Here are some things that you can try:
There’s a fine line between encouraging and nagging. So how do you make your partner feel fully supported on his or her fitness journey?
A simple compliment. Keep encouragement positive, and don’t compare. Best way to encourage your partner is to be supportive.
Find things to do together. Schedule a gym date or a healthy eating date.
Continue to be their motivation.
Acknowledge effort and tell your partner how proud you are of them every single day.
And finally, never give advice, unless they ask.
Belly fat, scientifically known as visceral fat, has been linked to increased inflammation and problems like Type 2 diabetes. Research shows that having excess belly fat is correlaed with an elevated risk of heart disease. What’s more, is may be especially dangerous for women.
Here’s what you need to know about the importance of the waist-to-hip ratio.
The greater the waist-to-hip ratio (calculated as waist circumference divided by hip circumference), the higher the heart attack risk in women. In women, each 0.09 increase in the calculation was associated, with a 50% increase in heart attack risk; the risk rose 36% in men with the same increase in waist-to-hip ratio. For men, a waist circumference over 40 inches poses the greatest risk, compared to 35 inches in women.
Why Belly Fat is the Most Dangerous
Obesity is a risk factor for heart disease but even those who maintain a BMI in the normal range are at risk if they have excess visceral fat. Fat in the abdominal cavity is associated with increased risk of high blood sugar, inflammation, elevated triglycerides and lower levels of HDL “good” cholesterol, making it more dangerous than far stored elsewhere in the body. Thus, in two people with the same BMI, the person who has more of an apple shape and stores fat in their abdomen is at a higher risk of heart disease than the one who stores their fat elsewhere.
Losing weight can help reduce the likelihood of developing heart disease and improve blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol. Healthy eating and exercise should be combined to banish belly fat and improve overall health. Luckily, visceral fat is the easiest to lose and a simple walking routine can help blast that belly fat.
How much do you really need to walk to lose weight?
Regardless of age or fitness level, a dedicated walking program coupled with proper nutrition can be an excellent way to lose weight. To do it right and reach your goals, you’ll need to make sure you’re walking far enough, and at the right intensity and paying attention to your diet.
Here’s what you need to know and how to get started.
Individuals should aim to participate in a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day or 150 minutes per week. If you are looking to lose weight, you’ll probably want to do a little more. For individuals who are obese and trying to lose weight, or anyone looking to keep the weight off, you should bump up this number to 200-300 minutes per week (3.5-5 hours). Breaking this down, a one-hour walk, 4-5 days per week will be sufficient to achieve your weight-loss goals. Any additional time you spend exercising on top of this adds to your overall calorie burn and fitness level.
Walking Intensity
Not all walks are created equal. It’s important to make sure your heart rate reaches a moderate-intensity level during your walk. This moderate-intensity level is defined as an activity that raises the heart rate to 50-70% of your maximum heart rate.
If you decide to up the intensity – either by adding resistance training in the form of weights or including short periods of running – exercising at a vigorous activity level (70-85% of your maximum heart rate) requires the duration of your walk to be cut in half to achieve the same benefits. In other words, a 60-minute moderate-intensity walk is the same as a 30-minute walk/run at a vigorous intensity level.
Bottom Line
Start by walking a little more than you normally do each day until you can do an hour or more 4-5 times per week. If you keep up a brisk pace and pay attention to your nutrition, you’ll set yourself up for effective weight loss.
The scale hasn’t changed in weeks, but this isn’t a sign that you are failing. Don’t just focus on the number.
1 – Your body composition may have changed. If you exercise regularly to lose weight, especially if strength training is involved, you may see a stubborn scale as you lose some fat and gain some muscle. Measuring your body-fat percentage may document improvements better than the scale.
2 – You are better, faster, and stronger
Perhaps you are now able to walk up a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing. Perhaps you can run a mile without stopping. Relish all of the activities that you could not do before but you can do now.
3 – Your doctor is happy about your labs
Even modest amounts of weight loss (5-10% off your original weight), can lead to big health benefits like lower blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar. Better-looking labs translate to lower risk for chronic illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
4 – You get way more steps in your day.
