Basic Exercise and Nutrition Tips for Losing Weight FAST and Staying Fit!

We all know how important it is to exercise.  What many people DON'T know is that nutrition is 60% of your results!  Here are some tips to help make sure you aren't wasting your precious time exercising trying to better your body, mind, and soul! 

1. Walk or Jog to work - Depending on how far you live from work you can always pack your work clothes and walk to work.  If your company has a shower a jog is a good alternative to increase the caloric expenditure.  Whenever you can TAKE THE STAIRS, especially if it’s only a couple of flights!

2. Keep a food log and eat 75% of your calories for the day before 3pm and eat a small nutritious dinner at least 3 hours prior to going to sleep.  Anything sooner will not be used and can be easily converted to fat while you sleep!

3. Drink LOTS AND LOTS of water and eliminate soda completely!  And when you think you have drank enough water, DRINK MORE!!!  At least half your body weight in OUNCES daily!  Water helps digest food, increases nutrient absorption, and makes you feel fuller.  Often times your body may seem hungry when its really just thirsty.

4. Take a multivitamin daily.  We eat food for nutrients and vitamins for our daily bodily functions.  Taking a multivitamin is kind of an insurance policy in case you don’t eat so healthy one day.  Most of the vitamins in the multivitamin are water soluble and excreted through the urine if you get too much of it.  Always take multivitamins with food and with your first meal of the day.

5. Eating nutritious (non-cream based), low-sodium soups for lunch is a great way to keep calories down while feeling full.  Warm liquids make your body feel fuller.

6. DECREASE SODIUM LEVELS!!!  This is a big one.  Sodium causes water retention and will make you look and feel more bloated.  Everything has sodium so read your nutrition labels and try to limit your sodium intake to as little as possible.  The RDA is 2400 mg.  Try and eat at least HALF of that daily.

7. Eating 6 to 8 small meals a day every 2 to 3 hours is much better than eating 2 or 3 meals.  Nutritious snacks between meals will help keep you from overeating at lunch and dinner and will ensure your body uses those calories for energy instead of going into hibernation and storing calories as fat.  Your metabolism is like an engine, keep it REVVING and fast by feeding it frequently!

8. Pre-Plan for the week.  Eating healthy takes work and planning.  Pre-make sandwiches, tuna, etc and different meals and snacks for you to just grab especially if you are on the go.  Fruits, veggies, trail mix etc.  Put them in plastic bags for the week and take them with you wherever you go.  If you have the urge to eat, eat the healthy food you packed!

9. EAT BREAKFAST!!!  Eating breakfast helps jumpstart your metabolism in the morning and provides energy for you to complete your tasks throughout the day and again keep you from eating too much lunch and dinner.  Remember 6 to 8 small meals a day!

10. Cut out ALL processed flour products out of your diet.  Look for only 100% whole wheat or whole grain. 

11. Eat green leafy vegetables at least once a day.  They contain tons of fiber and have tons of nutrients.

12. Try and take 1 or 2 dance, martial arts, kickboxing or spin classes a week.

13. Mix up your workouts!!!  If you have been running as a form of cardio, try biking, swimming or rowing.  You body gets use to the same repetitive exercise and you plateau.  Switch it up to confuse your muscles and promote great change!

14. Double your fiber intake.  Fiber helps with digestion and helps you absorb more nutrients from your foods.  Most people consume about half of the recommended amount.

15. Don’t eat desert or anything high in sugar near bedtime!!!  All the high glycemic carbs (sugar) will not be used for energy while you sleep and will be converted to fat!

16. Do progressive overload in your workouts weekly or biweekly.  If you have been running for 45 minutes take up the intensity or the time to 60 minutes, etc.  When you do the same exercise routine over and over again you will look the same.  Changing the body takes overloading the muscles and changing the time, intensity, and resistance progressively.

Good luck and ALWAYS remember, there is no magic pill, machine, or program!  To get the body and feel the way that you want you must WORK!  The harder you WORK now the less you have to work later! ;-)

Stay Positive, Eat Healthy, and Most importantly be Happy!

Mario Godiva