Here are the top things I regularly recommend to clients hoping to lose weight & regain energy.
In most of my client interactions, and even just in daily life, there are a small handful of tips I offer people looking to lose weight, boost energy, and generally just live better. While these tips are simple, they are not always easy; swapping bad habits for good can be truly challenging. These are tried and tested ideas that come up most commonly with clients, and will help pretty much anyone have more energy and generally feel better.
So you may ask, if I offer these tips to most paying clients, why would I give them away here for free? Great question. I'm going to write this part in bold so you don't miss it.
Tips from a blog post do not in any way replace the the support and guidance provided in a 1-on-1 practitioner / client program. Not even a little bit.
But. If you can put even one of these tips into practice and it starts to help, does that demonstrate to you that I know my shit and the services I offer would be worth investing in? I sure hope so. Let's jump in, and please let me know if any of these make a difference for you.
Top 5 wellness tips
Drink salty water
Ew right? Stay with me. Salt contains necessary electrolytes, like sodium, magnesium, and potassium. These minerals are the spark plugs of your cells, and also make sure that water is able to flow in and out of your cells properly. This means it helps you get and stay hydrated, and your metabolism won't work well without them. I recommend starting your day with a tall glass of water with a large pinch of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. If you are active or practice a ketogenic diet, you are going to want to up your electrolyte intake.
Chew your dang food
Most of us in our modern society shovel food into our gobs while sitting in front of a computer or TV screen, barely masticating each bite before it slides down our gullets. This results in poorly digested food with nutrients not making it into circulation in your body. It can also create indigestion, bloating, heartburn, and stomach ache. Instead, take the time to chew each bite (yes, EACH BITE) 20-30 times. The consistency of your food should feel like porridge, not chunky chili. Put your fork down between bites and enjoy your food as you chew. Do this, I bet you feel a difference immediately. You likely won't feel heavy and bloated after your meal, but light and energized.
Walk outside every day
Ok sure, I get it, you might live in a part of the country that is either too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer to go for a walk outside. Work with me here. But walking is one of the easiest, most effective forms of low impact movement you can do. And all you have to do is, you know, walk! Grab 10-15 minutes after lunch, or take walking meetings. Walk your kids to the playground and stroll around the park as they play. You don't need to walk 10,000 steps all at once, it all adds up. Walking stimulates digestion, helps boost metabolic function, and reduces stress.
Walking outside provides the added benefits of exposure to sunlight and fresh air. Sunlight stimulates your body to create Vitamin D, a nutrient critical for immune function, metabolism, and many more. Fresh air is great for lowering stress levels and helping switch you out of fight or flight response.
Prioritize protein
The three macronutrients in our diets are carbohydrates, fats, and protein. There are essential proteins and fats, meaning our bodies cannot make them and therefore must be obtained through food. There are no essential carbohydrates - our bodies can make glucose out of protein. (Not saying you should never eat carbs, jeez. Let's stay on track.) Fats are often villainized for, well, making us fat and sick. (They don't, but that is for another post.) Protein doesn't always get the love it deserves, and I hear all the time how our we over consume protein. (Also, not true.) Fact is, most people likely don't get enough protein in their diets, and suffer many metabolic issues because of it. The national recommended daily amount (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So for a 165 lb male, the recommended amount of protein would be 132 grams. But this recommendation is the amount that keeps you from wasting away and dying, not the amount you need to thrive and be healthy.
Most studies are now showing the benefits of a much higher protein intake, anywhere from 1.2 grams to 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight! I don't recommend obsessively counting your macros, but if you need to measure and adjust based on how your goals, I'm all for it.
Protein is the most thermogenic macronutrient, meaning it takes the most energy to digest & absorb. Protein is also the building block for our lean muscle tissue, and studies show that carrying more muscle increases your metabolic rate, meaning you burn more fat. Just as importantly, protein is the most satiating macro, meaning you need to eat less of it in order to feel full.
Prioritizing eating protein with every meal can look like adding an egg or two to breakfast, a burger patty or chicken breast to lunch, or any of the above for dinner. Great news, when you eat more protein, you tend to eat less overall.
Lift heavy things
We tend to think that getting our heart rates up and sweating for 30 minutes means burning more calories and losing weight. I'll never tell anyone to NOT do the exercises they enjoy, but if your goal is to burn fat and lose weight, resistance training is going to get you much further.
First off, let's keep in mind that a 30-45 minute workout is just about 2% of your day. So if you are not moving your body doing other things (walking, gardening, taking the stairs, playing with your kids) you aren't making a huge impact on your metabolic rate overall.
But like I mentioned above, more lean muscle mass means a higher metabolic rate, meaning your body is burning more energy. The way to build more lean muscle mass is through resistance training. That can look like almost anything: Barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands are all great tools. If you don't have those available, soup cans, water jugs, hell even rocks will do the trick. Anything heavy that creates resistance to your muscles.
Finding the right mix of resistance training, cardio exercise, and every day movement for you can take a little trial and error. Take it slow, don't push heavier weights until you feel comfortable. Some of my favorites are kettlebell strength training, swimming, and jogging.
Any of these wellness tips would be a great place to start. Whenever you are starting a new habit, I strongly recommend you frequently check in with how you are feeling. If some new addition to your diet or exercise routine is causing more discomfort, dial it back a bit. Keep track of what you are doing in a notebook and identify what is working and what is not. If you need to work with someone to help keep you accountable and on track (friend, neighbor, co-worker) make those arrangements to help the habit stick.
If you are looking for more support, that is what I am here for. If you're interested in learning more how working together can help boost your energy and fix your mid-day fatigue, give you back your libido, or get your digestion back on track, set up a quick 15 minute intro call with me here.
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