Whether you invest in an activity monitor or program your smart phone to count your footfalls, watch your steps data. After committing to your weight-loss journey, you likely ramped up your activity to see results. Perhaps you made trade-offs like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking your car farther away so you could walk. Be proud of how many steps you’ve added to your day.
5 – You like how your clothes fit
If weight loss halts, turn to important wellness indicators like how you fit into your clothes.
6 – You dread working out a little less
Overtime going to the gym will become a habit, and it won’t be hard to get there any longer. You might even look forward to it!
7 – You’ve made exercise a part of your identity
You’ve found an activity that you love doing (be it yoga, hitt, cross-fit, etc.), thereby making exercise a part of your identity. This a boon to your health even when losing weight is no longer your top priority.
8 – You pass up your kryptonite food
We all have that ”kryptonite” food – be it donuts, muffins, potato chips – to which we struggle to say no to. If you were able to practice restraint and reject your favorite food, give yourself a pat on the back!
9 – You feel you have way more energy and stress out less
A more positive outlook, better focus or enhanced energy levels aren’t easily quantifiable signs of health.
Weight loss shouldn’t been seen as a quick fix. It should be seen as creating healthy, lasting habits that help you live a healthier lifestyle. By incorporating these 10 nutrition tips below, you can set yourself up for success for a lifetime, even when life gets busy or you feel stressed.
1 – focus on small changes
Start by making small changes such as eating fruit instead of drinking fruit juice, or adding more colorful foods to your plate. Over time, these small tweaks will add up to big results.
2 – be mindful of portions
A portion size is the amount of food or drink you consume in one sitting. Learning to be mindful of portions can help prevent overeating.
3 – find a diet that works for you
There is no one-size fits all diet. While one diet might work well for one family member, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is right for you. Rather, it’s important to focus on eating a variety of nutrient dense foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats. Ultimately, healthy eating is a lifestyle that nourishes the body, gives you energy, and is sustainable long term.
4 – Log your food
Keeping a consistent and accurate record of what you’re eating is extremely helpful when you’re trying to lose weight. Many are surprised to discover that they aren’t eating enough to fuel weight loss.
5 – Cook more at home
If you are dining out or eating packaged goods on-the-go, you are likely consuming unneeded calories, sugar, and sodium.
6 – Add lean protein and minimize sugar
Protein is critical for weight loss, building muscle and recovering from tough workouts. How much a person needs depends on several factors such as muscle mass, activity level, age and fitness goals. The recommended daily allowance for protein intake is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (or 0.36 grams per pound of body weight).
Too much added sugar can hamper weight loss and contribute to health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
7 –be wary of health trends
Instead of hopping on every trend like drinking apple cider vinegar or avoiding foods with lectins for instance, instead focus on eating a well-balanced diet.
8 – Minimize overeating
Overeating can prevent you from reaching your weight loss goals in a timely manner. Be mindful of eating techniques – which teach you to savor your food and slow down – can help you feel full and prevent a cycle of overeating.
9 – Find Support
Because healthy habits need a trigger or something to remind and motivate you, having support in your weight-loss journey is critical. Find like-minded people who will encourage you to meet your goals.
10 – Rethink the scale
Signs that you are making progress don’t always show on the scale. Remember, the scale is just one piece of the big picture.
Starting a new habit is hard. Some changes take longer to become second nature than others. The key to making a long-term change is sticking with it, and making it a habit as soon as possible.
Here are some ways to establish long-term healthy-eating habits – especially after a relapse.
Did you know that 47% of our behavior repeats daily, with minimal thought. So when you are adopting a new habit, try and pair it with an existing habit. For instance, sit and drink a cup of coffee each morning, pair this with a glass of water each morning.
When setting goals, start out “smart,” by making specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound plans. In our eagerness to reach the finish line, we often aim too high, which sets us up to fail. If you never cook dinner, start by committing to cooking one or two meals a week at home.
Smaller goals are easier to implement, allowing room to grow. Choose roasted broccoli over fries. Eat protein at every meal. Drink water, not soda. Small changes add up and bolster your self-confidence and motivation.
