I am constantly seeing advertisements for “secrets to weight loss”, “fat burning tricks”, “slim down”, or whatever with a supplement. To me all this is pretty silly, because weight loss isn’t really a secret. It takes a little time, discipline, and willingness to just ignore everyone else about it.
Everyone wants to feel secure in the way that they treat their body, workout, etc, so they have their excuses, reasons, and stories and they want to feel validated about what they do. In order to validate themselves, people will often try to bring down what you do, or claim superiority. Get prepared for this, because everyone thinks they are a genius when it comes to working out, losing weight, or trying a new diet. Just listen shake your head, smile, then leave and ignore them.
- Fruits and vegetables. Eat more vegetables; they help your body to digest everything else. Especially broccoli. Did you know they make broccoli tips into vitamins? Vitamins are expensive and they have less nutrient density and are harder for your body to completely assimilate. Ya, so eat the broccoli. This might mean a couple smoothies, some grilled veggies, omelets, whatever you need to do to eat less meat. Not eating meat everyday is okay, I swear it! You could go like a few weeks without eating if you had to. If you have to eat meat, eat chicken and just know that pork has about 2x more density, and beef has 3x density. Accordingly, they take more time to digest and can slow down the rest of the process, especially if the meats are packaged and processed because of the chemicals and additives used to store the meat for long periods of time without spoiling. They slow down everything because that is what the chemicals are made to do.
- Sleep as much as you need to. For some people this is 4 hours, for some its 9. It oscillates between 6 and 8 for me. This is really important, it replaces neurotransmitters, replenishes hormones, gets some deep tissue rest and REM for the big guy upstairs.
- Drink enough water to make your pee almost clear. For me this is about 2-3 liters, when I don’t practice hot yoga. When I practice, it is 5 or so. At first, it’s okay to drink even more. This will allow your body to keep your metabolism and circadian rhythm on a good trajectory, water is used as a primary regulator of heat. I hear people say they don’t drink a lot of water and I start thinking about colon cancer. Seriously.
- Be social about it. Don’t workout alone, don’t do everything by yourself, it’s not healthy and can lead to depression. Meeting other people in running groups, yoga classes, workout places, gyms, wherever you are can be fun. If you are just friendly, I can almost guarantee that the other people are capable of being friendly too right? Because they are probably stoked to use their body too. People are nice if you give them opportunities to be nice.
- Find ways to be happy using your body. That does not mean that you have to go doing crazy things. Walking is the second most beneficial activity I know of and its pretty awesome. It gives your body a chance to move through its primary functionality, to stand upright and move your hips and shoulders side to side. I think cavemen probably walked and hiked around a lot, so you know it’s good. The most beneficial activity I know of is yoga, it actually purifies the inner organs and gives you a bit more control over the body and mind. But anything that you enjoy, your body enjoys. Unless that’s climbing mount Everest. Your body does not enjoy that.
Be prepared to change your mind and habits according to what you need, but these general guidelines will have you losing weight if you are not already doing them. It’s really simple, it just takes time and effort.