You see them everywhere. They are at work. They are in the streets. They are in restaurants, the beach, bars, on the bus, in the library, in the gym, they are almost everywhere.
That’s right, naturally skinny, slim and fit people. Or, maybe they’re the fit, muscular type with 5% body fat. Deeply seeded admiration and jealousy creeps in and you think to yourself, “If only I could look like this. How different my life would be!”
Yes, the odds are stacked against our big-boned brothers and sisters. The American public relations industry has consistently emphasized and emphasizes, not glorified, thin and/or fit people. You see them on billboards, department stores, movies, and, to be redundant, everywhere else.
The point of all of this is to take a look at why you feel this way about your particular weight or body size and to examine the motivations for wanting to DESTROY some of those extra pounds.
In the first place, one of the main reasons why you are not enthusiastic about your current body is because of the mere blending of the American cultural flood of the slim/fit body shape into your thought process. and your bad habit of comparing. As a culture, we are showered with images of lean, fit people on a daily basis. When you compare yourself to something, like an “ideal” body shape, or to someone in particular, a movie star or an athlete, you’re setting yourself up for dissatisfaction. The continual advertising images hit your head like a hype, all of which doesn’t help the cause. So number one, remember that you are a wonderful and beautiful person, inside and out, no matter how much you weigh.
Now, even after that pep talk, if you still want to lose and not lose weight, keep reading.
First, let’s examine the assumptions about weight loss.
Assumption #1 – You have to become a gym freak.
No. In fact, this can be counterproductive in the medium to long term, as prolonged, intense exercise (think Cross Fit reviews) can lead to injury, which can be a major roadblock to getting fit and losing weight.
Assumption #2 – You must diametrically change your entire lifestyle, behavior and attitude to achieve results.
No. You don’t have to turn your life around 180 degrees to get results. Change, yes. But incremental changes and keeping those changes within reason make for a sustained effort over time.
Assumption #3 – (Not precisely to lose weight but rather to bring to light a myth about our skinny brothers) – Skinny people enjoy good cardiovascular health.
Ha! Have you ever seen a skinny guy who never ran except for gym class in high school, trying to keep up with everyone else at the gym or in a morning yoga group (jogging, but the j is silent)? It’s ironic to watch. Now what about the skinny girl with high cholesterol? These people exist, and it’s in your best interest to know that once you achieve your goals, you’ll be ahead of these types of skinny people.
Second, let’s also briefly look at your motivations for wanting to lose weight.
Do you want to get in shape due to social pressure? Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Is your partner making comments about your weight? These reasons are superficial and better. Whatever the reason, the real reason, know this: wanting to lose weight must be in line with your own values and goals. Period. You must really want to lose weight and go for it. The reasons MUST be deep enough that once you have reached your weight loss goals, you are in a position to sustainably maintain your new body weight.
Here are some valid reasons for wanting to lose weight and get fit. (Non-exhaustive list)
1. If you have children, especially young children, have the energy and stamina to play with them.
2. To participate in sports and other physical activities that require vitality and endurance.
3. To compete in a sporting event, ie Tough Mudder, a marathon, a triathlon.
4. To reduce the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases and cancer!!!
Strategy
You understand the assumptions, you have the motivation, you know the reason you want to lose weight. Now, it’s time to act. What do you do for a living? Join a run meetup group? Sign up for 24 Hour Fitness? Go swimming every day in the lake/bay? There are many schools of thought on this, as I’m sure you’ve done a lot of research. A couple of things are worth mentioning.
1. Eradicate old habits (mostly)
To change, you must do different things than you have done in the past. Sounds like common sense, right? Well, it’s not that easy when it comes to forming new habits. However, with assumption #2 in mind, we need to make a significant change and push ourselves to get results. How does that look? Well, if you’re used to drinking soda, eating junk food, and watching TV, it’s time to put down the fries and the remote control. Ideally, reduce your intake of those types of eating habits and passive activities by 97-98%. If you opt for some fried chicken and a coke once a week, it’s okay that through all the hard work you’ll be putting in, you’ve earned it. Also, having those oral and olfactory food orgasms once a week or once every two weeks will keep you sane because deprivation can be an ugly thing. However, in the long run, you will notice changes in your taste buds and soon you will realize that you don’t even feel like eating junk food.
2. Sleep
Never discount the value of sleep. With all the new physical stress you’ll be under, rest gives your body some much-needed “repair time.” This is especially the case if you are going to add a weight lifting regimen to your game plan.
3. Lose weight or just dial back?
If you have a heavier set, but all you really want is to recompose (reallocate weight proportionally to each muscle group) your body, then weight lifting should be the main focus of your strategy. If you have a certain target body fat percentage, then cardio (running, swimming, elliptical, biking, stair climbing, rowing, etc.) is the way to go for you. Obviously, you want both, do both.
4. Time-based goals.
The time it will take you to see results will depend on you. Both in his individual effort, plan, behavior and body size. There are really three fundamental ways to achieve weight loss effectively. 1. Eat fewer calories. 2. Do more cardio. 3. Eat fewer calories and do intense cardio. Number 3 will produce the fastest and safest results for most people.
Food and General Diet
What to eat/drink: Fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, supplements, water, lots of water.
Fruit -Fruit is full of vitamins and minerals necessary for the proper functioning of the body and, not to mention fiber, which helps you feel full longer and with bowel movements.
vegetables – Vegetables just like fruits, tons of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants (substance that inhibits the oxidation of food and cells).
lean protein – Lean protein consists of chicken, eggs, pork, turkey, soy products, you name it. Have you ever heard of the Paleo diet? Look at it.
supplements – Supplements are a great addition to any healthy diet. They fill in the gaps for what you don’t eat or what your body can’t produce on its own. Multivitamins, minerals, fish or cod liver oil, chia seed oil, and natural weight loss supplements are all great ways to pack in what the body needs.
Water – Water acts as a cleansing agent, cleansing your system of impurities. It also helps with digestion, can help with portion control, and your liver loves it!
If you focus on the 5 groups above, you’ll start to SHATTER the weight.
What NOT to eat/drink: Alcohol, carbs/starches (bread – any kind – pasta, rice), sugar (eliminate all refined and processed sugars from your diet and you will be amazed at the effect it has on your body!!!!), sports drinks ( sports drinks contain HFCS – high fructose corn syrup – processed sugar!), dairy (0% fat mozzarella is fine), grains including granola, and obviously all junk food.
Again, it’s okay to treat yourself once a week, or once every two weeks depending on how quickly you want to see results, with fast food or whatever your guilty pleasure is. This will help you in the short term as you develop new healthy eating habits.
Exercises
For quick results, do a mix of indoor and outdoor sports to create spontaneity and avoid getting bored. Starting out, do 3-4 days a week of incremental exercise until you get to 5-6 days a week. Disclaimer: If you choose running as your primary mode of exercise, run for the first two weeks maximum, then switch to low-impact cardio for one week to reduce the risk of stress fractures and other related injuries. It then resumes execution.
tips and tricks
Walk everywhere.
Walk in your lunch.
Eat smaller meals throughout the day. (4-6 meals)
Use stairs instead of elevators and escalators.
Sell your TV. No, but turn it off and go outside.
Make your food whenever possible. You have the opportunity to control the ingredients.
When you go grocery shopping, look at the INGREDIENTS on the package labels. Be careful with any type of wheat, starch, or corn derivative aka processed sugar (dextrin, corn syrup, modified corn starch, dextrose, HFCS, maltodextrin)
Happy weight loss!
