What's the secret to my 20 pounds weight loss?
I'd say, focusing all your efforts on what's proven, effective and safe.
But I know you need something more concrete than that.
So here it is.
Here are the 5 things I did that lead me to lose 20 pounds and keep it off (even after pregnancy 5 years ago).
With further adieu, here are my top 5 tips to lose 20 pounds.
1. Eat Healthy Foods
When it comes to losing weight, there is one rule that's absolute and non-negotiable.
You cannot outrun your bad diet.
It's very very hard to undo bad eating habits. Not to mention, it shows way too easily.
It shows in your waist, scale and just about everywhere you can see and feel.
For those who think an extra long cardio session can erase your bad diet, think again.
First, it's far easier to clean up your eating than squeezing one more gym day, when you are already dragging your feet to the gym twice a week.
Two, even if you successfully manage to add an extra workout a week, burning 500 calories extra still isn't going to cover all the unhealthy food choices you made all week.
1 McDonald burger can be anywhere from 530-750 calories and 1 oz bag of potato chips is 1,217 calories.
I don't know what your current eating habits are like, but if you consume these items even once a week, you can quickly see how those extra, unnecessary calories can creep in and stay without getting fully burned off.
I hope you can see my point here.
I cannot stress enough how healthy eating is important to weight loss.
It's the foundation of weight loss and optimum health.
In fact, if you get this right, you can actually ignore the rest of the things on this list and still lose weight.
That's how powerful and influential your eating is to your weight.
So when you eat, think about this.
Eat for the body you want.
So what's exactly healthy eating? and Is it necessary that you go on a diet?
Healthy eating is simply eating to nourish your body and satisfy its nutritional needs.
This means satisfying all three macronutrients (protein, carbs and fats) with wholesome foods that are highly nutritional.
Examples of healthy foods or some call superfoods for carbs are kale, collard green, tomatoes, blueberries, cherries, and even bananas.
For protein, salmon, tuna, snapper, chicken, turkey, beef and egg are all great sources of protein given that seafood is wild, not farmed and meats and poultry are organic, without hormones and other chemical injections.
Fats are the most confusing ones. And by many, they are perceived as troublesome.
But the truth is, not all fats are bad.
There are healthy fats (good fats) and unhealthy fats (bad fats).
Fats from nuts and seeds like chia seeds and plant-based oils like coconut oils, olive oils and avocado oils are all good fats.
Fish oils and omega 3 fatty acids are also super healthy and beneficial to your health.
In fact, omega 3 fatty acids are considered essential fats for your bodily functions and development. Some may even argue, insufficient dose of omega-3 fish oils are damaging to your body.
While bad fats including trans fats should be avoided, a fair amount of good fats is encouraged.
If you are not sure what's considered good fat and bad fat, grab a list of "healthy fats and unhealthy fats" for your reference.
Back to your healthy eating, compose your meals and snacks with these nutrient dense foods.
They not only help keep you satisfied for longer but also balance your blood sugar and suppress hunger, causing you to eat less.
If I believe in any diet, then eating wholesome, nutritious foods is it.
To be more transparent, my definition of clean and healthy diet generously includes all food sources that satisfy all three macronutrients.
Which means, healthy grains like spelt, wild or black rice and legumes like lentils and beans are acceptable in the way I eat.
What's off limit is processed food.
This means I don't eat any TV dinners, most packaged snacks, frozen pizzas, pre-made pie sheets, pre-made meals at a grocery store whether they are frozen or made at the store, and most pastries and bread.
They often contain low-quality ingredients with very little or no nutritional value, are loaded with sugar and bad, unhealthy fats that raise your cholesterol and blood pressure. They tend to be also high in calories.
With that being said, there are other variations of clean diets, and I encourage you to look into those as well to make the most informed decision you can make.
Diets like Paleo and Whole 30 are two well-known that focus on the cleanliness of your food choices rather than other metrics.
Each dietary discipline comes its set of allowed and not-allowed foods and other rules to follow.
If you are not sure, consult with your physician, dietitian and/or nutritionist to find what's best for your body, health and weight loss goal.
Whichever clean and healthy eating method you follow, the easiest way to change your eating is to change what's in your fridge.
In other words, it starts with your grocery shopping.
To simplify, we put together a healthy grocery list full of amazing and delicious foods to get started. Grab this list, and go grocery shopping and start eating for the body you want.
Take away:
Clean up your eating.Throw away any junk food and avoid any processed food. Instead, get wholesome produce, invest in quality protein and eat healthy oils. And one last tip: cook meals at home.
According to John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Research, "people who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research."
How about calorie counting?
There is so much controversy regarding calorie counting, and both sides have good arguments.
In my opinion, calories still matter.
No matter how healthy your diet is, if you consume an excessive amount of calories without burning them off, you will gain weight.
With that being said, it's also true that the more unhealthy your eating is, more calorie counting matters.
The cleaner your eating gets, less need for calorie counting.
It's simply because unhealthy foods tend to contain more calories than wholesome foods.
To make sure you are off to the good start, I recommend counting calories to lose weight, at least in the beginning.