In preparation for the Summer 2014 Disney trip, I
dropped a ton of weight. I had put on some weight after a promotion at work and
wanted it removed before the summer. A Disney trip can be physically challenging
so being in good shape helps. While everyone is different and you have to find
what will motivate you, I’ll nevertheless share with you my experience and
perhaps you’ll find something helpful. I’m not a doctor, I am sharing my amateur
experience, and you should consult an expert if you have questions.
Bottom line, weight loss is the result of creating a calorie deficit. You have to burn more calories than you take in. You can take pills and powders and buy fancy exercise equipment or join expensive gyms – none of that matters. What you have to do is create the calorie deficit. You can waste a lot of money trying to find a trick and not get results.
Exercise: If you aren’t use to exercise, start by doing just what you are willing to do. Are you willing to walk to the front door and back? To the mail box and back? To the corner and back? To the store and back? Just get started and you’ll feel good and want to do more. To get energy you have to burn energy, so, the more you do – the more you will be able to do.
I was used to exercise so I usually did 60 minutes split between two different elliptical, and 10-20 minutes on a bike. Two to three times per week I additionally spent 30-60 minutes walking or jogging or adding resistance (weight) training. Bodies get used to exercise and exercise becomes less effective, so, it is important to confuse your body by changing things and doing many different things and continually turning up the resistance to keep it challenging. Basically, if you enjoy doing it, it probably isn’t effective anymore and the things you hate doing are the things you need the most.
Cardo (bikes, treadmills, running, Zumba) have better calorie burn per minute than resistant training (weights), but you only burn calories while doing the activity. Resistant training keeps the calorie burning throughout the day as your body repairs the muscles and you strain to use sore muscles. When doing Cardo long term, your body will burn fat and muscle, thus reducing muscle tone and reducing calories burnt during the day, so, the trick is to do a combination of cardo and resistance.
Diet: The most difficult. 400 calories for breakfast, 100 for a snack, 500 for lunch, and then dinner got anything that was left over. I’m a big guy, so, my goal was to hit 1500 calories after eating and exercise. If you aren't 6'4", your calorie goal is going to be lower. Just don't starve yourself - starving will shut down your metabolism.
The quality of calories matter. Fat and sugar have more calories per ounce and can be worse for your body than other choices. As a result, you want to pick healthier fats. And think of white flour (which is used everywhere) as if it were sugar too and pick something that is harder for your body to break down (like wheat).
5 or 6 small meals work better than 3 large ones. To keep your metabolism burning all day, keep it fed with smaller meals.
I calorie count, but fruits and vegetables are free. I don’t count those. So, when I need to fill up or am having a bad diet day, I turn to those. And I try to eat as much salad as I can stand. Eat lean meats: chicken, low fat hamburger, ground turkey, turkey bacon, turkey hot dogs, etc.
I have a couple of really good recipes. I find salsa that hasn't had sugar added and dump it into a slow cooker with chicken. It is healthy, easy, and tasty. Another is chili using ground turkey – you really can’t tell it is ground turkey, and the beans help add healthy protein.
I like chocolate and it has been my weakness. I compensate with coco puffs, chocolate flavored yogurt, and when I need the real thing I turn to dark chocolate.
I give myself one cheat day per week so that if I fall off the wagon, it is OK and permitted and I can get right back on the next day. I don’t use the cheat day every week, but, it has been helpful.
Finally, many people recommend regular weigh-ins to monitor your progress. My weight fluctuates from hour-to-hour and day-to-day. Some weeks would have great progress and others terrible. I was getting very disappointed. So, I switched to doing 5 week weigh-ins and it has been much better.
I hope these suggestions help!
Bottom line, weight loss is the result of creating a calorie deficit. You have to burn more calories than you take in. You can take pills and powders and buy fancy exercise equipment or join expensive gyms – none of that matters. What you have to do is create the calorie deficit. You can waste a lot of money trying to find a trick and not get results.
Exercise: If you aren’t use to exercise, start by doing just what you are willing to do. Are you willing to walk to the front door and back? To the mail box and back? To the corner and back? To the store and back? Just get started and you’ll feel good and want to do more. To get energy you have to burn energy, so, the more you do – the more you will be able to do.
I was used to exercise so I usually did 60 minutes split between two different elliptical, and 10-20 minutes on a bike. Two to three times per week I additionally spent 30-60 minutes walking or jogging or adding resistance (weight) training. Bodies get used to exercise and exercise becomes less effective, so, it is important to confuse your body by changing things and doing many different things and continually turning up the resistance to keep it challenging. Basically, if you enjoy doing it, it probably isn’t effective anymore and the things you hate doing are the things you need the most.
Cardo (bikes, treadmills, running, Zumba) have better calorie burn per minute than resistant training (weights), but you only burn calories while doing the activity. Resistant training keeps the calorie burning throughout the day as your body repairs the muscles and you strain to use sore muscles. When doing Cardo long term, your body will burn fat and muscle, thus reducing muscle tone and reducing calories burnt during the day, so, the trick is to do a combination of cardo and resistance.
Diet: The most difficult. 400 calories for breakfast, 100 for a snack, 500 for lunch, and then dinner got anything that was left over. I’m a big guy, so, my goal was to hit 1500 calories after eating and exercise. If you aren't 6'4", your calorie goal is going to be lower. Just don't starve yourself - starving will shut down your metabolism.
The quality of calories matter. Fat and sugar have more calories per ounce and can be worse for your body than other choices. As a result, you want to pick healthier fats. And think of white flour (which is used everywhere) as if it were sugar too and pick something that is harder for your body to break down (like wheat).
5 or 6 small meals work better than 3 large ones. To keep your metabolism burning all day, keep it fed with smaller meals.
I calorie count, but fruits and vegetables are free. I don’t count those. So, when I need to fill up or am having a bad diet day, I turn to those. And I try to eat as much salad as I can stand. Eat lean meats: chicken, low fat hamburger, ground turkey, turkey bacon, turkey hot dogs, etc.
I have a couple of really good recipes. I find salsa that hasn't had sugar added and dump it into a slow cooker with chicken. It is healthy, easy, and tasty. Another is chili using ground turkey – you really can’t tell it is ground turkey, and the beans help add healthy protein.
I like chocolate and it has been my weakness. I compensate with coco puffs, chocolate flavored yogurt, and when I need the real thing I turn to dark chocolate.
I give myself one cheat day per week so that if I fall off the wagon, it is OK and permitted and I can get right back on the next day. I don’t use the cheat day every week, but, it has been helpful.
Finally, many people recommend regular weigh-ins to monitor your progress. My weight fluctuates from hour-to-hour and day-to-day. Some weeks would have great progress and others terrible. I was getting very disappointed. So, I switched to doing 5 week weigh-ins and it has been much better.
I hope these suggestions help!
No comments:
Post a Comment