If you know something is likely to derail your habits, avoid it or change it. Once you’ve removed the obstacles, set yourself up to succeed. Throw out all junk food. Keep healthy take out menus on hand. Sign up for healthy meal-delivery service. Do whatever you can to make it easier to reach your goal.
When you’ve had one hard day or a couple of slip ups, you haven’t undone all your hard work – unless you let it. Sometimes a “mistake” can work in your favor, reminding you how committed you are to changing it. For instance, how awful you feel after polishing off that bag of potato chips. This is the difference between a diet mindset, which works against our self-control, and a sustainable habit, which reinforces and builds it.
Healthy eaters know that while you shouldn’t use food as a reward, you also need to live a little. Food is fuel, bit it is often the central part of any celebration. Learn to embrace the mentality of moderation.
Restarting is harder than starting. When life gets crazy it’s okay to take time to pause your habits instead of quitting them. Take a step back or stay where you are until life settles down. If you get off-track, pause rather than stop.
1 – Change Your Goals
Losing weight should be a result, not a goal. Your goals should be small, sustainable things you have full control over. For instance, did you eat servings of vegetables and fruit today? Did you get 8 hours of sleep? Drink 8 glasses of water.
2 – Gravitate toward Positivity
Surround yourself with positive people, as doing so provides you an encouraging, emotionally healthy environment in which to invest in yourself.
3 – Rethink Rewards and Punishments
Keeping in mind that making healthy choices is a way of practicing self-care, food if not a reward, and exercise is not a punishment. They are ways of caring for your body and helping you feel your best.
4 – Take a Breath
Taking a few minutes at the beginning of your workouts or even at the beginning of your day, to slow down and simply focus on the act of breathing can help you set your intentions, connect with your body and even lower your body’s stress response.
Lie on your back with your legs extended and place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for two and then exhale through your mouth for 6 seconds. With each breath, the hand placed on your stomach should be the only one to rise and fall.
5 – Throw out the Calendar
Patience is important when you are losing weight in a healthy and sustainable manner. Focus on meeting truly actionable goals, like 10,000 steps each and every day. There is no need to get wrapped up in a timeline of goals. Every 24 hours comes with new successes, focus on those.
6 – Identify your ‘Trouble Thoughts’
Identify the thoughts that get you into trouble and work to stop and change them.
Maybe it’s your internal dialogue when you look in the mirror or cravings when you get stressed. Consciously make them stop by saying ‘STOP’ out loud. It might sound silly, but that simple action will break your chain of thought and allow you the opportunity to introduce new, healthier ones.
7 – Don’t Step on the Scale
While the scale isn’t intrinsically bad, a lot of us have learned to associate it with self-destructive thoughts and actions. If that’s you, don’t even bother stepping on the scale until you get to a place in which the number on the scale doesn’t define your worth.
8 – Talk to Yourself Like You Would a Friend
We are incredibly hard on ourselves, with the standards we generally adopt for ourselves being punishing. You’d never hold your friends or loved ones to those standards. You deserve the same respect and compassion, treat yourself like it!
9 – Forget the Whole “Foods are Good/Bad” Mentality
Somewhere along the line, we’ve learned to feel either proud or guilty about every food choice we make. But it’s just food and we shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting the occasional cookie. Give yourself permission to have the occasional glass of wine or piece of cake.
10 – Focus on the Sustainable
Start where you are and build from there.
For example, never stepped in a gym? Your goal shouldn’t be 30 minutes on an elliptical on day one. A better goal – go for a 20 minute walk.
Your logical, conscious mind knows exactly what you need to do and why you want to be successful, but your subconscious mind is feeding you sabotaging messages. That whispering in your ear convincing you to bail on your workout or give up on healthy eating is sure to hinder your weight loss. If however, you learn to recognize that voice for what it is and understand how to turn it off, those sabotaging behaviors go away and you can be on your way to permanent weight-loss success.
Its All in Your Head
When it comes to your mindset, there are two options: fixed or growth.
A fixed mindset is when we believe that our ability and situations are prefixed, stable and unchangeable. It is just the way things are, just the way we are. We are either good at something or not, we have that talent or we don’t.
With a growth mindset, we believe that with effort we can eventually figure out what we need to move forward with any endeavor we attempt.
