You may have noticed, but there are a few different approaches you can take to try and lose a few extra pounds. With all the different diet and exercise plans available, it can be hard to figure out what works and doesn’t work for you?
Chances are you know someone that tried diet “X” and it worked amazingly for them. They dropped weight fast and have tons of new energy. You might hate them alittle for this because everything you have tried doesn’t seem to be working.
We have to remember that we are all incredibly unique and won’t respond the same way to certain things. For example you may enjoy eating nuts. They taste great and are filled with great nutrition. But for another person eating a handful of nuts could kill them.
This is an extreme example, but hopefully demonstrates the case that you may not have the same results as another. We also have to pay attention to how much weight you have to lose.
If you have 15lbs or more to lose you will find more things will work for you than if you have 5lbs. I heard this once explained as the low hanging fruit for weight loss. Some people just have more available low hanging fruit to pick than others.
So don’t get mad at that friend how dropped weight like it was nothing. They found something that worked for them and they started to pick that low hanging fruit. You may not have any low hanging fruit and have to reach up higher with more strict techniques.
Before I specifically touch on the tips, remember the key for weight loss or improved body composition is attaining a caloric deficit. This is a MUST. If you don’t have this you can’t lose weight. This can be trickier than many realize.
We often overestimate how many calories we burn and underestimate how many calories we eat. And this formula gets tricky when we look at how much does your body absorb, your gut microbiome, genetics, etc.. but the foundation is you are in a caloric deficit to lose weight.
For this article I want to discuss the low hanging fruit. Make sure you are paying attention to these thing first before you try anything crazy or too hard to follow.
- Find a diet that gets you into a spontaneous caloric deficit. Tracking calories is time consuming and many can’t do it for long. Why so many different diet programs out will work is because they typically cause you to eat less foods. Some do this in a better way than others, but if you can find a plan that simply gets you to eat less you are off to a great start.
- Cut out processed junk food. This should go without much explanation, but these are excess calories you probably don’t need with little to no nutritional value they are providing. These things include candy, chips, pastries, cake, soda, etc. When you cut these foods out that will most likely get you in a caloric deficit.
- Be active EVERYDAY. Starting an exercise program, if you are sedentary, will be a very large low hanging fruit. But don’t limit physical activity to going to a gym. There are different forms of exercise you can participate in. The key is finding something you enjoy that is providing a benefit for your body. In general, you need some type of exercise that will build bone/muscle and some to improve your cardiovascular system. But the important thing is you move more every day. You should be doing at least 30 minutes of activity every day. This doesn’t have to be a hardcore workout. Just deliberate movement. The important thing is to be consistent and do it everyday. Try taking a 30 minute walk with the family every night after dinner. It is great exercise and a fun way to spend the evening.
- Lower Carb eating plans probably will work better. I don’t want to throw out whole food groups, but if you are having blood sugar issues or insulin resistance it would be a good idea to reduce the amount of total carbohydrates in your diet. The important thing to remember is that low carb is probably better than low fat. And don’t try and eliminate both or you are primarily consuming heavily processed food products that have a bunch of stuff in them you don’t want.
- Be Aware of What You Eat. As mentioned earlier we are all different. Some foods you will tend to over eat and some foods will leave you feeling more satisfied. Be aware of what your trigger foods are. If you know you have a hard time saying no or just having one, it is a good idea to limit these foods in the house. When you find foods that leave you feeling full, remember to keep them around. The more aware you are of how certain foods make you feel, the better control you will have over your weight.
These are the places you should start. If you are trying to skip over these you will find that you are working way harder than you need to. Instead, start with these and track your progress. Use them until they stop working.
If these are no longer working for you, than more action is required. This will involved more advanced workouts and more conscious nutrition habits like keeping a strict food log. We can talk more about this in a future article, but for now grab all that low hanging fruit until it is gone.
Stay Strong,
Mike Deibler MS, CSCS, SGX
San Diego Premier Training