Fit for Life: Want to Lose Weight? Ready, Set, GO!
Saturday, July 26, 2014
There really are only 3 ways to lose weight: No, it’s not as easy as 1-2-3, because it also takes both mental and physical toughness. And - you need to set goals. If you are overweight and you follow these three steps, you can expect to lose 2-3 pounds per week until you reach your ideal body weight. At that point you will look and feel so much better, it becomes almost effortless to adopt your new healthy habits as a healthy way of living. There is no quick fix, no pills, packaged food, liquid diet, point system etc. for long-term success, and I don’t recommend any of that. What I do recommend is doing what it takes to acquire the want and discipline to change for the better. Let’s assume you have that – and let’s review the 3 steps to reach your goal.
Step 1: Overhaul your nutrition program.
We start this by changing the quality of your foods. If you eat potato chips, we change that to organic corn chips. If you eat a commercial yogurt, we swap for an organic/biodynamic farm yogurt, with live cultures. We switch out “conventional” vegetables and meats for organic, and the reason is because our bodies work more efficiently when we detox from the elements such as cheap vegetable and canola oils, overly processed dairy, nitrates, corn syrup, soy, wheat, and other GMO fillers, and pesticides that cause major inflammation in the body. This step is by far more important than counting calories. Dealing with caloric intake will be the third progression after eliminating certain foods.
Step 2: Get moving.
Start slowly and start to move more whenever you can. Take the stairs, if you are only going a few flights. Park further away from the door of where you are going. Take some walks at lunchtime or before work. It is important to move to keep the system working properly to help blood flow to extremities, release endorphins, stimulate digestion, release free radicals, and improve sleep, as well as burn calories and feel more energetic. You do not have to join a gym or do anything too strenuous at this point. This is to get the body acclimated to movement. If you do too much you could get excessively sore or injured, this will put a damper on your program and give little incentive to follow through. That's why I believe in progressions. Start small, make attainable goals that you can reach, log your progress, after a while it will become almost automatic.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTStep 3: Progressions on nutrition and movement.
Exercise and nutrition are the only ways to lose weight and keep it off, but you have to make adjustments to your program when you reach plateaus. After a while your body adapts to the changes you make, so we need to make progressions. Some examples of progressions for your eating plan: after you make the quality change, it's time to eliminate more processed foods. Even though it says organic and gluten free, many of these foods are highly processed, and the less you eat the better. Make the transition to whole foods exclusively. The next thing to do when you reach a sticking point is calorie control. Everybody has different requirements and needs so you need to play with portion sizes. By this point you should have a good understanding of your body's needs, so make some adjustments. Progression in exercise is endless. You go from mild to intense by adding heavier loads and training faster. Go from walking to strength training to super setting to metabolic training to sprinting, etc. This requires some common sense so you do not over do it. The best advice I can give on this is to feel it out and listen to your body, train within your limits, but push yourself. If still confused, hire a professional to stand by your side and encourage you to achieve your goals. There aren’t any magic solutions – it’s slow and steady wins the race – but you won’t get anywhere unless you start – so, GO!
Matt Espeut has worked as a personal trainer for almost 20 years with clients ranging in age from 14 to 86. His focus is on overall health, strength, and functional conditioning. Holistic health and nutrition is the cornerstone of all his programs. Matt works in private and small group training available at your home or office location or at gym facilities. Matt offers his services to everyone wanting to be more fit and healthy, overweight young people, youth/collegiate athletes, and seniors. Matt has worked and continues to train at several facilities in the Providence area including Gold's Gym and CORE Studio, and he believes continued education is a must in his field. Email Matt: [email protected], check out his website at http://www.fitnessprofiles.net or on Facebook at Matt Espeut or on Twitter @MattEspeut.
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