If you approach weight loss with a fixed mindset, it is generally attached to some profoundly ingrained and limiting beliefs. Our beliefs determine our actions and when we strongly believe something, we will do whatever we have to do to prove ourselves right – even when that means sabotaging what we thing we want.
Some of the most common fixed mindset beliefs when it comes to weight loss:
Each and every statement above reveals faulty mental programming, and each and every statement can be amended. Holding onto those limiting beliefs limits our ability to grow and change, so learning how to reset your mind is crucial. The sooner you learn to recognize your fixed mindset and limiting beliefs and stop them from stopping you, the sooner success will be yours.
Start with Self Compassion
many of our limiting beliefs are ingrained from childhood. You may have heard similar statements from your parents, or been told things about yourself. The more you listened to those types of statements, the greater your belief became that they are fact.
Limiting beliefs are also emotional not logical. They originate from the limbic system, which is the area in our brain responsible for emotions. Fearful emotions are formed here, as well, which could activate our flight-or-fight response if you sense a threat. Thus, if you believe that you are clumsy and non-athletic, the thought of going to the gym where you’ll feel uncomfortable or embarrassed feels threatening. As such, your brain will try to convince you to avoid it at all costs. Even when you try to use logic to talk yourself out of self-sabotaging thoughts, your emotions usually win out. Why? because the limbic system processes thoughts lightning fast, father than your rational brain.
Be kind and forgiving to yourself for past failures. There are ways to breakthrough limiting beliefs and open up to a growth mindset that is necessary for permanent, sustained weight loss.
Be Aware of Your Thoughts
When you notice limiting beliefs cropping up, stop and write them down. Listen carefully to the chatter in your brain. If you are struggling to uncover your limiting beliefs, try filling in the answer to these two statements:
I want to lose weight, but _____________________________________________________________.
Weight loss is really challenging for me because ______________________________________.
Question the Validity of Your Thoughts
Go back and read your list. For each statement, ask yourself, ‘is this fact or assumption?’ Often people assume something to be true without ever testing to verify or dispute.
Is every single family member overweight, or are there are few of your relatives leading healthy lifestyles that allow them to manage their weight? Does chocolate really reduce the stress, or just temporarily numb your feelings? Might a walk outside help calm you down instead? Do you really have a slow metabolism? Have you ever talked to your doctor about this concern?
By re-evaluating some of your assumed beliefs, you can start to see the areas in which improvement can be made with determination and perseverance.
Do Your Homework
If you find some statements are met with answer of ‘I don’t know,’ seek out information that supports/disputes your preconceived beliefs about your health.
Commit to One Small Step
Test your assumptions by promising yourself that you will experiment to find out if what you thought was true is actually a fact. For example, if you think you cannot end a meal without something eating something sweet, swap your regular cookies for a herbal tea for one week and see how you feel.
Flip-Flop Your Thoughts
Try telling yourself “I am going to fill up on healthy, wholesome foods and I’m going to feel great!” instead of “I’m going on a diet and going to feel hungry all the time.” These simple swaps can help you trick your brain into believing in your goals long enough for you to see real changes in your life.
Stop allowing non-productive thoughts and beliefs to stand in your way of achieving your happy, healthy life. Open your mind to explore new ways of thinking, and open your heart to be compassionate to and patient with yourself. Change is uncomfortable, but becoming comfortable and saying goodbye to the fixed mindset for good will propel you toward the future you desire.
You see me and you see me as I was.
Not as I am today.
Not the me that is struggling not to sink deeper into my own grief.
Not the me sitting in my car taking deep breathes to control the flood of tears that has unexpectedly taken residence inside of me.
Not the me that is standing in the shower, washing away my tears.
Not the me that is laying awake each night, reliving the last few months, the years of memories, and then those last few horrific days.
You expect me to pick up, move on, move forward.
I will. I want to. I am trying.
But I’m lost.
I don’t know what’s expected.
I don’t know how to reconcile this new role, the new expectations, this new normal.
I’m going through the motions, but that’s not me.
That’s the one that everyone has come to rely on me to be.
That’s not me.
Follow the Journey 