Losing weight is not just a matter of eating the right foods and getting enough exercise, it is also a matter of developing the mental side of it because unless you get yourself into the right frame of mind your weight loss efforts are doomed to fail. Here are ten weight-loss hacks.
1. Develop a healthy living mindset
Weight management is more a healthy living mind-set rather than a weight-loss one. Get into healthy living habits try not to focus on how much weight you are losing. Focus instead on getting enough exercise and eating the right foods. Healthy living also means living well and looking after your mental well-being. Unless you are in the right head-space you will not be in the right frame of mind to make the right choices as far as what you eat.
2. Decide to be happy despite your current circumstances
Some people make a decision that they are not going to be happy until they lose x amount of weight or for some other reason. In other words they need a license in order to be happy. The catch-22 situation is that a low self-esteem will undermine your weight-controlling efforts. Being happy is your responsibility and yours alone. It is up to you to find your own calling in life and being the person you were meant to be will go a long way towards achieving happiness and once you achieve that it will be easier to achieve your ideal weight.
3. Be yourself
There is no one else like you so be the best at being you rather than an imitation of someone else. It is better to polish the personal unique gifts and talents you have rather than be envious of others who are gifted in other areas. You are not meant to hide the talents you have or keep them to yourself but rather share them with others so that they may benefit from them. As far as weight-loss goes, it is futile to try and achieve a model-like figure when you have a different body-type.
4. Don't compare yourself with others.
Run your own race and let others run their races. People who have a low self-esteem tend to make unfavourable comparisons with others. It is true that people tend to date their self-esteem. They are attracted to people who have the same issues as they have. Just accept who you are and if others do not like who you are then that is their problem, not yours. Just do your best!
5. Take no notice of the infomercials
Advertisers will use all the tricks in the book to appeal to your desires. That includes making you feel guilty about who you are. Honestly, you can understand why some women's self-esteem suffers when you see some of the ads. There is usually a disclaimer in the ad saying "results are not typical." Understand that for every person who appears in those testimonials there are countless others who were unsuccessful despite all their efforts. The success stories you read of are often exaggerated.
6. Ignore the before and after ads
Take no notice of the before and after adverts. The only before and after photos you should concern yourself with are your own. An unflattering photo is always used for the before photo.You do not know what goes on in order to produce such a flattering image in the after photo.
7. Make small changes daily
Make gradual changes to your diet in order for your body to become accustomed to a different routine whether that is changes to your diet or a new fitness regime. Develop good habits by taking bite-sized changes. It will all take time but it is better than trying to achieve too much in a short time then losing heart and giving up. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was anything else worth achieving so be patient.
8. Don't lose heart
It may be frustrating when you are not making much progress. Don't lose heart, just keep to your healthy living plan and you will at least be satisfied that you are doing the right thing. Focus on your hobbies and this will keep your mind off worries. Enjoy living your life despite your circumstances.
9. Take up new hobbies and sports
This is essential for your well-being because unless you are in the right head-space your efforts to control your weight will be in vain. Have you heard of the saying "comfort eating?" Sport enables you to connect with others and helps to build up your network of friends and acquaintances. Getting involved in some kind of sport is an activity that will certainly help you to control your weight and help maintain your mental stability. There are a number of sports you can take up and it does not matter how unfit you are. Even walking around the block is better than not exercising. The key is to get into the habit of exercising. Your capacity to do more exercise will increase as your fitness increases.
10. Understand there are no magic formulas
There is no magic formula for obtaining the body you want. There is no easy solution or short-cut method for reducing your weight. It takes effort and sacrifice and you have to decide whether it is all worth it. There is an ideal weight for all body types. Therefore you need to establish what is the ideal body type for your weight.
Our Mindset & Diet We Choose Can Have a Dramatic Effect On Us.
Help Bring Balance to Our Life 🙏
Learning to Tune in can help Balance our Body & Mind for a Fit & Healthy Life.
Gone are the days of a static stretching before a workout. Whether you are out for a run, on the court for a pick up game of basketball, or cycling your butt off, you will need your body to be ready for whatever you throw at it. When you start with static stretching, tiny tears are created in the muscle fibers which can increase the risk of injury. If you are an elite athlete, you really do not want to be sidelined for any of your events. A small tear from static stretching for a sprinter in the hamstring can lead to that pulled hamstring during a race. The same holds true for that pick up game of basketball. Don't perform a static stretch on your calf as it may lead to something serious when you explosively take off from the ground for a rebound or lay-up. A mountain biker needs a lot of power to crank up steep inclines, so static stretching should be avoided prior to shredding the trails.
Before exercise, one should perform a dynamic warmup targeting areas of the body that will need to be ready for what ever exercise or activity you are going to perform. Even still, involving the full body will ensure the best warm up. A proper dynamic warm up increases blood flow to those areas of the body that need it as well as increases muscle fiber recruitment. In other words, it wakes things up so that they are ready for action. Getting more muscle fibers to join the party will increase your performance.
Let's look at a power lifter. Power lifting is a very explosive sport and it is highly important to have the body ready or the risk of injury if high. Pretend we are at a competition and we have two athletes. They are getting ready for their big all out lift on the bench. Assume the two athletes are the same size, with the same bench max, and wearing the same clothing. Let's take Power lifter A, who does nothing to get ready for the lift. He lays on the bench, he has not invited all the muscle fibers to the party, he does not have the blood flow to safely perform this ultra explosive move and fails. Power lifter B, warm ups on a stationary bike. He also does his normal lunges, twists, arm swings, and gets on a warm up bench to lift a light weight, and works his way up to a good weight for muscle fiber recruitment. He does not fail but succeeds and do to the adrenaline and mind-set actually is able to lift more than was expected.
Make sure that you are including a dynamic warm up in your routine, you can see how beneficial it can be. See the video linked here to walk through some great dynamic exercises so that you are ready for your next bout of exercise!
Robert Jay Martin is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and TRX certified. Improve your level of fitness and/or level of cycling with his success, knowledge, experience, & 4 year degree. Visit his website https://martinrj26.wixsite.com/robmartin or his blog at https://urbikelife.com/news/