It can be daunting when you first set out on your fitness journey. I get it. There are SO many workout plans; SO many different opinions about what you should eat. And then there are words like “macronutrients” that make you eyes cross. It can be overwhelming sometimes! Let me break it down for you…
- WORKOUTS:
These don’t have to be complicated and don’t have to last two hours. The key is to STAY ACTIVE, keep your body guessing, incorporate strength training, and keep pushing yourself. If you can only do five bicep curls with 5-pound dumbbells, start with that. Next time, try for eight. The time after that, try to increase the size of your dumbbells. Just keep pushing yourself! Your body will respond accordingly and changes will occur.
- DIET:
I hate the word “diet”. It shouldn’t be a temporary fix---it should be a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. Instead of drastically cutting calories or going on these low-fat/no-sugar/no-carb fads, just stick with natural, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods. And eat in moderation. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full. It’s that simple!
Your body can’t function if you don’t fuel it properly. It CAN survive on limited calories, but not for long. Eventually, you’ll hit the point where you stop seeing “weightloss” (which will include any muscle you have along with fat) and you will start to give into those intense cravings that come along with drastic diets. Annnnd the weight will come back.
Eating the right amount of calories—and NUTRIENTS—to fuel your body will ensure that you don’t plateau and you don’t fall into the yo-yo dieting pit. Which leads me to my next point…
- MACRONUTRIENTS:
This is just a fancy word for “protein, fat, and carbs”. These are VITAL to fueling your body properly. Of course, there are certain ranges of each of these that helps your body perform best, and finding those ranges can be tricky. I recently found a site that is super helpful at calculating those numbers for you: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/weight_loss_tools.htm. Don’t pay attention to the “diet plans” and all that; just focus on the calorie and macronutrient calculators. Plug in your info, take those numbers and put them into a food/activity app like My Fitness Pal, and then go from there! This site even has a calculator for pregnant/breastfeeding moms, which is awesome!
I know a lot of people put emphasis on calories. I like to focus more on my MACROS, and this is why: every gram of protein, fat, and carbohydrates have a set number of calories it takes for your body to break it down. Protein = 4; carbs = 4; fat = 9. When you reach the appropriate number of macros you should be eating each day, you automatically reach the calorie range as well. It may sound odd, but trust me---it works!
Ok, so I hope I’ve helped decipher some of the more overwhelming parts of this whole “fit life” business. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through the Contact tab. I’d love to help you!