4 Weight Loss Tips That Work!

I knew right away when I started Simply Grace, that I wanted one of my first posts to be about those two magic words: “weight loss”. Over all my years of personal training, about 70% of my clients all had the same request, “I want to lose weight”.  Everyone wants the goods on weight loss and Simply Grace can give them to you. It’s as simple as the calories you take in versus the calories you expend. When I say calorie, I’m referring to a unit of measurement that indicates the amount of energy gained from food or lost through activity. If you want to lose weight, don’t eat more calories than what you are losing throughout the day. If I’m taking in 3,000 calories a day, but only burning 1,900 you can bet that I’m going to gain a few… or a lot. The concept of weight loss is easy, it’s putting it into effect that people struggle with. If you want my 4 weight loss tips that work, keep reading!

4 Weight Loss Tips That Work!

1.) Count Your Calories

I want to start off by saying I don’t believe in counting calories ALL the time. I usually eat intuitively, but when you’re starting off in the weight loss game it can be a great tool. I truly believe most people just don’t realize how many calories they’re taking in each day or they just don’t want to believe it. Before I started my healthy lifestyle, I had no reality of the amount of calories in anything. Now, I could tell you the amount of calories in any food item. Seriously, quiz me! My sister and I were recently at a daycare together, where we found ourselves guessing the amount of calories in a tub of Gerber Puffs. I guessed within 10 calories! I wasn’t lying about my hidden talent. This talent is all thanks to my years of counting calories and getting familiar with how much food I’m actually putting into my body. There are many factors when it comes to the daily calories each person should eat and for this reason, I HIGHLY suggest you use an app to track it. My favorite calorie counting app is My Plate by Live Strong. It gives you the number of calories you should be eating each day based on, height, weight, activity level, and goal weight. It is also extremely easy to log calories into this app. You can either search for your food or scan the bar code on your food, which then directly enters that food for you. I want to stress again that I don’t believe in living your whole life calorie counting. Use this method to get in tune with your body and how much food you are feeding it.

2.) Eat Clean

The type of food you eat is just as important as how much food you eat. I try my hardest to eat naturally. Food that comes from the ground, trees, and directly from animals are the name of the game. Also pay attention to the ingredients listed on the back of your food. Chances are if you can’t pronounce half of them, it’s probably not that great for you.

3.) Watch Your Macronutrients

Macronutrients are so important to a stable “diet” and you’ll hear me talk a lot about them on my blog. When I say macronutrients, I’m referring to carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Creating a healthy balance between all three of these will take your weight loss game from “meh” to “damn, I look good”.  A good rule of thumb to follow for macronutrients would be; 50% carbs, 25% protein, and 25% fats. Everyone is a little different and may want to alter this a little, but generally they should all be around these same divisions. I typically eat around 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fats. This is because I exercise regularly and that extra protein helps  me rebuild those muscles I have broken down during activity. One of the worst things you can do is rely to heavily on just one of these macros. “Are you saying Keto is no good?!” Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. I’m completely criticizing Keto, the no carb diet, and anything that eliminates macros. YOU NEED ALL OF THEM!! First off, it’s just not sustainable. So, you’re really telling me that you’re going to go your entire life without eating any carbs? Man, what a sucky life. It’s just not going to happen and it’s a total fad. Give up on the fads and work on MODERATION. I know this is a lot of information, but again I will touch base on macronutrients more than once on this blog, so don’t worry.

The My Plate app tracks your macronutrients throughout the day, another reason to love it.

4.) Get Up and Move!

Exercise people! Activity gets your metabolism going and burns calories. Find a workout routine you enjoy and stick with it. Just because Becky from work is doing one handed pushups while taking a selfie, doesn’t mean you have to. The key to sticking with a workout routine is finding one that you enjoy. My routine consists of running, HIIT (high intensity interval training), and yoga. I like it and want to do it and that’s the key. I workout at home a lot, especially on days where I’m crunched for time. My favorite at home equipment includes; my yoga set, foam roller, my weights, P90X Videos.

While exercising is extremely important, don’t ever think you can out run your diet. Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

I hope that my, 4 weight loss tips that work, can help you get to that healthier lifestyle you’re looking for. Don’t forget to love yourself and have a positive mindset. If you liked this post, be sure to check out my 5 Benefits to Drinking Water.