5 things you can start doing now to lose weight
You’re ready to start your weight loss journey but you don’t know where to begin. Our advice is to keep it simple, don’t try to do too much at once. There are many ways to start and many directions to go. Below we have listed 5 things you can start doing now that will help get the ball rolling.
Do you already have a good idea of what you want to do but don’t know how to get started? Click the link below to book a no-sweat intro with one of our coaches to see how we can help!
1. Cut out sugary drinks and sodas (yes, diet and zero sugar ones too)
A regular soft drink can have anywhere from 150-200 calories in a single 12 ounce can. Most of those calories come from the sugar (around 40 grams per can) used to sweeten them.
Diet Sodas: There is a lot of mixed feelings about diet soda. Some evidence shows that replacing regular soda with diet contributed to weight loss by reducing caloric intake and eliminating sugar. However, weight gain can also happen. While the exact mechanism is unknown, it is believed that the receptors in the brain are confused by the sweetness of the sodas and ends up making you crave more sweets.
Years of research suggests that beverages like diet soda might be harmful to your health, linking the consumption of it to belly fat and high blood pressure. It also increases your risk of developing high blood pressure and heart disease.
Click here to read about other health benefits from cutting out soda.
2. EAT A HIGH PROTEIN BREAKFAST
Adding protein to your diet is one of the easiest and most effective ways to lose weight. Your body uses more calories to digest protein, compared to fats and carbs.
Eating protein also helps you feel fuller, longer, by activating the body’s signals, that curb appetite. This is mostly because of a drop of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and an increase in the fullness hormones, peptide YY, GLP-1 and cholecystokinin.
Check out myFitnessPal’s blog post to get some high protein breakfast ideas.
3. EAT SLOWLY & MINDFULLY
Eating slowly increases the levels of gut hormones responsible for feeling full, which could help reduce calorie intake. Slowing down when eating allows you to feel satisfied before you eat too much. Giving yourself 20-30 minutes to eat at each meal, helps your brain catch up to your stomach.
Here is a beginner’s guide to mindful eating.
4. EAT WHOLE FOODS
Real or whole foods are single-ingredient foods that are full of vitamins and minerals, have little to no processing and haven’t had any additives put into them, such as raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and unprocessed meat.
When food undergoes processing, it can be stripped of its micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). This can lead to nutrient deficiencies and increasing your hunger.
Fruits and vegetable do contain natural sugars, but they are NOT the same as refined sugars. They also contain fiber, vitamins and water (essential elements of a balanced diet). Refined sugars are added to processed foods (think corn syrup and table sugar) which adds to the calories and takes away from the health benefits. Studies have shown that refined sugar can increase the production of the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and can keep you from feeling full.
Learn how to start clean eating here!
5. ADD STRENGTH TRAINING TO YOUR ROUTINE
Weight training builds muscle and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.
Resistance training increases your calorie burn post exercise, also known as “afterburn”. After you workout, your body uses oxygen and calories to remove lactic acid, repair muscles and replenish creatine, oxygen and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This process peaks in the first hour after exercise and continues for up to 72 hours.
Read our blog post about why strength training is so important for women.
These are just a few of the many ways to lose weight and keep it off. Every person’s weight loss journey will look different.
Having a coach will help you create a plan, motivate you to stay on track, keep you accountable, help you redirect and change course when needed, and guide you through the entire process.
start your journey
We have incredible, qualified coaches, ready to help you develop a weight loss program to suit your specific needs.
click here for a free consultation