The obvious first question you may be asking yourself is how many calories per day should I be eating? The truth is there is no magical number that we can give you. Nutrition is never one size fits all! Weight loss and maintenance is based upon calories consumed and calories burned.
Step one will be for you to become very aware of what you are eating. A client shared something that she read just yesterday that said, “You are what you eat. Don’t be fast, cheap, easy, or fake”. This is a great statement! Our bodies are comprised of over 100 trillion cells. We cannot feel the under nourishment or breakdown of those cells until we are sick or diseased, and that takes time. It is over time that we feed our precious cells fast, cheap, easy, and fake foods (aka the Standard American Diet), that often times cause the distress that our bodies experience.
Yes, avoiding the standard American diet may take some thought, planning and shopping, but honestly, what is easier than eating fruits, vegetables, some grains, nuts, seeds, and carefully selected proteins?
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Step two will be for you to weigh, measure, and journal your food consumption so that you can re-educate yourself regarding serving sizes and associated calories. There was a clip on one of the morning news programs this week that showed the results of a group of movie goers, all who were right handed. Half of the group was allowed to eat with their dominant right hand, while the other half of the group was asked to eat only with their left hand. The result of the study was that the left handed eaters ate less because they had to think about their snacking vs. mindlessly allowing themselves to fall into routine and simply pop kernel after kernel into their mouths. Weighing, measuring, and journaling will accomplish mindfulness and with that you should consume significantly fewer calories than you normally would.
Step three requires that you move your body! Resistance and cardiovascular training is critical for muscle building and fat burning. Weight loss is only successful when we reduce the targeted cells … FAT! Anyone can restrict calories and lose weight, but you want to be careful that you are not losing precious muscle and bone mass!
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Lastly … weigh in! Once per week, same approximate time of day, and on the same scale.