way our bodies are, our hormones and cycles of our bodies are completely different than guys (which is why we are so awesome at working hard for what we want to achieve, by the way). It is better to use a measuring tape in order to keep track of weight loss and losing inches than a scale. The beginning stages of weight gain could because of muscle, as it weighs more than fat, as well as our hormonal changes. Keep the scales away ladies.
5. Grab a Workout Buddy
A workout partner is a great way to keep yourself motivated, especially if your partner is just as focused (if not more) as you are toward keeping a healthy lifestyle. Grab a partner who is a little more toward your level, they will help keep your workouts fun and encourage you the entire time.
6. Believe in Yourself
When goals are made, people tend to lose faith if they don’t see results quick enough. It is important to understand that as difficult as beginning a healthy lifestyle may seem, it really is not as bad as you think it is. Believing in yourself is the most important aspect to have. No one will believe in you if you don’t; and taking care of you is the most important thing to pursue. Don’t let the media with super skinny girls on magazines show you how to look. The girls in magazines don’t even look like the girls in the magazines! Just stay true to you, make the goal you want to achieve, find inspirational quotes, focus on you, and get where it is that you want to be. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise what you are trying to pursue is not for you, or is not possible. Anything is possible.
Listen ladies, while the cold weather has you in your dorms wanting to lie down, eat pastries, and stay warm, take some of that time to make a change for yourself. Who wouldn’t want to look and feel sexy this summer or spring break? Let’s make it a goal though to realize that there is no magic pill that will get you to this healthy. Exercise and a healthy lifestyle will not only help you to become a better you physically, it will help build the confidence you have always had as you begin to see results overtime with patience and discipline.