Welcome back to the second part of this mini series. So… you hate diet, too? That’s OK. You are in the right place.
In the first part we dove straight in. By now you should have a piece of paper with your former goal and another one with your new aim redefined and set-up for success.
Did you start your small food diary? What do you think? Are you eating healthy or is your awareness changing your daily food routine?
If you missed out on the first part you can click here to get there.
What’s next?
It’s easy to say: Well… that depends.
Of course! It always does. And there isn’t any strict path our routine. If you are into that I’d rather recommend a regular diet.
But back to topic. There are two things we (you) can improve step-by-step.
And those things are simply put: what you digest and how much you burn.
Let’s start with the least effort….
What (do) you digest(?)
Let’s look at Britt and Mike:
Mike is 42 and Britt 41 years old. Their routine is like quite normal: Get up, eat breakfast, go to work, lunch + dessert, afternoon snack, dinner, kids, TV, bed. Does that sound familiar? It’s like most of us get through their day.
In the evening they are rather exhausted. Britt has a half-time job but takes care of the kids. In the evening Mike tries to support her even if he is tired. And on weekends the kids take up the rest of their time. They both want to loose some weight but how? And where do they get some time for that?
It’s quite normal that they struggle. Even if they didn’t have kids. Britt would have a full-time job and the weekend might be filled with friends, family, working on the weekend (depending on the job), or just relaxing from the work-week.
And there are other appointments like shopping groceries, going to the dentist or optometrist and other recurring chores like cleaning the home.
I did that, too! Not with the kids. But being busy all day with work and being busy with being tired all evening and weekend. And then a strict diet on top? I’ve tried and failed and it made me miserable. Until I discovered some ways to trick myself and improve the situation.
A deeper look
I’ve met Mike when I was on vacation. We started talking and a little while later I sat down with him and Britt and we started chatting for a while. It must have something to do with my character or demeanor but they – like others – opened up really quick and told me about their struggle.
It was my last day of vacation but I could relate to them and their struggle. So I told them to write down their goals, make a small food diary and get back to me when they were back home.
It turns out that Mike does like to drink sodas during the day and eats rather moderate but high calorie portions. Plus he like to snack chocolate and other sweets. Britt only drinks water but eats a lot and has many small sweets during the day. They don’t drink a lot of coffee though.
I personally feel that. I’m a stress eater and I love chocolate as well as sodas. (Soft drinks for Non-Americans)
And there we started our journey. Mike followed my recommendation of reducing the sodas. But it wasn’t as easy as just not drinking them. First he made a rule for himself, that he won’t drink any more sodas after 5pm. After a couple of days he started with water as first drink. Then later he drank a water after each soda until he was down to 2 to 3 cans a day. Of course quitting the soda all together would be better. But it’s also more hard. And we want a bit of easing in ourselves.
After about a month Mike was having 1 to 2 sodas per day. Which is a more reasonable amount. He also drank a lot of water. Both together made him feel a lot better. He didn’t loose too much weight. But at the same time he felt more energetic and less bloated.
Britt was really determined at first and she forbid herself from eating sugary snacks. That went well for a week before the first bounce back. (Where she ate more than before.)
For Britt three things worked very well: First having a “snack budget” and a “cheat budget”. Her snack budget was in a bowl which was openly visible all day. She could eat as many as she like but when the bowl was empty the snacks for the day were finished. But the cheat budget were 2 snacks which she could eat if the craving was too high.
After a couple of weeks Britt had halved the amount of snacks she ate everyday. And even further she almost never had to “cheat”.
The next step was to shake down some more calories for both. So I introduced them to smoothies. They taste really good and used in the right way they will help you to feel a lot better.
Mike and Britt changed their afternoon meal to a smoothie. I was a bit surprised but being motivated by the results Mike reduced a soda and Britt some of her snacks.
Mind you they each lost only a bit of weight during the first months. But they were really motivated because they felt a lot better. And they wanted more… They wanted to aim for better shape and to feel even better.
How to progress? By being holistic!
I’ve said it before and it’s absolutely true: The key is exercise. And persistence is key.
Britt and Mike followed some easy steps to feel better. They did loose some weight but only a little. I’ve experienced it myself and heard it from others that a diet that only considers food will always be limited.
Our body gets used to our consumption. If we eat less the body will accommodate to that and reduce the usage. A lengthy deficit or starving all the time won’t help you all too much.
Here is an analogy that fits really well: If you want to have more money, your options are to earn more and to spend less (save more).
Let’s translate that to our body shape. If we want to be in better shape we can eat less so we stay within our budget. We can also increase the budget (by burning more).
And while eating less (of the wrong stuff) is a good start. Increasing the budget is more important.
Once I met this guy and he was eating pizza three[sic!] times every week and the rest of his food was salad and meat (mostly chicken). He showed me pictures of himself and his scale. That guy lost almost two pounds per week. How? He hit the gym every other day and worked out smart and really hard. His key was in the workout but also in the chicken and salad. Increasing protein will lead to better results.
Chicken was easy for Britt and Mike. The salad took some time but they did get there. But all the changes in food were secondary after they changed the amount of exercise. Also the key in chicken it the increased protein intake. The body need more time breaking down protein and has a source of energy that lasts a bit longer.
How much (do) you burn(?)
I’d really like to close the article for today. But persistence is key. And I want to hand the key of exercise to you before this article ends.
Now we are at the yang to the easy yin. For the ultimate success we have to be holistic.
You have your aim written down and your mind set. The changes for what you digest can start small and reach potential. So…
Let’s tackle the yang and conquer it!
You remember the two pieces of paper with the old goal and the new aim, right?
First we need the new aim. Everyday, I will help myself….
Do you have to exercise every day? No!
Do you have to hit the gym three times a week? No!
What should I do? Start small!
Coming back to Britt and Mike… they only have tiny amounts of time. And they didn’t exercise for years. If that’s you then read on. (If not then skip to the next sub-section.)
So with tiny amounts of time we need tiny exercises. No matter your gender, micro-exercises will work for you. The amount and count only fans out depending on your fitness ability. Can you do a push-up? How about five? And a sit-up?
Mike started with doing 3 push-ups before he went do bed. After a couple of days he piled on with 3 push-ups after work and 5 additional sit-ups before bed. And Britt followed his example. It took two weeks and they were doing tiny work-outs during the day. A couple of knee-bends here, some sit-ups there, shortest planks in between and partner sit-ups/workout before bedtime.
Each tiny exercise will increase your calorie budget. It might hurt a little at first. And this is your sign to stop or pause.
So, what now?
Let’s wrap it up for today. If you keep filling your food diary and adjust a little here and there you are off for a good start. Getting started with some micro-exercises will help you get better results. Do everything at your own pace or a bit faster. Remember to be gentle.
See you next time 🙂
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