A Better Method For Achieving Your Fitness Goals

 

The majority of New Year's plans focus on losing weight, but there's an easy method to start your fitness objectives before Christmas.

Since many of us overeat in the final week of the year, even if we are already carrying extra weight with the hope of shedding it all in the upcoming year, the Christmas season has a big impact on our weight calculations.

The wiser course of action is to begin your weight reduction journey a few months prior to the holiday season, allowing you to indulge in one or two cheat days throughout the festivities.

What aspect of this tactic works best? Your fitness goals will be completed before the new year begins, and that accomplishment will give you the assurance you need to attack all of your other objectives with focus and the satisfaction that comes with achievement.

In the remaining sections of this post, we'll look at a few simple steps you may take to lose weight over the course of two months safely, gently, and effectively. Instead than trying to force yourself to lose a lot of weight rapidly, try this approach instead.

 

The built-in incentive that will make it worthwhile is the holiday season.

 

So, let's begin with a brief overview. What are you doing less of?

Prior to getting started, it's critical to realize that while there are certain universally applicable fundamentals, everyone differs in terms of how effectively they do particular tasks.

Think about where you stand in relation to the next steps.

 

Sleep & Recovery

 

Are you getting enough wholesome slumber? If this is typically fewer than six hours each day, you should raise it to at least seven. If you don't get enough sleep, all of your other efforts (calorie restriction, exercise) will be in naught. It's a good idea to invest in a sleep monitor that allows you to measure your sleep reasonably precisely, such the Fitbit Charge 5.

In the same way, if your job is demanding, schedule a few five-minute mindfulness breaks throughout the day to help you decompress.

Consider learning how to control your breathing during your post-workout cooldown (you warmed up before working out, right?) if you currently exercise vigorously to maximize recovery.

 

Eating Habits

 

The most important factor, after recovery (sleep, stress, and exercise), is how much you consume (and what you eat).

Whatever diet you decide to adopt—Paleo, OMAD (one meal a day), intermittent fasting, keto, low-carb, flexible macros, or anything else—you must master two skills:

 

Consistency

 

Over the following two months, adhere to the regimen with 90% accuracy. As an illustration, if you want to practice intermittent fasting, I'd like you to start with a 16:8 protocol and then switch to an 18:6 protocol the following week.

I would suggest that you begin experimenting with a once-weekly 24-hour fast and cheat meal to help you maintain your resolve while also giving you the chance to occasionally indulge yourself and speed up your metabolism.

In other words, start off easy, establish discipline, then gradually add complexity.

 

Meal Selection

 

Speaking of simplicity, the secret to losing weight is to replace choice with happiness. The greatest way to permanently reduce weight is to take away your freedom to pick what you eat. Choose a few nutritious meals (per meal time) from the foods you enjoy eating and just eat them every single week. Instead of having to choose between two foods you don't like, pick foods you could eat three or four times per week.

This year, a few recurring meals might mean the difference between achieving your goals and succumbing to analysis paralysis.

 

Caloric Deficit

 

The overarching assumption in all of this will be maintaining a calorie deficit.

I often advise beginning a progressive two-month program with a tiny deficit - perhaps 250 calories per day at most - to allow your body to easily keep to it in the beginning. Despite the fact that a larger deficit is possible (and we'll get there eventually), starting small will promote the development of discipline.

Depending on whether you are seeing benefits or not after the first few weeks, you can raise the shortfall to 500 calories each day. Nevertheless, the most important thing is to stay consistent throughout the course of the two-month period.

Caloric restriction is simpler than you would imagine. For instance, if you normally drink two cappuccinos every day, switch to black coffee to cut 200+ calories.

·  If you typically drink two 16-ounce sodas, switching to sugar-free soda will cause you to consume 300 fewer calories. a consistent snacker? Depending on how frequently you eat snacks, giving them up might result in a 200–400 calorie loss.

·  You might easily have a caloric deficit of 100–200 calories by reducing a meal by 25%.

As you continue, you'll see how simple it may be to include a 250–500 calorie deficit into your daily routine without putting too much of a strain on yourself.

During the first few weeks, you may practice increasing your calorie deficit from 250 to 500, but experiment with this figure within that range to find what works best for you.

 

Exercise

If you currently exercise, that's wonderful; let's look at how to make it better.

When combined with the calorie deficit indicated above, increasing your daily activity by 15 to 30 minutes will help you lose weight much more quickly if you are inactive.

Do simple, enjoyable activities for at least 15 minutes (and up to 30/60/120 minutes per day) that you can perform consistently (ideally everyday). Key components of exercise are simplicity and consistency. Other than your available time, there isn't really an upper limit. And you really don't need to run for two hours every day unless you're training for a sport.

Here is a list of quick workouts that can help you lose weight. Choose a few that you enjoy and are able to perform on a regular basis. You may alternate between them or perform them all at once.

Avoid the temptation of taking "vacation" days from exercise at this point. Although you can change up your workout plan, "breaks" are rarely necessary. If all else fails, even merely to keep you motivated, a 30-minute stroll will be just as helpful as five to ten minutes of jumping rope.

Reading the list of calories burned by the activities above will show you that, for the most part, exercise will only help you burn an extra 150–300 calories, or possibly 400–600 calories. if you exercise vigorously for an hour.

In contrast, consuming 300 or 600 calories doesn't require much time or effort.

Employ exercise as a supplement, not as a substitute for weight loss.

What To Expect

You might easily lose half a pound to a pound and a half each week by adhering to the above-mentioned rules. It's possible for weight loss to start out slowly before picking up speed later on or to begin slowly before accelerating.

It is important to be persistent in your efforts to reach your objective; if you do, At the start of the new year, you'll be able to take advantage of the Christmas season to reach or exceed your fitness goals.

That's a fantastic way to start the new year off.