I have lost 32lbs over the last 63 days and I've learned a lot about how to lose weight the right way and in ways that I know I'm going to keep it off. Losing weight gets over complicated with every new weight loss fad that comes out. "Don't eat this food!" "Do this exercise!" blah blah blah. Even if some of these things work, most of them are not sustainable over the long term and that's what is important. Would you rather lose a bunch of weight quickly doing a fad, then after the 6 weeks or however long is over we gain the weight back and then some? Or would you rather lose weight in a sustainable, yet slower manner and keep it off? The answer is obvious. So here are three simple ways to help you lose weight and keep it off.
1.) Walk
Yes, that's it. Go on a 30-45 minute walk, every single day. Walking is a fantastic way to lose weight, it gets the body moving, it's not hard on the joints and it can be done without a single piece of equipment.
As a new father, I love to make it a regular family thing. We get to spend time together, my wife and I get to talk without any disruptions, my son loves to look at the trees and just the world around him. And don't get me started on my dog, we'll just say it's the highlight of his day. Just like it is mine.
Whether it's a family walk, or a ruck I do by myself, I always come back feeling better, more relaxed and have gotten a good workout.
2.) Strength Train
No, strength training is not going to make you a bodybuilder. But strength training 2-3 times a week is going to keep your body feeling good over the long haul.
Sometimes when we think of strength training, we think of lifting incredibly heavy weight, that doesn't have to be the case. And in fact, it rarely is. Strength training can be done with weights, with bands or with your body weight.
If you don't know where to get started, hire a trainer, join a class or start with push-ups, pull-ups, sit ups, body weight squats, body weight lunges. These are all great options. If you haven't been in the gym in 10 years, don't go load up a back squat with 405LBs.The key thing is just make sure you are doing some activity to build strength 2 to 3 times a week and that you're doing it in a safe manner.
3.) (MOST IMPORTANT) Be in a Calorie Deficit
Take your goal body weight in pounds and times it by 12, that is the number of calories you need to eat every day. TRACK YOUR CALORIES. This is all for nothing if you don't track your calories.
I know, nobody wants to track calories, it's time consuming, it's hard but so is being overweight. I know from personal experience. And I would take the "hard" of tracking my calories over the "hard" of being overweight every single day and twice on Sunday.
The best thing about tracking your calories, is that after awhile, you get a good sense of what to eat to meet your goals and what has a certain number of calories. So, after you get in a good groove, putting every bite you take into a calorie counter becomes less necessary. Start by using MyFitnessPal, or another app like it, it's a great way to help track those calories and keep you moving towards your weight loss goals. Sometimes it may not be exactly right 100% of the time but if you hit your mark 90% of the time, you will lose weight.
Bonus: Protein/Fiber
Protein: take your goal body weight and times it by 0.7 and that's the minimum grams of protein you should eat every day.
Fiber: Eat 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories that you eat.
Remember, don't over complicate things. Do these simple things and get results.
