If you’re over 30, married, have children, a mortgage, car payments, investments that went south, a job you don’t like and are stressed out at least 50% of the time, chances are you have a pooch hanging down in front of you that you’re not proud of.
Here’s why & here’s what you can do about it starting right now:
1) You don’t purpose time to slow down. Your perspective is skewed due to life’s perceived pressures & you don’t purpose the necessary time to eat properly, get adequate amounts of sleep, spend quality time with those who matter most & move your body on a daily basis. This lifestyle orientation is detrimental to your metabolism because you leave the body no choice but to be in a constant state of distress (whether you are aware of it or not). The body, in its attempt to protect you in the face of distress, stores fat in the primal sense of the word survival. To counter this effect you must purpose time to slow down, assess what’s really important to you and then live your life accordingly.
TIP: Assess your life & lifestyle. Do you have too many expenses? Too much stuff? Are you grateful for what you do have? Are you living beyond your means? Do you burn bridges or do you build them? Is your work your passion? Do you spend quality time with your spouse? Do you even like your spouse? Do you give your children your undivided attention on a daily basis? Do you spend time in solitude? Do you spend time with great friends or family members who “get you”? Do you have a personal improvement plan in place that you practice daily? Do you move your body on a daily basis? Do you eat well at least 90% of the time? Have you eliminated fast foods from your daily intake? Do you practice mindful breathing?
All of these practices serve to provide you with clarity and perspective that you need to keep distress (and the stress hormones such as cortisol) and your belly at bay.
2) You don’t plan your meals and leave everything to chance. The size of your belly is in direct proportion to your attention to the following factors: 1) quality of nutrition, 2) quantity you consume, 3) frequency of meals and 4) timing of your meals. Additionally, planning your meals is probably the single most critical factor in weight loss. Most people wait until they’re hungry before deciding what to eat. By this time all bets are off & you’re doomed to choose something that is “convenient & readily available”. Get in the habit of planning your meals on a daily basis & making sure you’re ready when it’s time to eat. Tupperware, office refrigerators, George Foremen grills, blenders (I like the Magic Bullet) and toaster ovens are wonderful tools to keep you on track with your meal planning. Ignore any of these critical factors and you rob your body of its natural ability to burn fat and build lean muscle. I’ll save specifics for a later post, but you’ll want to do the following right now:
a) Improve the Quality of Your Food - if fat loss is your goal, you’ll want to stick to wide array of fruits, vegetables, complex carbohydrates and lean proteins. I prefer organic and do my absolute best to stay away from processed foods (i.e., foods you generally find in the center aisles of your grocery store). Eliminate sugar (especially man-made sweeteners), partially hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, excessive sodium, fast foods and fried foods.
b) Be Mindful of Quantity – portion management calls for using smaller plates (e.g., a salad plate) than you normally would & avoiding buffets that encourage an “All You Can Eat” glutton fest. Distribute the food on your plate equally. For example, a chicken breast, broccoli and brown rice dinner should all visually look to be about the same size. Preferably each portion measuring about the size of the palm of your hand.
c) Frequency – Eating 5-6 small meals throughout the day encourages your metabolism to work consistently. Eating this way also serves to stabilize your blood sugar so that you are in a constant state of fat burning vs. unwanted fat storing. Many people aren’t fat because they eat too much all day long. Conversely, people who pack on extra pounds tend to starve themselves for most of the day (i.e., skip breakfast, eat a late lunch if at all, and then have a large dinner) which triggers the body to store fat in the name of survival.
d) Timing – Breakfast, as most know, is the most important meal of the day for 2 reasons. It replenishes your body with vital nutrients to start your day off right & it is the start point for timing your meals for the rest of the day. For example, if you eat breakfast at 7am & you follow the recommended body fat loss prescription of eating every 3-4 hours, your next meals will be at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm.
3) You eat too much & you move too little. Losing body fat is not rocket science that many would lead you to believe. Barring any metabolic condition the formula for fat loss is simple: moderate aerobic activity + concern for muscle + planned recovery/rest + managed stress + sound nutrition (not gimmicks) = FAT LOSS.
Most people don’t lose fat consistently because they’ve violated any one of the aforemention components of the equation and in order for long term fat loss to work, there needs to be synergy amongst the components of the equation. Get these right and you can’t go wrong in your fat loss attempt. Understand this, however, losing unwanted fat permanently is a lifestyle and not a quick fix. I’ve never seen anyone put on fat overnight & therefore you shouldn’t expect to get it off overnight. Focus on getting the formula for successful fat loss right and the body fat will take care of itself.
4) You’ll start doing something tomorrow. One of the biggest culprits of any type of success is the notion that you’ll start tomorrow. Success belongs to those who take action now. January 1 is no better than June 14th and Monday is no better than Wednesday. Start practicing sound fat loss principles right away and then use the power of momentum to carry you through.
5) You are mesmorized by clever marketing and the promise of short term gratification. An estimated $60 billion is spent on weight loss products annually and many of these products/services promise to make weight loss easier, quicker, cheaper, more reliable, and/or less painful. Unfortunately, the majority of claims and promises that are made are empty at best. At the end of the day effective fat loss comes down to this: you must expend more calories than you consume on a daily basis. You must find activities that stimulate your heart and lungs that you enjoy doing and engage in it consistently. You must discontinue your reliance and unhealthy relationship with fast food in the name of convenience. You must choose food high in nutritional value vs. food high in caloric value. You must plan your rest and purpose personal time to de-stress. Finally, you must believe that you first deserve to have a healthy, fit body and second you must believe that you have the capability to lose the unwanted body fat. Without a strong belief in yourself (i.e., your foundation), your attempts will be seriously compromised.
One Comment
This is wonderful! I wish I saw this type of article in women’s fitness publications.