Daily life can be stressful, busy, and at the very least, distracted, so the first thing that goes by the wayside is following through on our weight loss and health – despite our best intentions. However, it’s not an all or nothing case as taking smart action steps can lead to powerful weight loss success.
Implement These 8 Weight Loss Tips for Busy People to make Your Life Not Just Easier, But Leaner:
Schedule Your Workouts
If you are crazy-busy, workouts can be challenging to fit in. This one solution is powerful and effective: schedule your workouts in your calendar for a time and a day you know you will keep. Honor this just as you would a doctor appointment. Prepare your workout clothes and shoes the night before – this creates a trigger that will help promote the habit of working out.
Track Your Food
‘Food Tracking’ results in 50% more weight loss and a much quicker loss, compared to those that do not track. Food tracking helps in providing objective information on food intake, portion sizes and patterns. It gives you a quick glance into what actions you are taking or are not taking and clearly lets you know what changes need to happen. It is crucial to write down everything (every nibble too) that crosses your lips as we tend to underestimate the amount, the size and how often we eat or drink. Check online for free weight loss journal apps that make it easy and convenient to track food if you prefer not to write it down.
Become a Morning Exerciser
Why the morning? Mornings allow you to get it done and the rest of the day can’t get in your way or interfere in the form of excuses or time. 90% of people who exercise consistently, do so in the morning. Exercising in the morning also jump starts your metabolism prompting your body to burn more fat. If you need that push to exercise more consistently, schedule your exercise for the morning.
Pack Your Lunch
Taking your lunch to work packed with healthful foods, has enormous benefits as you control the food. This means you will not be vulnerable to your environment such as the nearby drive-thru for that burger or that cafeteria for the slice of pizza – all tempting when you are not prepared. When you control what goes into your mouth – you are empowered and on course to weight loss success. Planning and preparing are key.
Embrace Shorter Workouts
You don’t need to spend hours in the gym in order to become fit, healthy and lean – only minutes. High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT takes just minutes and research shows, HIIT promotes optimized cardio/fitness, muscle strength and boosts your metabolism for 48 hours afterwards. If you are sedentary, check with your doctor first. Just begin with one interval and work up to eight intervals over time. You will not only lose weight, but you will become stronger, fitter and in the best shape ever. There are many variations of HIIT, here is a basic example using an elliptical machine:
Warm up, then go as fast as you can for 30 seconds, reduce speed to a low to moderate pace for 90 seconds. Repeat 8 times. That’s it! Use this workout 3-4 times per week. You can use HIIT with most any form of exercise such as walking, running or using your own body weight.
Stock-Up on Frozen Fruits and Veggies
Frozen veggies and fruits are generally more nutrient dense than those at the grocery store. They are picked at peak ripeness, flash frozen and that equates to a powerhouse of antioxidants and phytonutrients. Veggies and fruits at the market typically (unless local) lose much nutrient density due to many factors including; being picked before ripe, trucked across country, sitting in the grocery store and then sitting around in your fridge. Stock up on frozen fruits and veggies to always have them on hand.
Package Your Snacks for the Week
You can pre-package your weight loss success with grab ‘n go snacks such as nuts, grapes, veggies of all kinds, cherry tomatoes, jicama sticks, carrots or celery sticks, healthy chips and more. Simply chop, dice and slice veggies and/or fruit and add to small baggies. You will be more apt to choose these snacks over chips if they are waiting and ready for you.
Low and Slow = Fast
If you love the ease of slow cookers, you already know what a time saver they are. Let the slow cooker do the cooking while you get other things done and it will slowly simmer into a delectable meal. In the morning before work, simply add the food (meat, poultry, veggies), spices, seasonings etc to the slow cooker, turn it on and 6-8 hours later you have a delicious healthy dinner.
Here is a delicious easy Pot Roast beef recipe for those short on time: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over high heat, and brown a 3-pound chuck roast on all sides for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, slice one onion and 1 lb. of mushrooms. When the meat’s brown, throw it into a slow cooker, and add the onions, mushrooms, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 bay leaves, sea salt and pepper to taste and a can of dark beer. Put it on low and go about your day. Six hours later you’ll have a delectable, healthy and easy dinner ready for just 345 calories per serving!
LORI SHEMEK, Ph.D., is a leading researcher in fat cells and the owner of DLSHealthWorks, a company she created to help men and women conquer their issues with weight and self-esteem. Her work has been featured in Ladies’ Home Journal, Shape, Woman’s Day, The Rikki Lake Show, ABC, CNN, NPR, FOX News, and The Huffington Post, which recognized her as one of the nation’s top diet and nutrition experts.
Dr. Shemek holds a Doctorate in Psychology; she is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and a Certified Life Coach.
©2020 DLS HealthWorks
