What is that big yellow thing up in the sky that has been hanging around quite a bit for the past few weeks and why am I no longer layering up under countless jumper’s hats and gloves…
…oh wait a minute, are we actually getting a summer this year!?!
If like me you have been doing a bit of comfort eating over the winter to shut out how cold and miserable the weather has been (and I am guessing if you don’t have a mad Labrador that loves to run in the mud like mine, you will probably have been out and about a bit less as well), you might be noticing like me that those summer t shirts feel a little bit tight and don’t hide much! So I thought I would share some ideas on how we can get back into those summer clothes again (hopefully in time for any upcoming holidays you may have!).
Go for the low hanging fruit
First off we will all have some easy to fix and obvious things that we know we are doing that are holding us back and may be causing some weight gain. For me it is overeating in the evening after a busy day. This is sending me over my calorie allowance for the day. If I put a strategy in place for this, I know I would see changes pretty quickly. For others it might be those couple of glasses of wine that have been creeping back into your life again. Or the over reliance on takeaways and calorie dense restaurant foods for convenience to pick your mood up. Whatever it is, tightening up on these first can certainly be a good place to start.
Get Outside and Get Moving
As I mentioned earlier, with the terrible winter just gone, I have noticed the streets and trails have been pretty quiet of an evening or weekend as not many people fancied going out for a walk or cycle. But now summer is here, the streets and parks look busier with walkers and runners. Try to do at least a 30-minute walk per day, get back out on the bike again, or get some good grafting done in the garden. How much you move will have a big impact on your weight loss aspirations. So try to find as many ways as possible every day to get moving.
Fill up on veg
Veg is a great addition to any weight loss plan as it can fill out your plate and can be used as a lower calorie snack and eating a healthier diet make you feel better overall which means you are likely to do more of point two (get outside and get moving).
Eat Protein
Another important strategy to introduce to help promote weight loss is to hit your protein targets of 1-2g of protein for every kg of bodyweight per day. Eating protein will help you feel fuller for longer, reduce cravings between meals, preserve muscle (even more so as we age) and can be a good way to lower overall calorie intake, think about it- it is much harder to over eat something like a steak compared to something like pasta.
Lift some weights
Lifting weights can help improve your body shape and have a positive impact on your metabolism i (again it is even more important to lift weights as we get older). Aim to do two full body workouts per week for best results.
Make your environment work for you
When we talk about environment we mean your kitchen, your living room, your bedroom, your workplace your gym.
An example would be make your kitchen more conducive for weight loss. For me that means getting the sweet treats out of my eye line in the fridge; I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve found myself hovering in front of the open door, eating while actually looking for something to eat.
Take some time to look around you and think about what is helping or hindering your decision or actions and change it in a way that create more positive habits.
So there you have it, these are the five easy things I will be doing to get rid of some extra winter timber. There are obviously loads of other things you could be doing but these are simple, proven strategies that work so get cracking with them for a last gasp push to get summer ready!
Paul
