Five Simple Weight Loss Tips - LifeSport Fitness

Have you tried to lose weight in the past and failed?

You are not alone!

I have been a personal trainer in San Jose for over 30 years now. By the time someone reaches out to me and my team at our personal training studio, they’re often desperate and tired of having so many failed attempts at weight loss.

Honestly, the physiology of weight loss is rather simple, but the process of putting the pieces of the puzzle together to make it happen and sustainable over time can be quite difficult for many of us.

A common theme I’ve seen that leads to failure in weight loss is trying to do too much too soon, and/or doing things that are unsustainable over the long term.

As I look back over 3+ decades of coaching people, I’ve come up with a list of 5 things I’ve seen work really well for people when they decide that losing some weight is something they need to do.

They are super simple.

They are not drastic.

They are things that you can work into gradually over time — so you just try to do a little better with them each week.

If you’re struggling with weight loss, perhaps some of these tips will help you!

Here we go……..

1) Log your food intake

If you don’t know what you’re eating, you don’t know what needs to be changed! Do you need more protein? Less fat? Or perhaps you’re low on fiber? Yes, it’s tedious to do, but you don’t have to do it forever. Simply log for about 5 days in an online food journal like www.myfitnesspal.com in order to see not only the average calories you eat in a day, but also how those calories break down as far as your protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake. And — don’t forget to see how much added sugar you’re eating ;-). This, right here, can be a game changer for many people and a great starting point for making healthy changes.

2) Pay attention to the calories you drink

Liquid calories don’t fill us up like solid food calories do. Liquid calories are often the “forgotten” calories as well in that we don’t really add them into our mental notes on what we eat on a particular day. However, those forgotten calories may end up on your waistline! Journaling your food will help you see where and when you’re getting liquid calories. Are they adding too much to your daily intake? Are they adding a bunch of sugar to your diet? We’ve seen clients drop several pounds in a month simply by taking soda and juice out of their diet!

3) Increase your vegetable intake

Let’s face it — most of us don’t eat enough fresh produce — especially vegetables! And, how many times have you had someone tell you to eat MORE of something when you’re trying to lose weight?! Your friendly San Jose personal trainer is telling you to eat MORE — more veggies. Make them a side dish with every dinner you eat at home. Consider a big salad with lots of greens, fresh veggies and lean protein for several lunches each week. Adding veggies to your diet is super easy — you just need to keep reminding yourself to eat veggies with every lunch and dinner.

4) Limit take-out and restaurant meals

I’m all for supporting small businesses and taking nights off from cooking — but if more than 40% of your meals are coming from commercial kitchens — you will likely have a hard time losing weight. Commercially prepared foods simply have more saturated fats, added sugars and salt.

Cooking at home doesn’t have to be extremely time consuming. Frozen pre-cooked proteins (sirloin patties, chicken breast, grilled fish fillets) paired with some steamed veggies (yes, even frozen veggies steamed in the bag!) makes a great, healthy, fast meals. If you have time on day off — make a big pot of soup or chili and package up into individual containers. Easy! Bonus: you’ll also save money on your food bill when you eat at home more.

5) Don’t Diet!

I know — you’re trying to lose weight. You should “diet”, right? Nope. I define “diet” as something that is restrictive and unsustainable. “Dieting” will eventually stop, and you’ll be back at square one. But — if you follow one or more of the first 4 tips I’ve listed here, you may not ever have to diet again!

These tips are do-able for the long haul. They’re not crazy, wild things that are unsustainable. Okay, the food journaling will get old done long term — but like I said — you don’t have to do it for very long to see your nutrition habits and make plans for changes.

In a nutshell — aim to make a few of your meals healthier each week. More veggies. Less sugar. Be mindful of the calories you drink. You get the picture!

These tips, practiced over time, can yield great weight loss results!

Committed to your success,

Coach Becky