Losing weight is not just about losing a few kilos on the scale, it’s more than that. Let’s face it ever since our childhood we’ve been fed this standard of beauty with those lean, tall Victoria’s Secret models to the busty Kardashians. We’ve always been told how we should look like, irrespective of our body composition, genetics, bone density, muscle mass, metabolism, and the time of the month.
Weight is so subjective that scientists still haven’t set a parameter for it to this day. Researchers although as made a range to identify overweight and obese people through BMI. Ok ok, I hear you, heard too much trash talk about BMI online? I have too and I still say that BMI is an effective tool to identify those people who are overweight, obese, and more prone to a bunch of medical illnesses.
But that does not mean that you are overweight if your BMI is relatively high than other girls in school. Maybe most of them are underweight and malnourished. So many things influence body weight on a day-to-day basis that it’s almost impossible to keep track of it. My advice see yourself in the mirror and see how much your belly protrudes in the morning right after you wake up.
Ask yourself questions like,
Do have difficulty running stairs, lifting a full bucket, or running a long distance?
Do you feel lazy or sleepy after eating a meal or do you feel full, nourished, or satisfied?
Do you wake in the morning energized or lethargic?
If your answer to all of these questions leans towards the negative prospects. Some things might need to change. And yes, it does involve losing some weight and then maybe gaining some in the form of muscle. Think of it as small adjustments in your daily routine instead of a life-changing diet that works for a few weeks and then you are back to square one feeling even more bad and sad (trust me I’ve been there).
These tricks work for all age groups, all you need to do is be consistent with them. But first, shift your mindset, you are not doing it to lose weight on the scale (can u please throw the scale out of the window please, it serves no other purpose than making us feel awful). You are doing it to wake up feeling refreshed in the morning, to be able to climb the stairs and run comfortably, and to feel good after eating a meal.
Drinking more water
Let’s tackle this real quick. How many of us know that our body contains 75-80 % of water? And yet here we are avoiding drinking water as it did us wrong in our previous life. And the reason for most of us is more water more piss, we cant deal with that. Dude, the water doesn’t flow from the stomach to the bladder through the direct highway, it passes through the entire body picking up toxins from the entire body and then handing it to the bladder to get rid of them.
These toxins need to be out of our system, for our bodies to work properly. That’s why you need to start drinking more water right now, go no get a glass of water now. Did I mention it will also be the issue of your constipation too? More details in the next blog.
Apple cider vinegar
This was the best miracle that happened to me through YouTube. I follow this guy called Thomas DeLauer, he is super fun. He preaches the keto diet which I actually tried and lost around 5 pounds in 4 weeks, but it was so tough and the after-effects with these huge fatty meals and bullet coffee, I still feel nauseated. However, let me give this guy the credit, he shares so many unique recipes to drink apple cider vinegar that are super yummy and super healthy.
What more can you ask for?
My favorite is lime and cayenne paper mixed with apple cider vinegar. You must try it, it might change your perspective about apple cider vinegar for life.
Peanut butter
I had a love-hate relationship with peanut butter. when I first discovered it in 2014, I didn’t know what to expect. I bought this huge jar of chunky peanut butter from a local grocery market and went home took a spoonful and ate it. It was horrible (did I mention I hate peanuts; they make me sick). A few years later, I saw the smooth version and of course, I was enticed to try it. This time though I was pleasantly surprised it not only taste better, but it also didn’t have those peanut chunks. Bingo, I found my love and I’m never going back.
Peanut butter gets you a good amount of fat that helps boost your metabolism. If you are someone like me suffering from slow metabolism you need this in your diet. But be mindful, a spoonful is more than enough for your daily dietary needs.
Green tea
Wasn’t that too obvious? Ok before you think that I might bore you scientifically proven exceptional benefits of antioxidants and catecholamines. We all know that. But how to incorporate it more in your routine? My trick, replace your favorite drink with green tea for once in a few weeks and gradually increase the dose until you get used to it. I replaced my morning coffee with green tea and now there’s no going back.
Coffee doesn’t wake you up as it promises in the morning until the body starts generating coffee-absorbing molecules which happen around 2-3 hours after waking up. Move your coffee time 2-3 hours and replace it with green tea. The results will amaze you. Also please stop drinking green tea after a heavy meal out of guilt. Green tea is not a magic potion, nor the unhealthy food has any under the table deal with it to digest it quickly. If you had a heavy meal, let the body digest it like normally don’t strain it your guilt and anxiety hormones, it only makes matters worse.
Lazy exercise
How many times have we read on the internet, take stairs instead of an elevator, park our car far away, or clean our house ourselves? But our over-smart brain defies it saying what difference would it make with these few extra steps; it requires more work, so let's stick to the routine. And we go Okay brain, what we don’t realize in those moments is that each step counts as 10 more steps a day makes 3000 more steps a month.
Plus, it helps with our food getting digested faster. Win-win, so next time your stupid brain tries to outsmart you just shut it up and get those steps done. A few repetitions a week and your brain will eventually adapt to this new normal. No questions asked.
More salad
The formula here is pretty simple,
more veggies a day = more fiber+ more antioxidants + more fullness
There’s absolutely nothing to lose. Yeah, I know veggies are boring, they are bland blah blah. Try adding spices, sauces, and herbs to it. Keep experimenting and one day you will find the perfect balance.
Sharing dessert
The first thing on almost every diet in the world, no more sweets. Ahh, that’s torture, I might not like sweets in general but as soon as someone says to restrict them. I crave it, even more, it’s not your fault it’s science. Our brains get triggered and it never ends well.
My advice is to eat sweets whatever you are craving eat them. Just not the whole thing. Share half of it with someone else. Your sweet tooth will remain satisfied which in turn will prevent your brain from getting triggered.
Yoga before bed
I pulled out this trick from my hat back when I was a yoga teacher 5 years ago. As soon as my students finished a Surya namaskar sequence, I will have them in the child’s pose or savasana and so many of them used to doze off sometimes even snoring on the mat.
No joke, yoga induces a sense of relaxation throughout the body, doing even 5 minutes of yoga before bed makes you relaxed and ready to sleep.
6-8 hours of good night's sleep
Sleep might be the culprit for weight issues for most of us. For people having difficulty in sleep, their stress hormones spike leading to more fat storage in the stomach area. With the sleep chronotype, the night owls tend to sleep late, and despite having a heavy dinner they crave late-night snacks often making unhealthy food choices. More about chronotypes in the blog “how to sleep instantly and peacefully”.
Writer's Note
These tricks have worked for me, and I have maintained my lean muscle mass with a fairly good metabolism, but of course, incorporating an entire exercise program will make you achieve the body goals you want to reach. Never forget, balance is the key right nutrition and adequate exercise you will feel like sh*t again EVER.
Comments