Small Things You Should Be Doing to Lose Weight
Small Things You Should Be Doing to Lose Weight
Little things add up, and with weight loss, a combination of nutrition and activity will supercharge your weight loss journey. There are several small things that you can do, that is budget friendly, to ensure that you maximize weight loss.
Drink water. Lots of it.
Water is a key for survival, but it makes an awesome fat burner. Water increases metabolism, decreases appetite, flushes out toxins, and helps recovery. A study showed participants who drank 16 oz of water 30 minutes before each meal lost nearly 10 pounds in 12 weeks. These participants did not have any calorie restrictions or workouts forced upon them.
Get your sleep.
Sleep deprivation and weight has been linked in several studies. There are several hormones that are regulated by sleep, and the lack of sleep can cause severe problems. Ghrelin is the appetite hormone. Ghrelin is secreted in the stomach to increase appetite and fat storage. Quality sleep suppresses ghrelin, however, when you don’t get quality sleep, ghrelin levels will raise. This has been linked to obesity and diabetes.
People who sleep 5 or less hours have around a 3 fold increase in obesity versus those who get a solid sleep (7+ hours).
Soda vs. Cardio. Which contributes more to weight loss?
Two cans of your favorite Mountain Dew soda is 340 calories and 92 grams of sugar! Running for 30 minutes on a treadmill, at a 5 mph pace, will burn 355 calories. From experience, I can drink 2 cans of Mountain Dew in about 5 minutes.
The point I am making is that eliminating 2 cans of soda a day, for 1 month will eliminate 20,400 calories, or around 4 pounds of fat, without touching a treadmill.
Protein, the miracle fat burner?
Protein is one of the three main macronutrients (along with carbohydrates and fats). Protein is primarily used in the body to build and rebuild tissue (muscle), help with hormones, and is a building block for muscle, organs, bones, skins, hair, nails, etc.
Protein is also the last macronutrient that turns to fat. Protein also doesn’t effect blood sugar like carbohydrates do, which won’t cause you to crash. I suggest to all my clients to eat a lean cut of protein with each meal. I also tell my clients who want to maximize their weight loss, to eat 80% of their goal body weight in grams of protein per day (at minimum). This means if you want to weigh 150 pounds, you should eat 120 grams of protein a day.
My favorite sources of protein:
- Eggs
- Seafood
- Meat (beef, chicken, pork)
- Beans
- Nuts and Cheeses
- Level-1 Meal Replacement Protein Shakes
- Vegan Pro Meal Replacement Protein Shakes
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, has many important processes in the body. There are numerous studies that link vitamin D deficiency with obesity. Vitamin D is commonly found in: egg yokes, mushrooms, oily fish, and fortified products (milk). Sunshine also delivers vitamin d, however many of us don’t get out enough due to our 9-5.
If you do not eat the above products, a vitamin D supplement such as LIPOSOMAL VITAMIN D3 can help you exceed the daily minimums.
Summary
There are a million ways to lose weight, but focusing on simple, cost effective ways are both budget friendly and effective.
Thank you for reading,
Dustin Holston
NASM Certified Weight Loss Specialist and Personal Trainer
