How many of you believe the easiest way or maybe the only way to lose weight or achieve better health is through exercise?
I have been in the health & wellness industry for over 30 years and it never ceases to amaze me the misconceptions we are all lead to believe when it comes to weight loss and good health. The majority of people I’ve worked with and coached over the years are reactive to their weight loss or health goals not proactive.
People usually wait until things seem to slip too far out of hand before deciding to make adjustments to counteract their weight gain or health issues rather than changing their lifestyle to prevent those occurrences. If this sounds like you….trust me when I say “you’re not alone” this is the way 90% of us approach these issues.
Again, because we have been so programed in society to believe that exercise is the (main) or (only way) to combat this our first knee-jerk reactions is to join a gym, hop on the cardio equipment and burn our way to our perfect weight and better health. Most end up throwing in the towel 2 to 3 months down the road feeling that there is a lot of work involved for very little benefit, realizing their goal may never be achieved.
The reason it’s a feat too big for many is because the approach is wrong. The biggest single factor in losing weight and becoming healthy is not in your exercise program but in the foods you are fueling it with. We all must understand that calories are not created equal. The protein sources you consume are the building blocks of all muscle tissue, enzyme production, hormone production and make up every living cell in our body. Carbohydrates and fats are simply energy. If you are over consuming your energy products you will not lose weight and in fact gain weight, it’s just that simple.
Change your mind-set and your body will follow. You should never have to work out so hard that you dread doing it because that is not a permanent solution. Equally so, you should never cut your calories back to the point you are trying to starve away fat. This will never be a permanent fix either.
Here are 5 things that you can do that will help get you on the right track and make your weight loss proposition an achievable goal.
1. Pick out an exercise program that fits your lifestyle. Whether its walking, jogging, weight lifting, bike riding, etc… just pick something that you can incorporate that becomes a consistent fixture in your life.
2. Eat (REAL FOOD) nutritiously dense foods that your body can actually use. A great daily calorie ratio would be:
- 40% lean protein
- 30% carbohydrates (preferably low glycemic – high fiber)
- 30% healthy fats (mono & poly-unsaturated and YES even natural occuring staurated fats)
3. Never eat under 1200 calories per day. This is unhealthy and hard on your endocrine system. It will coax your thyroid into slowing down to conserve energy. Repeated bouts of this will ensure weight loss become harder with each new attempt.
4. Try to consistently eat something every 3 hour so your body learns to churn through food. Small frequent meals and snacks between 300 and 400 calories consisting of the 40%, 30%, 30% ratio would be ideal.
5. Stop making EXCUSES. Weight loss is not a huge feat and becoming healthy is a lot easier than most people have been lead to believe. You must first know what the biggest contributor was in your weight gain and health issues. It certainly wasn’t your exercise or lack of. It’s clearly about what you’ve been putting into your body. Once you grasp this it makes it much easier to understand how to go about fixing your dilemma and in what order of priority the pieces of the puzzle fit.
(FOOD FIRST) will be 80% of your weight loss success followed by (PHYSICAL ACTIVITY) aiding in the remaining 20%.
