“I’ll start on Monday.” “There’s no point starting now.” “I may as well start fresh in the new year.” are all excuses we’ve told ourselves upon realizing that it’s time to do something about our health. Whether it’s bulking up or slimming down, changing your lifestyle for the better is much easier said than done. The problem many people have with “dieting” is that diets only serve as a temporary solution to your body problems. Diets are dumbs. Instead, you should be pursue as a lifestyle change, the Exact Formula for Weight Loss is a change that you plan on continuing once you’ve reached your target weight. Are you ready to make a change? Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to making the healthy lifestyle change your body so desperately needs.
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Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Water is super beneficial to the body as it helps flush out toxins, helps with mood and memory, can aid digestion, supports weight loss, helps manage anxiety, and can even help prevent constipation in both children and adults. Aim to drink 64 ounces of water every day, and even more if you’re exercising. Water can also help aid the effectiveness of your workout regime, so be sure to have a bottle closeby at all times. If you struggle to keep track of how much water you’ve had in a day, you can buy motivational water bottles that have times and targets on and will help keep you hydrated.
Don’t stop moving!
Many people only see their exercise regime as the time they’ve spent in the gym or the 10k they’ve ran. However, anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you feel out of breath is exercising! So, if you don’t have time to head to the gym for a few days, you could:
- Dance around while doing the housework. Not only is it exercise, but it can turn boring chores into a lot of fun!
- Do squats and stretches whilst doing the ironing or on the phone to a loved one.
- Learn some exercises you could do from the comfort of your desk at work.
- Move around at every given chance. If you’ve got a fitbit you’ll be able to track the amount of steps you’re taking in a day, why not set yourself new targets?!
That’s not to say a structured workout routine isn’t important, but if you’re not able to make it to the gym you can still keep on moving!
If you’re looking to bulk up with some muscle, you should consider trying the skinny guy workout routine for the best ways of building up muscle as quickly as possible.
Eat slowly, small portion, and often
One of the greatest mistakes that people make is thinking that we need to eat 3 meals a day at certain times. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! There are certain points during the day that your body will need fuel and THAT’S when you should be eating. However, instead of eating a regular meal like you’re used to at the moment, you should be eating much smaller portions but more often than you usually would. Your body finds it much easier to digest food in smaller amounts, and by eating little and often, you’re not allowing food to turn into fat on your body. Great for those trying to slim down or bulk up!
Change your attitude towards food
Following on from the last point, changing your entire attitude towards food will help break cravings and can sometimes help resist temptation. Try this method:
- Only eat when you feel physically hungry, and only eat until the feeling of hunger has gone away.
- Don’t eat just because it’s a “meal time”. Ask yourself if your body is really asking for food, or whether it’s because it’s been conditioned to think that.
- Drink a glass of water when you think you’re hungry. Quite often you’ll find that you were thirsty instead of hungry.
- Eat from as many food groups as your dietary preference allows. Our bodies need a mixture of vitamins and minerals, and no food can give us everything in one go. Keep things fresh!
Try out new recipes every week
One of the biggest hurdles when trying to change your lifestyle is quickly becoming bored of the healthier food that you’re eating. The problem with most ‘diets’ is that they prevent you from having the foods you enjoy the most, so you stick to salads and low calorie pasta dishes and then yep, you become bored. Try out new recipes every week to keep your tastebuds interested, and also touch up your culinary skills!
Allow yourself to have treats
Completely banning yourself from the treat foods in your life is pointless. It’s like tempting fate. 9 times out of 10 people will cave in and end up back in their bad eating habits, so allow yourself to have treats! Just restrict the amount you’re having. Imagine the satisfaction you’ll feel when you bite into that square of chocolate you’ve been thinking of all day – heaven! Use your treat food as a way of rewarding yourself for goals throughout the day such as hitting your step count or choosing a healthy lunch. Always remember everything in moderation!
Learn to love yourself
Finally, we’re force fed by the media how we should look, what colour our skin should be, how to have our hair, and it makes us think that the way we look naturally isn’t how we should look. Learning to love yourself is an essential part of changing your lifestyle for the better and for your mental well-being too! Whilst it’s great that you’re looking to make a healthy lifestyle change, always remember that you’re beautiful no matter what you look like, or who the media dictates you to be as a person. You’ve got this!
