I’ve always struggled with my weight. In the last ten years it’s yo-yoed between eighteen and half to twelve and a half stone, I just love my food. So now I’m just over 2 weeks into yet another diet. Luckily there are loads of little things that you can do to help, and all these little things add up. So over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing a few tips that have really helped me. Here’s the first 3 to get you started.
Exercise
This is first for a reason. If you burn more calories than you eat then you lose weight: yes it’s that simple. Doing exercise however is the difficult part. If you’re not used to exercise then start off small, go for a brisk 20 minute walk in the day whenever you can; before work. to work, in your lunch break, or go for a quick evening stroll. If you are comfortable with exercise then I would recommend HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), it’s short (between 15 and 20 minutes) and it gets results. This is one of my workouts below:
45 seconds of each exercise with 15 seconds rest inbetween
1. Bench presses
2. Star jumps
3. Bicycle Sit-ups
4. Squats
5. Cycling machine
Repeat 6 times to make 30 minute workout.
When first starting out it’s important not to overdo it. It’s no good over straining yourself so you have to have a few days off. Start with 3 rounds of the five exercises and slowly build up by adding the next exercise each day. It’s a good idea to replace some of the exercises from time to time so you’re not using the same muscles over and over again. Some that are good to try: planks, press-ups, mountain climbers, burpees, squat thrusts and high knee running on the spot.
Another way of fitting some exercise in is pick something you do everyday, like walking up a particular set of stairs or going into a particular room at home and when you do that’s the time to do some exercise. I pick going up my stairs, when I do I have to do 10 press-ups at the top on the landing. It’s just a simple way of fitting in exercise when you can.
Food
Yes you can go on a proper crash diet and you will see results but most diets are unsustainable and soon as you come off them the weight goes back on. It’s all about being sensible, you know if you have a pizza and a fizzy drink then you’re not giving yourself the best chance to lose weight. There are loads of very good nutritional diets out there at the moment: Lean in 15 by Joe Wicks is the one that doing the rounds currently. The key is well balanced (a combination of protein, carbs and even fats) and healthy meals. Above all use your common sense.
Breakfast
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and there is a good reason. Having breakfast gets your metabolism going at the beginning of the day and as you have already eaten it stops you snacking before lunch. Personally I hardly ever eat breakfast normally as I’m just not that hungry in the morning. During this stint of dieting however I’m really making an effort, even if it’s just a yoghurt and a bit of fruit. A good breakfast to try as it’s quite light but really tasty is a small sliced banana, yoghurt, sesame seeds, a drizzle of honey and a dash of ground cinnamon (pictured above). It also makes a good light lunch.
Hopefully that has given you a few ideas and more importantly some inspiration if you are thinking about losing weight.