Simple Steps To Weight Loss And Fitness

I’m gonna try and keep this short and sweet. No. This isn’t a post about all my amazing short and sweet friends… and I have a lot of them… I mean when you rock 6’0 I have LOTS that fall into that category 😉

I going to post some tips I hope are helpful and easy to follow on a daily basis because a lifestyle change is made by things we do consistently day after day. Building new healthy habits and actions leads to long term success.

Not crazy shenanigans for a few weeks then with a deep sigh it’s back to what’s normal and comfy for us.

Ready?

** Avoid extreme restrictions. This is the fastest way to derail yourself back to “Go”. Take away everything good and fun and tasty and make it life sucking and you won’t be going anywhere fast.

** Do work on making small healthy swaps every day. If chips and a soda are your go to snack maybe work on dropping the soda and going with water, eventually getting rid of the chips too. Your goal should be eating healthy snacks the majority of the time. Add in an extra veggie with your meal and cut pasta/potatoes whatever in half. When you reach for something, take a moment to assess it’s value for you.

** Do use small amounts of time for exercise. I shared in another post how much I worked into a 30 minute block of time one morning. Even if you have 10 minutes… Knock out pushups…. you’ll be sweating like crazy at the end. Look for ways to build movement into your day. Take stairs, go for a short walk, park farther back at store, do squats, push ups or lunges waiting for your shower water to heat, use a push mower to cut grass ( my fav gravy activity) garden or work in your yard, all these things in a day add up and develop an active lifestyle. Note: this doesn’t take place of your purposeful exercise you should be doing.

**Set specific goals. Don’t just say “I want to lose weight”. Target a day to have realistically dropped a certain number of pounds. Hang a fav item of clothing in your way that you might want to get back into to silently challenge you. Select an event you want to train for. Maybe it’s to improve your lab numbers at the doctors office when you go back.  Whatever you do, write it down, make it real and then go for it. It doesn’t hurt to share those goals with others for accountability 😉

**Strive to eat well the majority of the time.  I shared in another post on eating that you can follow an 80/20 rule. Eat well 80% of the time, allowing a 20% allowance for occasional treats and special occasions. As I’ve gotten more fit and my views on nutrition have changed I find myself in more of a 90/10. I just feel better when I eat well. You will too, trust me =)

** Finally know that change takes time. Change that is, that will last and result in a lifestyle difference. Changes in the scale, changes in your body, changes in how you see yourself all take time. Settle in and work slowly and steadily one day at a time, results will come.

Share with me if you have simple tips and ideas that have helped you be successful =)