5 tips for Effective Weight Loss

1: Move every day

Don't just work out once or twice a week, commit to a lifestyle that includes more movement. Did you know that walking a mile burns the same amount of calories and running a mile? We can't all commit to running every day, but we can all move every day. One super easy way to put this into practice is with a pedometer or fitness tracker like fibit or apple watch. Make sure to get at least 10k steps/day.

2: Build muscle with resistance training

Building muscle ups your metabolism; adding 10 lbs. of muscle mass burns 500 extra calories day. If you kept diet and activity level exactly the same but had 10 more lbs. of muscle, you could burn off more than 50 lbs. of bodyfat in a year!

3: Minimize fat storage

It's important to consume an appropriate amount of calories, but it's also important to tweak your diet to keep fat storage to a minimum. Check out my previous post Burn More, Store Less for all the info. For the sake of this post, we will avoid late-day, high-carb eating (no spaghetti and garlic bread dinners, more salads); we'll also be sure to consider factors such as glycemic index, protein, fat, and fiber content, to minimize how much fat we're storing.

4: Don't eat 'til you're stuffed!

We'll aim for about 80% of capacity for normal meals. To hit this number we must be mindful--this means slowing down, putting your phone away, and chewing your food thoroughly. If you struggle to eat slowly, try eating all your meals with chopsticks!

5: Avoid empty calories

Your body needs nutrients. If you fill up on food with no nutritional value (e.g. fast food, sugary snacks, sodas), your body will signal you to eat more because it doensn't have what it needs to function optimally. Conversely, if you eat foods that are rich in nutrients--especially those that have low calories and high nutritional value--you'll be better able to hit your calorie targets without feeling like you're starving yourself.

Bonus: Drink ice water

Drinking cold water causes your body to go into thermogenesis to warm itself back to eqiulibirum temperature (98.6F). If we do this all throughout the day, we can burn up to 50 extra calories/day. While this may seem like a small amount, it compounds over time: 5 lbs. of fat/year.

If you're looking for a specific workout program to put with these tips which are mostly dietary, check out our January Jumpstart weightloss workout program!