There are so many different “diets”, or ways of eating out there. There is low carb, no carb, low fat, intermittent fasting, point systems, frozen meal plans, liquid shakes plan, no eating past a certain time, and I could go on and on and on. Most of them will make you lose fat, but unless you can sustain this way of eating long term, all that fat, plus some is going to come back. I once had a client tell me that Weight Watchers works for them. Every time she joins Weight Watchers, she loses weight. When I asked her how many times she had to join Weight Watchers, she said, 5+ times. Umm, if you have to keep going back, is it really working? If you keep gaining and losing the same 20 pounds over and over again, what you are doing is definitely not working Sis. And I will tell you why. In order to lose weight for good, you have to make actual lifestyle changes that you can live with. You are not going to want to keep up with points, or only eat frozen meals, or protein shakes for the rest of your life. That is just not sustainable. The truth is, it all boils down to calories in and calories out. At the end of the day, that is all that matters.
So does that mean you have to track food and count calories for the rest of your life? Absolutely not. But you do need to get a good idea of the calories you are currently taking in and currently expending so that you can make the changes necessary to make the changes in your body that you want to make. And the best way to do that is to track what you eat for at least a week or 2 to get an idea of what you are taking in. Its kind of like your budget, if you don’t know how much money you are bringing home every month, there is no way to know how much you have to spend, or how much you want to save in order to reach your financial goals right? Once you have an idea, then you can start making small changes in your eating and exercise habits that will have a big impact on your health.
The key to this is to figure out what you can sustain long term. If you have a sweet tooth and love desert, then you are not going to do well cutting out carbs. You will eventually binge because you have deprived yourself of something you love and you will be right back where you started. You can absolutely have desert and bread and still reach your goals. If you love French fries and potato chips, you can also include those. You just will need to learn how to portion these things out so that they will fit into your calorie goals.
The cold hard truth is, you are going to have to make some changes. But your health is worth it, I promise. You will feel better and have more energy if you will just make up your mind that you are going to put some effort into making these changes. Just adding a little movement and resistance training and making some small changes in your nutrition can make a huge difference. And you don’t have to change everything at once. The best way to make lasting changes is a little bit at the time. Build one habit at the time.
You can start with just slowing down when you eat. It takes 20 minutes for your body to produce the hormone that makes you feel full. So take your time and slowly chew your food. You will get full quicker and with much less food. Make sure you have at least 30-40 grams of protein for each meal and some sort of cruciferous vegetable. Eat your protein first, then your vegetable, then eat your starchy vegetable or grain. Sit down to eat your meal without distractions. Don’t watch TV or play on your phone while you eat. Intentionally eat and enjoy your meals.
Take walks. They don’t have to be fast, they don’t have to be long. Just go for a walk. Even if it starts off just down the driveway and back several times a day. Set your watch to remind you to stand up and walk a little every hour. Even if it is just a lap around the house. Every step counts!! You can add in swimming or bicycling or whatever movement you like.
You also need to do some resistance training to build muscle. Studies have shown that women that resistance train on a regular basis are at a much lower risk for injury and joint problems. The stronger you are, the better off you are going to be as you age. It increases bone density so there is less of a chance of bone breaks. So many advantages to resistance training. You don’t have to lift every day. 2-4 times a week of about 30-45 minutes of training a week is great. And you don’t have to spend hours in the gym. You can get a great workout at home with just some dumbbells and resistance bands.
So what are you waiting for? The time is now to get your health in check. Stop blaming your hormones, age, or whatever other excuse you are using and start making some changes. Your future self will thank you!!
I would love to help you! It can’t hurt to just talk to me. So shoot me an email or DM and let’s talk about it. Im not scary, I promise!! I really just want to help you achieve your goals!!