Are you as thin, healthy, fit or toned as you want to be?
What if I told you getting where you want to be was pretty much a mathematical equation.
There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, that is a scientific fact. To take one pound of fat off of your body you need to do one of two things, or a combination. You need to burn 3,500 calories with exercise, or find a way to cut out 3,500 calories. If I go for a 45 minute jog or run and burn 600 calories, it's going to be six runs before I lose a pound.
If I find a way to cut out 600 calories from my diet, it will be six days until I lose one pound. Put those numbers together, and in three days I am down one pound of fat. That doesn't mean the scale may be down more. It means that my body will be changing its size. You can lose weight, and fluctuate a pound or two a day. I am talking about body-changing fat loss.
Now comes the hard part. The math is easy, changing your routine is tough. Here is what you have to do to build a new routine. First, figure out what your current routine is. In North America two thirds of us have a routine that builds an overweight or obese body. There are foods that we consume as we mindlessly plug through our day. Mindless to our health, focused on family, work, and others. It's time to stop for a second and look at what needs you have.
To figure out your routine, journal for three days what you eat, and when. Then have a good hard look at it, and answer this questions. How much did I plan to eat? If your answer was nothing, that needs to change for you to succeed in weight loss.
Now here comes the "what works for me" part of the blog.
When I start with a new client(I have helped over 30 lose 50-100lbs). I introduce a plan that involves pre-planned smoothies and shakes. It makes the whole process easier. First start to take the weight off, then start to learn how to dial in your diet. Make it simple, then build over time off of the success.
the next tip is to buy a bunch of containers for your food for the week. On Sunday night plan your meals for lunch and snack for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I make a smoothie called the Ultimate Wake Up Smoothie. I make enough for breakfast and an afternoon snack. Then for lunch, plan a salad made with spinach base, and add in anything you want as far as fruit, or peppers. Then add protein sources. Every meal of the day needs to have protein in it, and be rich with fibre-filled vegetables.
At work, or in the car have a bag full of almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Have them there ready to fuel your body with essential fats, nutrients and keep your blood sugars level.
Make sure as you plan you understand the math and what is going on in your body. Serving size and high nutrient values are key to success.
As you move on to make dinner a routine think about this: If you haven't kept your blood sugar level with a breakfast that has protein and high fiber. If you haven't had a mid-afternoon snack, and if you haven't taken care to have healthy options nearby your body will respond by demanding more calories at dinner to fill up.
The way our body was designed, they don't know what is going on around them, they only know hormone signals. Your eyes that saw a full super market, or a fully blossoming farmers field don't tell your body not to worry there is no famine. All your body knows is that low blood sugar is a sign that there isn't enough food around. Because you wouldn't be so foolish as to drive by a food source, or leave a lunch at home, right? All your body knows is there are hormones out of sync and that needs to be fixed.
When the hormones insulin and ghrelin get into the system, your chances of making smart decisions decrease immensely. Those hormones don't care about your six pack, they care about long term fuel. So to them, you are going to eat, and eat everything you can get your hands on until you burst. They think food is scarce, they don't get out much. We have hit a point where more people will die from obesity-related illness than malnutrition.
Back to the math, and why you need to plan your meals.
there are about 190 calories in 4 oz of chicken. Forty-five to fifty calories per ounce. Eat the recommended 3-4oz deck-of-card sized serving and you finish the day perfect. Eat the typical 8oz because you are starving from a bad planned routine and you have almost 200 extra calories. Add that to the extra big side of rice (even if it's brown or wild) and you take in close to 400 calories in that meal that your body wants purely for storage. That means in about 10 days, you will GAIN one pound.
It's simple math to weight loss. The problem is getting into the routine. That's where I hope to be an asset. My goal is to take social media and One Fit City to a whole new level of helping. Post questions and I will answer them.
The other part of the equation is bringing people in to this with you.
Get your friends and your office space in on the program. When you decide to change, bring people along for the ride. When you are weak they can be strong. Share stories, recipes, and workout plans.
Turn to the internet for inspiration and keep each other accountable.
There is a fantastic program out there right now that is the number two weight loss program by dollars in sales. It works on the principal of bringing people together to get a routine, set goals and start fixing the obesity problem in North America. Not a short term fix, a long term change in mindset. Plan, action, and results if you plug in with a team.
Start to understand the math in weight loss. Thirty-five hundred calories is one pound of fat. Add those calories with poor planning, and reactive eating and gain a pound. Remove the calories with planning, leveling blood sugar, smart choices high in fiber, high in nutrient content and low in calories and watch the weight fall off. Start to add exercise, and the next thing you know your body will be fit, slim, healthy, and exactly where you saw it. It's not a diet, it's math.