Does your New Years resolution have anything to do with trying to lose weight?
Most likely.
It’s arguably the most common goal set whenever we enter a new year. But we give up on it after about three weeks.
It may seem impossible if you didn’t grow up playing sports or have fast metabolisms, but let me tell you it’s not. Last summer, I went from weighing 285 pounds to 242 pounds in roughly two months.
Here’s how I did it:
1. Running
Once you start running on a regular basis, it becomes addictive and fun. What makes even more fun is using the Nike+ app to keep track of your pace, jamming out to AC/DC, wearing cool running gear and watching a cool sunrise or sunset.
Joining a group of other runners also helped me stay accountable. We would do sprint workouts on the track on Wednesdays and hill workouts on Mondays. A part from that, I ran three miles around my town three times per week.
- Eat Your VeggiesSuck it up. Certain vegetables take a lot of energy to deal with in your stomach, which burns a lot of calories. Daily servings of five pieces of cut-up celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes had big results.
Make the broccoli and cauliflower less difficult to eat by steaming it, spray butter on it and dab some pepper on it.
3. Cut Carbs
Many people focus on calories as the measurement for what to eat and what to not eat when dieting, and I’ve found that ineffective. You actually want to pick out foods containing as few carbs and sugars as possible.
Foods like soft-served eggs, baked chicken, turkey ground breast, strawberries and yogurt work for this. Don’t cut out carbs completely because you still need some for energy, but pick out foods that say fewer than 20 grams of carbs and make your daily limit 60 grams of carbs.
- Lift
Running is good for burning off fat in the immediate future, but your metabolisms slowly start to increase the more you lift. Honestly, I only added lifting and other exercises like crunches, wall sits and squats to train for the Warrior Dash.
I prefer not to have a gym membership, so I use a bench and 20-pound dumbbells on days I’m not running. Consistency is also important with lifting, meaning if you’re trying to challenge yourself with too much wait, you will eventually not be motivated and quit. So try weights that are a moderate challenge, and do fewer sets with more reps, like two sets of 20.
- Track Your Progress
Every morning since I started the diet, I wrote down what my weight was on my calendar. My goal was to lose at least three pounds each week, and each time I looked at the progress from each day my confidence grew.
- Let Yourself Brag
Tell all your friends about your progress. Talk about your runs on Facebook. Share your creative healthy meals on Instagram. All the positive responses you get will give you another boost of confidence to keep up with the weight loss.
Don’t feel bad for acting cocky about it because you’ve worked hard and deserve to feel proud.
Orrin Shawl 