I know that weight loss can be a hard thing. I work with people on a daily basis that get frustrated with their bodies because they feel like they are not seeing any progress. If you are feeling the same frustration, here are six things you can evaluate or revaluate with regards to your diet and exercise.
- Sugar intake. The first thing that I recommend to my clients who are having a hard time seeing progress is to cut out the sugar. This doesn’t just mean candy and goodies, although that is a huge part of it, but it also means eating an excess of naturally occurring sugars in fruit, bread, pasta, and other high starchy foods. Try counting your grams of sugar, and keeping your intake for the day under 30 grams.
- Protein intake. Protein should be the main component of your meals. Try to get 30 grams in when you wake up for breakfast. This will help you to get your metabolism going. Aim to get in at least 100 grams of protein per day. Getting in adequate amounts of protein will help your body to rebuild and repair your muscles.
- Snacking. If you don’t feel like you are seeing success in your weight loss, you may want to check your extra bites, licks, chews, and handfuls. Many people don’t realize the extra little nibbles they take of their kids meals, handfuls of food when you pass by the pantry, or other extra calories that sneak in. If you want to see a difference, watch your snacking!
- Add some intervals. Adding intervals into your cardio workouts will amp up your calorie burn, and help to increase the fat that is being burned as well.
- Lift weights. If cardio is your baby, and you aren’t hitting the weights much, you may not be seeing the results you are looking for. Resistance training helps to tone and tighten the muscles of the body, giving it some contouring and shape. Increased muscle mass will increase the body’s caloric burn, making it a fat burning machine.
- Consistency. The biggest tip I can give those people who aren’t seeing results is to make sure you are being consistent. Results don’t come from two days of working out and eating well and five days of being lazy and eating crappy. Try to be consistent for three weeks, and I promise you will see some positive changes. You may even just realize that the changes you are seeing are worth continuing your consistency for.