When it comes to weight loss and fitness.we are constantly looking for fast results and we are willing to starve ourselves, take dubious pills and try strange fitness gadgets that promise to get us in the best shape of our life - fast.
When we look at the mirror with disgust and decide we want to lose weight we want it as fast as possible so we start a fitness regime and a crash "grapefruit" diet. This behaviour usually leads to two possible outcomes:
The first and more common is that the stress from the rapid change depletes the mental and physical resources of our body and after a couple of weeks we start feeling bad, tired and sick. In that point we just stop trying and go back to our previous life with another failure that will haunt us for years.
The second outcome is less common but is equally as bad as the first. We stick through the regime for a couple of months and get the results we desire and as we go back to our old ways we gain the weight back ( sometimes even a little extra over the top) and fuck up our metabolism.
In both cases the results are not what we want and there is a significant damage to our health.
So what is the approach we need to take to get lasting results that will improve our health and get us into those jeans we want so badly?
The trick is to change things one step at a time.
If you decided to get in shape and lose weight you can't put to much stress on the body at once.
You start by choosing a simple fitness routine you enjoy and can be easily incorporated into your life.
Going to the gym for 2 hours a day every day is very effective but you quickly overwhelm your body with the stress and the injuries will be quick to follow.
Start by adding two hour workouts a week. Choose something you enjoy; it can be dancing or kickboxing or weight training, just make sure you are not pushing yourself to hard to fast. On the other days add walks, stairs or other moderate activities that move your body.
Doing this in a moderate pace builds a long lasting habit of physical activity and gets your body into a healthy and sustainable routine that will get you long term results.
The second step you take is changing your eating habits. Not crash yoyo dieting, you need to adapt new eating habits.
Make sure to drink more water, you can use this post for some useful tips on how to increase your water intake.
After about three weeks of exercise and increased water intake start gradually changing your eating habits.
Cut down salt and start following The plate rule.
Once you stick with the entire routine for another month, not only that you already lost a substantial amount of weight, your body is now ready to step up in exercise.
This method is a little slower than the stupid and dangerous crash diets out there but it will give you great results and is easy to maintain with even the most demanding schedule.
Ask me any fitness or diet related question in the comments, I really want you to get the results you deserve.
Thank you for your time.
With love.
Eugene