Tips/Advice

  • Weight loss is 70-75% diet and 25-30% exercise. You can’t just workout and eat poorly and expect to lose weight. You NEED a healthy diet.
  • Drink water! water can help you to feel full and eat less, can help flush toxins out of the body, and dehydration can slow down metabolism
  • If you are having trouble drinking water, try to get a big bottle. I  find it easier to drink enough if I have a big bottle rather than a small one that I have to keep filling up
  • If you feel hungry, try to drink a glass of water and see how you feel in 10 minutes. Sometimes when you think you are hungry, you are really just thirsty
  • Avoid alcohol if possible. nutrition wise it’s not the best, plus it can decrease your metabolism by 73%!
  • Don’t skip breakfast and try to eat it early to kickstart your metabolism
  • Try not to eat under 1000 – 1200 calories a day.
  • When snacking and eating meals make sure you are getting protein and fiber to help you feel full.
  • try to eat whole grains instead of white carbs.
  • strength train! The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be.
  • Cayenne Pepper and Green Tea are great for increasing metabolism.
  • Watch portions and measure things out! Try to get a food scale, you’ll be shocked how small some servings actually are. A serving of pasta is 2oz. For spaghetti, if you hold them together and look straight on, it’s about the size of a quarter. Olive garden gives you about 3.5 servings of pasta. Also, If you are going to eat nut butter, measure that out. A serving is 2 tablespoons, after I started using the measuring spoons, I realized I was probably eating about 4 tablespoons before!
  • Don’t be afraid of fat. Try to eat monosaturated and polysaturated fats, and stay away from saturated.
  • Just because something says “no trans fat”, “all natural”, or “organic” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Read nutrition labels!
  • Eat slowly and eat while sitting down.
  • Try to keep yourself busy, so that you don’t just eat out of boredom.
  • Find an exercise that you like. If you are doing something you hate, you won’t be able to stick with it.
  • Sometimes when I start getting hungry and either can’t eat right away, or want to wait a little bit, I will drink some hot green tea. For me it was an acquired taste, but just the warmth of it seems to hold my hunger over for a little bit. Plus, if you like hot green tea, drinking 3 cups a day has been show to increase metabolism.
  • Don’t plan on dieting for a month and then stopping. Try to make a lifestyle change. There are so many healthier ways to make unhealthy foods. You don’t need to completely give up everything you like, just make small changes.
  • Try to write out or schedule what you are going to eat for the day. By doing that, you are less likely to much impulsive, bad eating decisions.
  • Don’t get rid of any food group completely. I know what it’s like to be afraid of carbs, but you just need to watch portions and eat in moderation.
  • Tell people about your weight loss or fitness goals, and accountability partners are great.
  • Track what you are eating. Either write it out, or join a site like Beachbody, sparkpeople, or myfitnesspal .
  • Pay attention while you are eating so that you know when you are full, this will help you to not overeat.
  • Eat fruits and veggies, but watch out for dried fruit. A lot of the time, dried fruit has more calories and added sugar.
  • I have found that writing out a schedule for the day of what I am going to eat, and sticking to it really helps. I even write the exact times I will eat, if possible. Sometimes I will have dinner 5:30, and then I will say that  I will have a specific snack at 8:00. That way, when it gets to 8 and i’m hungry I know exactly what I am having, and I don’t just wander around my kitchen, grab whatever, and overeat.
  • Watch fruit juice. It’s okay to have occasionally, but a lot of fruit juice also has added sugar.
  • Don’t get too obsessed with the scale or a certain weight number. A pound of fat and a pound of muscle look much different.
  • Don’t get too stressed about the weight loss. It’s a journey.