Today mark’s a fun day where we discuss some no-brainer…but deeply important tips to allow you to take off your first 20 pounds.

I use the term 20 pounds to appeal to the person who carries around well…20-40 POUNDS of extra weight. This very well may appeal for the 10 pounders out there too though, have no fear! I’m appealing to the one’s who dabble in fitness. You come to the gym 2-3 times per week and every so often you get busy with work or sick and you miss a week. You’ve noticed since you had kids and/or started working more hours that you put on some weight. And because you’re a little older, less nimble, and have more responsibility it has become a losing battle in keeping excess body weight off.

Diets Are Meant To Fail

Does Nike make a shoe that lasts forever? Hell no! They’d be out of business!

So basically short term fad diets are meant to fail. What sort of diet would sell by telling you to eat better, move more, and stop eating your emotions? In fact, 98% of people that complete diets and lose weight put weight back on and them some! A Staggering statistic. The underlying reason has to do with the fact that we try to change our diets for a period of time without really changing our long term eating habits. We treat our nutrition like our fitness routines. The issue is that we NEED to eat in order to survive. We don’t necessarily need to workout to survive. It certainly makes your quality of life better to exercise… but it is not needed on a day to day/week to week basis. Since food is needed for survival for day to day/week to week…it involves an entirely different method of changing our habits. So this idea that you’ll simply “diet” for a period of time is bogus.

Healthy Eating Is A Habit That Takes Time To Practice

If you do not change your nutrition habits, chances are you will resort back to your status quo method of eating at some point eventually. Because food that puts us in a position to be carrying around excess weight is rather easy to get a hold of these days if you’re not aware. A McDonalds hamburger costs less than a salad at a restaurant. And it’s sure as hell easier to get. It’s so easy and you save money making the wrong choice… it’s tragic.

I have spent countless hours with my pupil’s trying to get them on the right track to eating a more well-rounded & balanced diet. And the issue always comes up that they want a full meal plan and recipe cook book with it. They want to overhaul everything at once. They are not patient! And what happens if you try to overhaul everything like most fad diets call for?

1. You hit the ground running and you lose some weight. You’re feeling great.
2. You beat the temptation of social pressures for awhile and lose more weight.
3. You’ve lost the weight and finish the diet…now what?
4. You start to indulge in the foods you had before. But at a smaller weight.
5. Slowly you add pounds back on because you never taught yourself how to find healther, low calorie alternatives.
6. Starts the cycle of weight regain.

How Often Has This Happened To You Or A Loved One?

It’s time for change. It’s time to start chipping away at the very core of what causes people to gain excess body fat from a nutritional habit standpoint. I can talk back and forth about the benefits of strength training and moderate/controlled amounts of cardio until the cows come home. But it’s time to give you actionable tips that you can execute each and everyday to allow you to lose your first twenty pounds and keep it off! And to be honest with you… it’s not all that hard. You can literally do this today and see results in a few weeks/months perhaps. Not making a promise though.

You Ready For It?!

Throw Trigger Foods In Your Home Away!

When we are at home we are in the judgement free zone. Nobody can tell us no, and nobody will judge us for the decisions we make. I don’t know about you…but if I am in my house and I am hungry and Oreos are in the house, those puppies will be eaten. So what should we do when it comes to avoiding sweets in our home?

We Do Not Buy Them

And if they were there from someone else, I will most likely toss them out. Listen, I am all for food preservation. But when it’s a food like Oreos I need to act a little selfish. One Oreo may turn to 2,3,4 or even a whole sleeve. If we eat them while we watch TV we are basically eating chocolatey/creamy/calorie dense air at that point since we barely even recognize that we’re eating them.

But… My Kids Like Them

As of writing this article I do not have kids and do not have plans for them. So I am not an expert parent and will not pretend to be. But healthy eating habits get alot of influence from what we learned growing up. I for one RARELY had mindless sweets like Oreos and cookies hanging around the house. So I learned how to incorporate healthy, low calorie snacks into my diet at a young age. So why the hell is it an acceptable cop out to say you MUST have them simply because your kids eat them? Perhaps we can teach our children what healthy choices are and we won’t be left with temptation from high calorie, sugary snacks! It is great to allow kids to make those choices too. So if you are unable to control yourself with them your children sure as hell will take after you when it comes to stress management.

Perimeter Shopping

It’s cliche, but perimeter shopping is the way to go. All the healthy foods worth buying and eating on a regular basis exist around the perimeters of the grocery store. Choose your aisle shopping wisely. There is no reason to buy chips, cookies, and other boxed sweets except for maybe an instance of a family gathering/party of sorts.

If you are looking to take measurable action on your fat loss TODAY and you already went grocery shopping here’s what you do.

1. If you have the receipt and you haven’t opened them yet, go return them. Save yourself some $$!
2. Opened them already? Throw them away.
3. Insist on not wasting any food, bring them to work.
4. Work from home? Then give them to a friend.
5. If you do not have any friends, then sorry but executive order coming that you’re going to throw those puppies away or feed them to the ants.

Summary

The reason I give this as a first step is because losing weight is a simple energy balance at the end of the day. And if you are constantly picking at Oreos, chips, some left over dip that you made from a BBQ, or something along those lines it will all add up over time. So if the food provides no value to you nutritionally, why is it there? Get rid of it and you will be amazed at how this one choice can reflect in your body comp after a few weeks/months!

 

Mike