Start Losing Weight after the jump!
No.10 Avoid Inactivity
When you think of weight loss, you likely think of the role your exercise plays. Surprisingly, it’s not just your activity level that’s important; it’s also your inactivity. Think of it this way: If you go for a 20-minute jog every day, you could potentially be inactive for 23 hours and 40 minutes. During this time, your metabolism slows, meaning you burn fewer calories. Little things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from the stores you go to and walking the rest, and getting up from your desk once an hour to walk around a bit are all simple strategies that will help support your more aggressive fat-loss efforts.
No.9 Break A Sweat Every Day
Whether or not you’re a gym rat, this rule applies. In the interest of consistently progressing toward your goals, it’s important to take some step toward them every day. Aim to break a sweat at least once per day through some sort of activity. This doesn’t need to be through structured exercise. If you prefer activities like hiking, rock climbing or flag football on your nontraining days, then indulge in those. The important thing, both psychologically and physically, is that you’re consistently invested in your progress.
No.8 Resistance Train
Most people understand, quite accurately, that they need to burn more calories than they take in if they want to lose weight. Unfortunately an understanding of how and when calories are burned is less widespread. The majority of calories you burn throughout the day are not from physical activity or exercise. In fact, as much as 70% of your daily caloric expenditure comes from your resting metabolic rate, meaning the calories your body burns to sustain life. Muscle is one of the most metabolically active tissues in the body. In other words, sustaining muscle mass requires more calories than bone or fat (and all of the other structures within the body). As a result, one way to ramp up your resting metabolism is to add some muscle mass through resistance training. Performing resistance training circuits is a terrific way to add muscle mass and burn a ton of calories in the process.
No.7 Interval Train
It is a well-established fact that interval training is a substantially more sufficient means of conditioning for fat loss than steady-state cardio work. In other words, you’ll lose more fat per minute of activity by performing intervals compared to steady-state work. Of course, this isn’t to say that adhering to a program with steady-state cardio won’t work, only that it will take you more time to make the same progress.
If you’re crunched for time, as most men are, running for 15 to 20 minutes or biking for 30 seconds as hard as you can and then resting for 60 seconds will do wonders for jump-starting your weight loss. Using this interval method (30 seconds on, 60 seconds off), start by doing 6 intervals 3 times per week and then progress your way up to 12, adding 1 more interval to each session each week. If you’re just starting out, begin on a bike to minimize the impact your joints take during running.
If you’re crunched for time, as most men are, running for 15 to 20 minutes or biking for 30 seconds as hard as you can and then resting for 60 seconds will do wonders for jump-starting your weight loss. Using this interval method (30 seconds on, 60 seconds off), start by doing 6 intervals 3 times per week and then progress your way up to 12, adding 1 more interval to each session each week. If you’re just starting out, begin on a bike to minimize the impact your joints take during running.
No.6 Eat "Natural"
Proper nutrition doesn’t need to be as complicated as some people make it. In a recent audio interview, strength and conditioning expert Michael Boyle rephrases a great saying from Michael Pollan, stating, “Eat food. Mostly plants and animals. Not too much.” This raises the question of what “food” is and how this may segregate options in the grocery store.
Sport nutritionist Brian St. Pierre provides a simple explanation: “If you can hunt it or grow it, it’s food. If you can’t, it’s not.” Quite simply, this implies that fruits, vegetables, plants, meat, nuts, beans, and legumes qualify as food. The goal here is to eat a diet consisting of food, not food products. Sure, there are advanced nutrition strategies out there involving macronutrient cycling, extreme calorie restriction and nutrient-timing practices. While these “sexier” options may be necessary to help bring a body builder from 8% body fat to 4% body fat, the overwhelming majority of men will make considerable progress by sticking to the “eat natural” plan described above.
