Don’t Get Stuck in Your Fat Pants | Reboot Your Routine With These Fit Tricks
Simple changes in your routine can make the difference between health success and stay stuck in your fat pants.
As Kelly Mickle states in her Fitness magazine “Goal and Get It!” article, “steal these tried-and-true mental tricks to reboot your routine and achieve the body you want.”
Be Detail Oriented
Refrain from abstract promises like “I will eat less processed foods.” Create a game plan such as only 1 processed food item per weekday and up to 3 allowed per weekend day. “Vague goals seem overwhelming, so the more specific you are, the easier it is to concentrate on what you need to do to succeed,” says Steven Bray, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Canada.
Log & Lose
People who keep a daily record of their meals and exercise tend to lose more weight compared to those who don’t jot down what they eat every day. Keep track of your food intake with a food journal or an app like fitnessmaagazine.com/fitness-tracker.
Share Your Goals Socially
Make your goals public via social media. It’s tempting to keep your goals to yourself but publicly announcing your weight loss goals increases your odds of success, according to research from the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. “Knowing that other people are watching helps hold you accountable and gives you an audience to share your successes with,” says Vonda Wright, M.D., a FITNESS advisory board member and the author of Guide to Thrive: Four Steps to Body, Brains, and Bliss.
Don’t Skimp on the ZZZ’s
To stay on track with your weight loss, health or fitness goals, it’s important to get an adequate amount of sleep every night. When you are sleep-deprived, your brain swings from one mood extreme to another which can make you more likely to engage in unhealthy reward-seeking behavior such as binge eating on all your favorite junk foods. Don’t fall overboard – aim for at least 7.5 hours of shut-eye nightly.
Forget Setbacks
A single setback doesn’t have to erase all your hard work. Just because you fall overboard doesn’t mean you can’t get back on-board. “Rather than dwelling on your mistake, identify what caused the lapse and use that to learn what you can do to prevent it from happening in the future,” Bray says. Know where your weak spots are and make adjustments such as inviting friends over for a night of Wii fun instead of happy hour.
Enjoy the Outdoors
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy some time in the sun. Not only will you provide your body with the Vitamin D it needs, but being physically active outdoors improves mood and strengthens self-esteem. And, according to research from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, both are major motivators. And the best part, it only takes 5 minutes to reap the benefits. Take your dog to the dog park or your kids to the playground and spend some time playing with them instead of watching.
For more great ways to reboot your routine and ditch those fat pants this summer, check out Mickle’s article in the June 2013 edition of Fitness magazine.
And if you’re looking for a way to lose weight this summer, contact Calla Slimspa Medical Weight Loss Center in Orlando.