With about a million dietary “recommendations” floating on the web such as low-carb, keto and mediterranean to name a few, it can be such a daunting task to take the first step in your weightloss journey!
Though some of these meal plans actually offer up good dietary tips, they come with one obvious downfall. They are seen as diets rather than lifestyle commitments! In an interview with talk show host Steve Harvey, fitness guru extraordinaire, Jillian Michaels shares, “the reality of fitness and nutrition is that they’re all just fads re-skinned.” Watch This VideoMichaels then says, “...when it comes to health, it’s an energy equation. Eat less, use common sense with your food choices and move more. That’s just simple science!” So instead of buying into the next heavily marketed fitness and/or nutrition fad, buy into what the experts recommend based on the study of the human and health sciences: Eat right. Exercise. Be good to your body!Here are FOUR SIMPLE STEPS to get you on track with your weightloss goals through diet and exercise that’ll help you find a healthy lifestyle free of dieting!
Step 1: Get your baseline. In order to successfully lose weight, you must first understand where you currently stand calorically. Your first step is to track your calorie intake via diet and expenditure via exercise for AT LEAST 3 days (2 week days and a weekend day). One of the easiest and most popular ways to do this is by using your smartphone and downloading a tracking app such as, myfitnesspal. As cumbersome as it may seem, you will want to be as exact as possible in your tracking. So make sure you include anything and everything that you consume that has calories including foods, drinks, vitamins, sauces, dressings and so on. As for exercise, these apps are generally fairly capable of estimating your caloric expenditure during exercise when you enter duration and exercise type based on your present weight, age and sex. However, if you have a fitness tracker such as a garmin or fitbit that more accurately depicts your caloric expenditure during exercise, you may simply insert your calories burned for a better picture of your baseline.Step 2: Modify your energy equation.Now that you have a good idea of your present baseline, it is time to make a few changes in order to get weight loss results. For the average, healthy adult a healthy weight loss is about one to two pounds per week. There is 3500 calories in one pound of fat. So in order to lose one pound a week you must have a deficit of 500 calories a day. Similarly, in order to lose two pounds a week, you must have a deficit of 1000 calories a day. This calorie deficit of 500 to 1000 per day can come from cutting back calories in your diet and/or expanding in your exercise and may take some figuring out by looking back at your baseline tracking.For example: You are typically consuming 2000 calories a day and wish to cut back 500 calories daily to lose one pound per week. In order to successfully shed a pound, you may eliminate your evening snack and add 30 more minutes of walking to your daily exercise routine, which in total will tally 500 calories.Learn more about tips on how to safely lose weight each week through diet and exercise:http://wellviewhealth.com/2018/03/21/3817/Step 3: Track your weight loss and make note.Again, I know that tracking can be a pain for some, but alternatively, a 2016 study reveals that tracking can actually help hold you accountable for healthy eating as well as motivate you to increase regular physical activity. At this point, you want to track your modified behaviors in order to make sure it is aligning with a successful and healthy weight loss. Make note of any days, times, food choices, etc. that make your weightloss more difficult, and make any appropriate modification that work in your favor. Step 4: Fine tune.By now, you should have a good foundation and be well on your way to the weightloss results you have always wanted so there is no more need for tracking(I know you may be happy to hear that). Once you have successfully found a routine that allows you to lose weight, maintain accountability and motivation and lead a healthy lifestyle long term, you want to simply maintain the behavior. When you catch yourself slipping up, return to your tracking to get your bearings once again and continue down a healthy path full of life-giving behaviors!Are you still struggling? DO NOT FRET! We’ve got your back. Click HERE to learn more about the Wellview services available to you. We can’t wait to work with you!
– CASEY EDMONDS, CHC
Health Advisor | Email Casey
