We all know the freshman fifteen is a real thing, eating out is wayyyy easier than cooking at home (even though it costs more money) and yes, it probably sounds so much more appealing to sit in bed and watch Netflix than go to the gym. Despite all of these distractions and guilty pleasures, everyone has those few pounds they would love to shed, whether it’s to fit into their old bikini or just to maintain a healthy weight. However, I’ve been seeing a lot of diets that talk about “fast weight loss” and “shedding ten pounds in a week.” Let me tell you that that sounds amazing in the momet, but you are going to regret it the next week when your body is starving and you’ve gained back the ten pounds that you just lost. Just liek anything else in life that is worth pursuing, weight loss is a journey and a difficult one at that. It takes persistance and understanding that you are not going to reach your goal weight in just a week. Sometimes it will take months of exercising and eating healthy to get to where you truly want to be. With that being said, I wanted to reach out to those of you who are looking for a healthy way to lose weight and to keep the extra pounds off just in time for summer vacation. I’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks for reaching your goal weight or even just ways of staying in shape and rewarding your body with healthy and wholesome food.
1. Find out what you love to do as far as exercise.
Find the one activity or exercise that doesn’t feel like a hassle to you, but that you love to take part in. Sign up for kick boxing classes, spinning classes, yoga or pole dancing. Try out a bunch of different things until you find the one activity that fits you and your awesome personality. You are bound to find at least one thing that interests you and that you enjoy participating in. Once you’ve found it you now know what form of exercise you can take part in to reach the goals you’ve set for yourself.
2. Plan out your meals.
By buying in bulk at the grocery store and cooking in larger amounts, you can have the same meal multiple times throughout the day. Meal prepping really does help with planning how much you are going to eat and what of. Through cooking early and packaging your meals in Tupper Ware you will discover that you are not scrambling for a granola bar as you run out the door or having to settle for McDonalds since everything else would be too expensive or take up too much of your time.
3. Make goals for yourself.
With that being said, make realistic goals for yourself. Don’t try to start off running 3 miles when you haven’t run a mile in four years. Don’t exercise too hard or push you body to its limit because if you do, you are going to get injured and (trust me, I’ve learned from experience) it won’t be fun. Make sure to set goals for yourself so that you have something to work towards and you can feel accomplished once you’ve made it to the finish line. Setting goals for yourself such as losing a pound a week or eating 200 fewer calories than you would normally are both good examples of what can be done and in a healthy way.
4. Don’t look too far ahead.
As you are on the road of your weight loss journey don’t look at the end goal as a daunting figure or task. Look at your goals on a weekly or daily basis and set a comprehensible starting goal for yourself such as ten pounds instead of looking at the end goal which could be 40 or 50 pounds. Look at everything you do in increments and remember not to get frustrated with your body or yourself if it is taking longer than you wished or you feel that you aren’t seeing results. You will see progress eventually with hard work and dedication.
5. Remember to rest.
When trying to lose weight, it is important to exercise 4 to 5 times a week, but it is also important to remember to let your body rest. If you exercise 7 days a week for an hour each day, your body is going to catch up to you and you will be more tired than anything. You need to let your body rest with a day or two of recuperation and relaxation. Reward yourself for your hard work by taking a bubble bath or trying out a new regenerative face mask.
6. It’s a lifestyle, not a race to the finish line.
Keep in mind that if you truly want to be healthy and lose weight in the process that it is a long term ordeal, not a few weeks of training and giving up because you aren’t seeing the results that you want. Of course it is okay to have a cheat day every now and then because pizza and ice cream are awesome, but don’t get hung up on the scale or the mirror because exercising and eating right are benefitting your body in the long run and that is a reward in itself.
7. Use a food-tracking app.
In order to track different meals you’ve eaten and look at components such as calories, carbohydrates and nutritional information it is essential to download a health app on your phone. There are so many to choose from such as MyFitnessPal or Cronometer. Most health apps will let you put in your goals and tell you your calorie count for the day in order to reach that goal within a certain amount of time. They also can tell you how many calories you’ve burned from certain exercises and give suggestions on next steps. Having a health app is a great weapon because it allows you to track your eating and your exercise habits, but it also reminds you of what a healthy calorie count is and will warn you if you are not eating enough.
8. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Please please please remember to not be hard on yourself or blame yourself if/when you are not losing weight quickly. The body is a strange thing and sometimes it takes over a month to see results and then all of a sudden you’ve lost five pounds. Every person’s body is different and never compare yourself to others or think that the scale is an indicator of who you are. Have fun with your weight loss journey, reward yourself from time to time and look forward to accomplishing your goals!