Sport nutritionist Brian St. Pierre provides a simple explanation: “If you can hunt it or grow it, it’s food. If you can’t, it’s not.” Quite simply, this implies that fruits, vegetables, plants, meat, nuts, beans, and legumes qualify as food. The goal here is to eat a diet consisting of food, not food products. Sure, there are advanced nutrition strategies out there involving macronutrient cycling, extreme calorie restriction and nutrient-timing practices. While these “sexier” options may be necessary to help bring a body builder from 8% body fat to 4% body fat, the overwhelming majority of men will make considerable progress by sticking to the “eat natural” plan described above.
No.5 Plan Ahead
You’ve heard the old adage, "Failing to plan is planning to be fat." This has value on both the training and nutrition side of things. When that primal sense of ravenous hunger sweeps over you, you’re going to grab the most convenient option. If that option is in line with your weight loss goals, you’re all set. If not, you’ll invariably overindulge in processed garbage. Set aside a few hours on one or two days of the week to cook all your food for the week and put it in Tupperware. Also, put together some healthy snack options. This way you have a predefined defense against the unpredictable chaos of everyday living.
No.4 Throw Out The Crap
If it’s there, you will eat it. It’s that simple. If you fill your house with fresh vegetables, lean meats and healthy fats, you’ll be living in an environment conducive to your success. Alternatively, if your cabinets are filled with chips, cookies, crackers, and other similar products, you’ll be headed in the opposite direction. Willpower is a limited resource. You may have the fortitude to say no to the unhealthy options 2, 3, even 10 or 30 times, but eventually you’ll give in. And because those snacks are filled with so much processed garbage, they never go bad! Don’t subject yourself to those temptations -- just throw it out.
No.3 Build A Support Network
It’s unlikely that you put on weight by habitually eating nutrient-dense foods in appropriate amounts and exercising regularly. Because you’ve built habits that are more conducive to weight gain, weight loss will require that you change these very habits. As intuitive as this may be, it’s certainly not an easy process. When you start to rationalize why it’s OK to eat those cookies, nachos and burgers or why you are allowed to skip one workout, it’s helpful to have at least one person to help keep you on track.
The more time you spend with certain people, the more important it is that they’re on board with helping you achieve your goals. Of course, the opposite is also true. People who dismiss your goals or surround you with temptations and, overall, just aren’t supportive can have a profoundly detrimental impact on your progress. This can be a hard choice to make, but ultimately you’ll need to cut back on the amount of time you spend with these people. Oftentimes it’s useful to reach out to people and ask for their help. When someone feels like they could be influential in your success, it makes them more likely to want to help.
The more time you spend with certain people, the more important it is that they’re on board with helping you achieve your goals. Of course, the opposite is also true. People who dismiss your goals or surround you with temptations and, overall, just aren’t supportive can have a profoundly detrimental impact on your progress. This can be a hard choice to make, but ultimately you’ll need to cut back on the amount of time you spend with these people. Oftentimes it’s useful to reach out to people and ask for their help. When someone feels like they could be influential in your success, it makes them more likely to want to help.
No.2 Hire A Coach
Losing weight is all about having a well-constructed plan and following it consistently. Working with a quality coach will inherently improve your likelihood of success. A quality coach could come in the form of a nutritionist, trainer or someone well equipped in both arenas. In addition to your coach’s role in providing a plan and holding you accountable to it, something else happens when you hire someone to help you with your goals. Because you’ve made a financial investment in your progress, you hold yourself to a higher standard. While this is a subconscious reinforcement, it is still very powerful.
No.1 Set Goals
The most surefire way to never achieve your goals is to not set them. The difference between a goal and a wish is that goals are specific, realistic and written down! Write down your goals and post them around the areas you spend the most time (work, car, refrigerator). According to some experts, a realistic amount of body fat loss is around 0.5% to 1% every 2 to 4 weeks. This is important to keep in mind, as many have the lofty expectations of losing drastic amounts of weight in a few weeks, despite it having taken several years for them to accumulate all of it. Be realistic -- nothing derails progress like disappointment.
No comments:
Post a Comment