OK. I am not necessarily going back on what I have said in my other posts, but I will make one little... tiny... small... microscopic... nanoscopic (not a real word) suggestion...
Especially if you are trying to lose weight. It doesn't hurt to count calories... at least for a little while.
OK, there, I've said it. It's OK, even advisable to count your calories... but only for a little while, and only until you get the hang of portion control and eating healthier.
It occurred to me on my run this afternoon, that I should at least tell you part of my secret to weight loss. First, I exercised and began eating healthy using the advice and food recommendations from Beach Body's Hip Hop Abs. The food suggestions come from Michi's ladder- and if you Google it, you will find it and I won't be in violation of copyright infringement.
Next, after the weight loss started to plateau- and once your body reaches its equilibrium, the weight loss slows down- I started maintaining a pretty good calorie count per day. Once the weight loss began to plateau again, I started to run. So here are two pieces of advice I have experienced working.
First, count calories.
To do this, you need to find out how many calories it is recommended for you to eat. If you Google, "How many calories should I eat" you will find many calorie counters. They will all ask how much you weigh, some will ask how much you exercise.
This part's important- If you put in your current weight, then the counter will tell you how many calories you should consume daily to maintain your current weight- this was my first mistake... you need to know how many calories someone should eat if they weighed what you want to weigh... so-- go back to Google and ask, "how much should I weigh"-- there will be many weight charts and you will be asked questions like, "how tall are you?" and "What is your body type?" Once you get that number, then go back to the calorie site and answer the question with the weight you WANT to be.
This is what I ended up doing. I wanted to weigh 180 pounds at 5'11" with a medium frame... they sent the measurements and calculations to MIT and NASA and they came back with a crude estimate of 1800 calories. Oh, OK. Then I went on a calorie counter that asked a lot of questions about lifestyle... one of the questions was "how much do you work out?" and "what is the intensity of your workouts?" I answered, 45 minutes 5 days a week... they sent it back to NASA and MIT and gave me somewhere around 2500 calories...
OK, so by working out, I need more calories.
NEED more calories, not CAN EAT more calories, not I CAN EAT WHATEVER I want. So, yes, I counted calories, trying to keep them just around 2000 a day, once I got a hang of it and old habits changed, I stopped counting.
Second- Exercise
If you walk 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week, good for you, but eventually your body doesn't respond to this the way it used to. The nice thing about Hip Hop Abs is that the workouts kept changing. Some days it would be cardio, others strength. They started at 30 minutes and eventually got to 45-60 minutes.
Constant change is essential. It doesn't mean you can't walk for exercise- just walk longer, work up to 45 minutes, 60 minutes... who knows maybe you'll be like my friend Faith who walks half marathons.
Take yoga or palates classes, try bike riding, even try a spin class (spin classes are awesome!), try swimming, let's do some aerobics, get involved in a Zumba class, run! Just about every 6 weeks change your workout routine, add intensity, add strength, add cardio.
This actually makes exercise a lot of fun and breaks the doldrums up, making things more interesting and it makes you more versatile. Plus it works out different muscle groups and causes muscle confusion. Your body will need to constantly burn calories and will not reach its equilibrium. You will just feel better and believe me, you will lose weight.
My only caution... weight loss = new clothes.
This is just what worked for me. What works for you may be different, but remember, I'm no expert- just a regular guy who lost a lot of weight. And this is how I did it.
Gotta eat and get to choir practice!
God Bless, and thanks for reading!
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