SIMPLE.

Today's workout: 2 easy miles on the Treadmill (TM) 
                            Ab and core work
                            Stretching and Foam Rolling

My IT-band is still tight from the St. George Marathon, so I took it easy on my run this morning. Plus, I want to get back into strength training more (since I really haven't done it for a really long time). With no scheduled races in the near future, I can now concentrate on my weak and neglected muscles.

1st priority is my back muscles...and triceps...and abs. 
(What?? You don't take pictures of your back in your bathroom mirror? Weird.)
***************************************************************************

With being a personal trainer and my nutrition background, I get asked a lot of questions (and I love having people ask me questions). But without a doubt the #1 question I get asked ALL. THE. TIME. is...

"What should I do to lose weight?"

And to tell you the truth, it is pretty simple. 

It all comes down to 

Calories IN  vs. Calories OUT.

                 (what you eat that day)           (how many calories you burn that day)

Burn MORE than you eat
or 
Eat LESS than you burn.

SIMPLE.

So that is pretty easy to say, but the hard part is actually doing it. How exactly can you be sure you are exercising enough, or eating enough but not too much?
Here are some tips I think help A LOT in losing weight. 

 

1. Write it down! Keeping a food journal will help you be accountable for what you are eating. Exercising is not enough to get you to loose weight. It is only half the battle. Your nutrition is where the battle is won.  If you are not seeing the results you want, most likely you are not being honest with yourself in what you are eating. It takes almost an hour to burn 500-600 calories, however you can easily consume 500 calories in a minute.  Hold yourself accountable! No way of really knowing if it isn't ALL written down.

(source)

2. Grab a dumbbell! Here are the basics. Lifting weights increases your muscle mass on your body. More muscle mass increases your metabolism.  A higher metabolism means you will burn more calories per minute. More calories burned per minute means you are burning more calories overall which results in less calories stored and less fat you will have on your body.  You will NOT bulk up. You will lose inches. You will get toned. You will look fabulous!

3. Get those Z's! Many hormones are affected by our sleep. When the body receives less than its needed amount of sleep (7-9 hours), it attempts to make up for it by craving more food than you actually need due to imbalanced hormone levels of ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin makes you hungry, and leptin tells you to stop eating when full. Without the proper amount of sleep, these hormones go crazy and are out of balance. We overeat and have poor food choices, and inevitably gain weight.

4. Cut out Sugar! This is my FAVORITE tip. And I know my body LOVES me when I decrease my sugar intake. If you Really want to see changes in your body, cut out sugar.  There isn't much nutritional benefit sugar provides for us.  Go for a week with cutting out the refined sugars. See how your body feels. You will thank me!

5. No excuses! Don't give yourself a reason to gain weight. If you are allowing yourself a bite here, a nibble there EVERYDAY, dinner at McDonald's...3x a week, a rest day from exercise turns into "Rest Week" or "Rest Month", don't be surprised if the number on the scale goes up. Set a Goal. Stick with it. Eat and exercise in a way that you can confidently say you are helping your body.

There you have it! Basic. Simple.  Read them over. Assess where you are in your progress to your goal. Where are successful?  Where can you use a little work?  If you want to see changes, you are going to have to change something you are doing right now.