Summer is in full swing, and it's that time when everyone wants to look impressive in their swimsuits. While we can't promise you that you'll achieve a fitness model body, we can at least give you some simple but important tips in achieving a leaner physique. Listen up! Behavioral changes guarantee your success - not just knowledge alone. You may already have drawn out your road map with your nutritional plan and your workouts, so take that strategy and ACT on it. Stay motivated and consistently remind yourself of your fitness goal. Here are 10 tips to get you jump-started!
#1. Shop the outer perimeter of the grocery store. Grocery stores are specifically setup to make you purchase more than you really need. This is the main reason why the core foods like milk and eggs are located way in the back of the store. They want you to walk through the middle aisles of the store, which is exactly where they pack all the processed high fat and sugary foods.
Make a conscious decision to shop on the outer perimeter of the store. The outer area includes all of the freshest and healthiest foods you want to include in your nutritional plan. Things like fresh fruits, veggies and lean protein sources can be found on the outer perimeter. If you make these foods the foundation of your eating plan, the results will be spectacular!
#2. Choose "better" bad foods.Everyone cheats from time to time, but it's the food decisions that the successful people make which separates them from the rest. If you decide to have a little treat, try to focus on "better" bad foods, which contain less calories, fat or sugar than the regular ones. Great examples would be choosing non-fat frozen yogurt over regular ice cream. If you're at the movie theater, hold all of the butter on the popcorn. If you're at home watching movies, choose hot air popped popcorn over microwaved. By replacing these regular foods with lower calorie ones, you will turn a disaster into a success!
#3. Forget the word DIET!The word "diet" usually conjures up thoughts of restriction, unhappiness and worst of all, being a temporary solution to a life long issue. Try and focus on the word "lifestyle change". Make smart changes in your eating habits and stick with them. This will be the key to permanent success!
#4. Eat several, small and nutritious meals throughout the day.
You will gain several benefits from eating several small meals throughout the day. Your body's metabolism will be revved up throughout the day. You will also have something in your stomach every few hours and be grazing all day long. This is important because you will not feel deprived like someone who eats 1 meal in the morning and then waits until dinner time to eat again, which usually tends to create a mini-binge since the person is extremely hungry. Try to eat a small and nutritious meal every 3 hours and you will reap the rewards!
#5. Find a buddy.For many people, eating less and exercising more is easier if they don't go it alone. In some early weight-loss studies, they put people at a worksite on different teams to compete against one another. It works because the people on the team support each other and the competition is fun. It makes sense that healthy living loves company. Would you rather be watching your weight in a crowd that's munching on baby carrots or pigging out on pizza? And even the most airtight excuse for avoiding exercise can evaporate when someone asks you to go for a walk or run.
#6. Focus on creating a small calorie reduction every day.Do not lower your overall daily calories more than 500. When you cut your calories more than 500 a day, your body may tend to go into a slight "Starvation" mode where it may lower your metabolism and not want to let go of your fat stores. The best advice is to only create a 250 calorie deficit though calorie restriction and create another 250 calorie deficit though exercise. This is great because you keep fueling your body with nutritious food and you really rev up your metabolism with exercise. This is a great combination and works the best for people!
#7. Make sure to eat a quality protein source at every meal.Protein is the building block of muscle and is extremely important in your overall nutritional plan. Try eating at least 1 gram per pound of bodyweight. Spread the protein throughout your several small meals everyday and focus a minimum of 20 grams of protein per meal. If you don't feel like eating a regular meal, try adding a protein shake. Whey powder is a great source for quality protein and usually comes in several different flavors like chocolate and strawberry which tends to cure a sweet tooth also!
#8. Drink a large amount of water everyday.
Your body is made up of a large percentage of water. Drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day. Water will flush out your system and fill your stomach which makes you feel full. Make sure to drink water before, during and after your workouts also.
#9. Move your body.This doesn't necessarily mean tennis or bicycling. Gardening, raking leaves, mowing the lawn, and washing windows also count. Overweight people are more amenable to increasing lifestyle activities—like using the stairs or parking farther away from the mall—than going to the gym. People who boost their lifestyle activity are just as successful at keeping the weight off as people who participate in formal exercise programs. In fact, overweight children lose more weight when told to limit sedentary activities than when told to exercise (or to do both). Getting kids to turn off the TV or spend less time at the computer works better than urging them to increase their aerobic activity.
#10. Clear out all of the junk foods.
One of the biggest factors in successful weight loss is dealing with temptation. Just like someone with a alcohol disease, you do not want to keep the "drug of choice" directly in your house which provides extremely easy access to it. Go through your pantry, fridge, cabinets and cupboards to rid your home of all empty calorie and unhealthy foods. This is such an important step in creating good habits and succeeding with your diet plan.
