Tidbit Tuesday - Top Habits for Fat Loss
Hello,
Welcome to another Tidbit Tuesday where we aim to teach you something new about health, nutrition, lifestyle, training, and so much more, every week!
Today we are going to be talking about 3 habits to make fat-loss easier!
I want to help you smash your New Years Resolution!
About 80% of people won't accomplish what they set out to do at the beginning of the year.
But the worst part is that most people have given up by mid-February..
That is like waking up at 8 AM to make most of your day and by 9:50 you give up, curl up in bed to watch Netflix for the rest of the day, and all because breakfast didn't go as planned and now you have to start next Monday.
So, to help make it a little easier for you to maintain your weight or even lose fat without exercise, I've put together 3 easy things you can do at each meal.
If you do these 3 things consistently then I promise you will see your health, and waistline, improve dramatically!
1) Choose protein
Protein is vital to maintaining muscle mass!
We need protein to make enzymes, hormones, antibodies, and neurotransmitters.
Protein aids in the growth and repair of our cells by replacing worn out cells.
Having enough protein will help you burn more fat.
We can NOT store protein and so we MUST get it regularly from our diet.
Eat some protein at every meal to feel more satisfied.
But how much protein should you have?
This depends on your activity level and type of activity.
The basic recommendation, for those more sedentary, is to aim for 0.8 grams of protein per KG of bodyweight OR 0.4 grams per lb.
For a 68 kg (150lb) individual, they should be consuming a minimum of 55 grams of protein per day. This is enough to prevent protein deficiency.
If you are quite athletic, have an active job, or purposefully workout a few times a week then you can safely up your protein intake for improved results.
Athletes should consume upwards of 2 grams of protein per KG of bodyweight OR 1 gram per lb.
This would have our 68 kg (150lb) athlete consuming around 130 to 150 grams of protein per day!
2) Eat to 80% full
Have you been told to "listen to your body" or "follow your hunger cues" when it comes to diet and weight loss?
The issue with such simple advice is that you wouldn't need it if your natural cues were already on track.
Humans are creatures of habit and our bodies like to remain in homeostasis.
If our nutritional habits are all over the place then so will our bodies natural cues.
You may notice that if you ignore your hunger for long enough, it seems to disappear. Does this mean we can "listen to our body" and not eat since our hunger went away?
After years (or decades) of dieting, our hunger and fullness cues have long since been overruled by strict calorie rations and drowned out by the highs and lows of emotion-driven binges.
We don’t know what “works for us,” or how to begin to figure that out.
To get lasting results we must be consistent!
To be consistent we must have routine!
To have a solid routine we must have specific habits in place!
This habit is, simply, not eating until you are FULL.
I say simple, but this is not easy.
Learn to stop when you are about 80% full. Stop when you are satisfied, rather than full or over-full, and you'll notice losing weight will become much more effortless.
3) Eat slow and mindful
Learning to master this habit will make eating to 80% much easier!
This is because there is about a 20 minute delay between the brain and stomach.
So if you eat till you feel full, in 20 minutes you are going to be over-full and hating yourself.
Stop eating when you are satisfied, and 20 minutes later you will be full, but content!
To practice eating slow and mindful takes conscious effort. If you were like me, and had siblings growing up, then it paid off to eat as fast as possible and get to the good stuff!
But as adults who can choose their meals and meal times, it becomes increasingly more important to be aware of our habits and not act like a pack of hyenas.
To start, at each meal today, take a few extra minutes to simply… pause.
Put your utensils down after each bite. Take a breath. When you take a bite, notice — and enjoy — the taste and texture of the food.
Take another breath, or a sip of water.
Relax.
Wait a few more moments. If you still feel hungry, take another bite.
Repeat.
That’s it.
If you’re struggling to slow down, try a timer. When you’re done eating, see how many minutes have gone by. Now you have a baseline for improvement! Cool!
And if you add only 1 minute of meal time per day, by the end of 2 weeks you’ll have slowed the pace of your eating by nearly 15 minutes.
When you eat slowly and mindfully you tend to make better choices, you enjoy your company more, and you are able reclaim meal time as a ritual for connection with loved ones.
There you have it, my top 3 tips for maintaining consistent fat loss!
Start with just one or implement all 3!
Remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. If you aren't perfect every day, that's okay. It is about your consistency over time and enjoying the little things in moderation.
To help you make better choices at the grocery store, I've included a shopping list of healthy protein options!
Until next time, happy, mindful eating!
Your Friend in Health & Fitness,
Coach Sean
