Hello my beautiful people! There is a reason I didn’t say losing weight. Weight loss can be a lot of things, muscle, water and of course fat. But what I want to explore here is not just losing pounds on the scale but losing that pesky fat that sits on top of your muscle. With my background and fitness and nutrition, with 10 little small changes to your daily life that are not difficult to do but make a huge impact on your waistline. Let’s get to it!

1: Eat enough protein for your energy level. What does this mean? Let me break it down for you. The average adult person leaves at least .75 g of protein per kilo of body weight. That means that you probably are really engage in any sort of exercise program or weightlifting program. If however you are engaged in some sort of exercise or bodybuilding program you need at least 1.2 to 2.2 g of protein per kilo of body weight just to maintain and build muscle. Protein does not cause fat gain! It actually helps keep and maintain the muscle that you have on your body during your weight loss and also keeps you fall for a very long time so preventing hunger and constant snacking. If it seems impossible to eat that much protein in one day try supplementing with protein drinks!

2: Absolutely do not remove whole food groups from your diet I eat carbs, fats etc. you should never feel like you’re starving yourself to lose weight in fact swap out lesser healthy versions for healthier versions of carbohydrates and you will feel so much better, have energy, and still lose weight in the process. Examples of healthy choices are choosing brown rice over white rice, whole-grain bread over white bread, or whole-grain pasta over regular pasta. And try to watch out for things with added sugar in them and avoid that if it at all possible.

3: Don’t snack on crap! People snack out of hunger or border. Give your body a protein fuel. Choose to snack on something that you can enjoy but won’t destroy your progress. Several options would be apple slices and peanut butter, whole-grain granola bar, tuna and celery dip, whole grain bread and nut butter spread. The most important thing is that your snack provides you with energy and satiety without extra sugars.

4: Whenever possible, choose walking as an option. Don’t park in the closest parking spot walk a little bit further. Choose the stairs over the elevator and walk or ride a bicycle if going short distances throughout your day. This may not seem like a brilliant fat-loss strategy but every step counts (literally). So by the end of your day you may have waked 2-3 miles!

5: learn the difference between Thurston hunger! Always have with you a water bottle, this is a fat loss survival must! If you don’t like plain water try adding some fruit to your water to infuse with a little bit of flavor without adding unnecessary sugars or calories. My favorite is lemon slices, but any fruit will give it a twist of flavor.

6: Take a load off. Stress not only wrecks havoc on your mind and your health but it also destroys any weight loss progress. Learn to love yourself and to choose activities throughout your day to help you stay calm and centered. This may mean short 5 minutes breaks at work or walking during your lunch hour. It may mean reading a book or listening to a podcast or prayer and meditation. Just make sure every day that you you’re doing something to re-center your mind and spirit. Most importantly, don’t try to follow someone else’s program choose what makes you feel the best and most revived. Writing this blog is mine!!!

7: Kick all added sugar! Yup, if it’s got added sugars just say no! But first off, let me explain not all sugar is bad sugar. Fruit naturally has sugar in it, as well as anything that contains carbohydrates. But the sugar I’m talking about is the kind that’s added to most packaged foods, sodas, cocktails etc. Simple sugars like that equal FAT. Notice I did not say “carbs“ carbohydrates are sugars, but they come in many different varieties and some are very good and useful and absolutely necessary for you to maintain your energy throughout the day and your workout routine. What do you need to watch out for the added sugar in your coffee (try stevia), in your packaged snack, yes even healthy foods like granola bars can have the pesky unwanted added sugars that are sabotaging your fat loss. Another source of added sugar is alcohol yes, alcohol contains sugar and some more than most a cocktail can have as much sugar as a sweetened Starbucks coffee!! If you want something to drink opt for mimosas, wine or stevia sweetened cocktail mix and watch your portions.

8: Get 8-9 hours of Zzz,s! I’ve said it before in my other blog post, but I can’t emphasize enough how important sleep is not only for your weight loss benefits, but for your overall health. When you sleep your body repairs itself, your hormones are regulated, do you have energy to do the workouts that you want to do, and your hunger hormone is suppressed. Not getting enough sleep actually makes you hungry! This in itself leads to snacking in unwanted pounds. If you have trouble getting enough sleep, try to assess what the problem is and write a journal. Identify the reasons and then work to correct the problem.

9: Incorporate an exercise program you love and can stay with on a regular basis (at least 5 30-60 minute sessions a week). Adequate exercise reduces hunger, helps you sleep better at night, increases brain power, and boost metabolism for starters! Exercise in itself has so many health benefits but if I go into detail here or I’ll have to write a whole other blog lol. But for the purpose of losing pounds, find something you ENJOY! If you don’t enjoy it you’re less likely to stick with it, and who wants to do something they don’t enjoy anyway! (For me it’s running and lifting)Find an activity they get your heart pumping but that also engages your mind and makes you feel relaxed and happy.

10: Last, but certainly not least don’t compare yourself to the success of others! Live your life and love your body! Everyone of us has different strengths and different challenges that we must face and overcome. Set goals for yourself and don’t compare yourself to another person’s progress. The thing I find most helpful is to measure my own progress against myself. I.e. if you’re starting a running program time how long it takes you to run 2 miles, and as you progress set your goals within reasonable limits. If it takes you 30 minutes to run 2 miles then set your goal to running 2 miles within 28 minutes. Don’t underestimate the small progresses and make sure that you celebrate yourself every step of the way! Buy that new pair of jeans when you hit that goal!

Thank you for reading! Please follow and share if you enjoyed this blog ❤️