Training For Life

There’s a lot of weight loss advice out there. You probably know the basics already—now you just need to tweak your strategy and toss a few helpful secrets into the mix. Here, the ten commandments of successful weight loss:

1. First things first: set the right goals. You have to power to make—or break—your ultimate weight loss success before you take even one bite of all that healthy food you just bought, before you curl one dumbbell. When you set astronomical goals for yourself you are setting yourself up for failure—and this more than anything will discourage you from sticking with a diet and exercise plan. Instead, come up with small, reasonable goals—this week I will exercise twice, this month I will lose 5 pounds. And remember your overall motivation—it’s not all about getting skinnier, it’s about getting healthier.

2. Avoid the temptation to cut too many calories too quickly. Your brain is a little paranoid, and if you lose too much body fat too fast, your brain will think you’re starving to death. Not good, because then you’ll find yourself irresistibly attracted to any food item put in front of you. Two pounds per week is great.

3. Keep a food journal. Just jot down whatever you eat, how much, and when. Research has shown that people who keep food journals consume an average of 500 to 1,000 fewer calories. The practice helps you spot unhealthy patterns in your diet—like if you only binge late at night while watching TV.

4. Strength train. Strength training is slightly better than cardio when it comes to weight loss—it will boost your metabolism 24/7 and build up lots of calorie-demanding muscle. Active muscles can burn over a hundred extra calories a day.

5. Rock out while you workout. A study by the North American Association for the Study of Obesity found that you are more likely to stick with an exercise routine if you listen to music that gets you pumped while you pump iron.

6. Get enough sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep, stress hormones spike in the brain. Then that meddling brain of yours will think that conditions are bad out there and that you obviously need more food in order to survive. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, one study showed that people who slept an average of 5 hours a night were an average of five pounds heavier than people who slept an average of 7 hours a night.

7. Drink lots of water— make it cold water. Drinking 8 glasses of ice water a day for one year burns enough calories to lose 5 pounds. And keeping your body hydrated is important because it helps keep your metabolism running at optimum performance.

8. Keep yourself on track by weighing in regularly. I know nobody likes to confront the scale—but it’s important to catch plateaus or little mishaps like gaining back a pound or two before they escalate into something bigger.

9. Eat protein at every meal—it fills you up better than carbohydrates so you eat less overall through the day, and it helps you build those muscles we talked about.

10. Reward yourself. For every weight milestone, give yourself a reward—bonus points if it’s a healthy reward like cool new workout gear or something that’s fun and physically active that you’ve always wanted to try. You deserve it!

Posted under Cardio, Diet, Fitness, Health, Lifting