“So
you want to lose weight? Really?”
Article by: Jared Enderton
I have
a lot of people come to me looking to gain weight
and strength. However, the majority are individuals
looking to lose weight. Weight loss= Burning
more calories than you are consuming. You
might gain weight and lose body fat. Weight loss
isn't always an indicator of body fat loss, and
weight gain isn't always an indicator of body fat
gain!
1. Nutrition
101: Losing weight is not as hard as people
make it out to be. If you sincerely want to lose
weight, you will. If you had to lose 20 pounds in
3 days in order to survive, would you? Of course
you would. I bet you would lose it in 2 days. There
has to be a sense of urgency in your plan and urgency
come from motivation! Ok, now onto nutrition. I
hear the word “diet” about 10 times
a day. That word should be banned. A diet to me
implies that it is short term and out of the ordinary.
Things such as: no carbohydrate diet, or the all
protein diet. How often have you seen someone miraculously
lose 20 pounds on one of these “diets”
(Atkins, etc), then gain it back within 2 weeks
off the diet? Very, very often. Try to eliminate
the word diet from your dictionary. Instead of diet,
think of it as a lifestyle change.
If
it sounds too good to be true, it is.
My #1 piece of advice is to eat breakfast. Lets
say you sleep for 8 hours, then go straight to work,
and only eat at lunch. This may be 14 hours without
eating from the time you went to bed until lunch.
That means you are only eating for 10 hours of the
day. This makes you much more likely to binge eat
during this time, especially during that first meal.
Eating breakfast not only gets your metabolism going,
but it also gives you energy to be more active!
It doesn’t have to be a big breakfast, just
something for energy and to cure your hunger pains.
Most studies show that people who eat breakfast
typically weigh less, and have less body fat than
those that don't.
Do not over think your diet. Only
eat until you are satisfied. Eat smaller portions.
Eat more often.
2. Exercise: Most people who claim
they want to lose weight do not workout. You can
lose weight by just dieting, however, diet and exercise
together are the most effective. You do not have
to go run 5 miles a day to lose weight. It can be
anything active- playing catch with a football,
swimming, riding a bike around, etc. Just make sure
you get your heart rate up and you are very active.
Eventually you can work up into more rigorous activities,
but, if you aren’t used to working out start
off very moderate and work your way up. Do not view
exercise as a negative thing. One way to ensure
it is fun is to set goals and to make it fun. Find
an exercise partner who you can race or talk to
during exercise. Just make sure you are exercising
and being active…often!
2.
Sleep: Everyone is generally different
when it comes to how much sleep they need. The most
important thing I can say is sleep enough! This
will either make or break your energy, motivation,
and day. I know I need a minimum of 8 and a half
hours to have full energy. This is when your body
repairs itself and you actually lose weight when
you sleep. A trick most people don’t know
that many athletes use to cut weight is just sleeping
as long as they can every single night. I experimented
with this and actually lost 6 pounds within a month,
just by sleeping an extra 2-3 hours a night.
3.
Set personal strength/endurance and weight
goals: Write it on paper and do it. Find
someone to set goals with you and to hold you accountable.
Tell everyone you know your plan! I can’t
stress how important it is to get it on paper. That
makes it real. Most people avoid this step because
if they fail they can just brush it off and act
like they weren’t committed. If you are serious
about losing weight, set goals for your workouts
and for your weight.
Eating
slow is also a key to limiting the amount of food
you eat. When you eat too fast, it actually takes
your stomach about 15 minutes to tell the brain
it is full. This is why about 30m after your meal
you are laid up on the couch saying "gosh,
I wish I wouldn't have eaten this much." We
have all been there before. When you’re eating
you don’t feel it, but it’s always afterwards!
Eat slower and enjoy the food.
Have a purpose! Get out a piece of paper and set
your goals. Write them down so you can see them.
Set dates for when you want to achieve them, and
do it.
About
the Author: Jared Enderton is an Exercise
Science major at the University of Northern Iowa. He has a Sports Performance Coach Certification
and is working towards his bachelor’s degree
in Exercise Science.
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