Dr. Nina Ellis Hervey is a health expert and influencer who shares about “healthy lifestyle, weight loss, natural hair care, confidence, self-esteem, education & more.” About 20 years ago, she lost over 100 pounds. 20 years later. She had gained some of it back and went on to lose 25. Only the same things didn’t work for her when she was older. She breaks down how she did it in one of her viral YouTube videos. “Some of the things that I'm having to add and take away now are different,” she says.
She Stopped Eating Too Little and Started Focusing on Nutrition
“I stop eating too little and not focusing on my nutrition,” she says in the post. “For me, a caloric deficit is definitely needed for weight loss, but decreasing those calories too much could stop results. I've done some low-calorie dieting, and sure it works for a while, but what it did in the end was slow my metabolism, leading to muscle loss and making it harder to lose weight. How many calories we need varies from person to person.
She Paid Attention to Macros
“Paying attention to those macros and focusing on my carbs, proteins, and fats was what was best,” she says. The first thing she did was calculate her macros. “What are macros? There are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. They're important for weight loss and affect your caloric intake, your hunger levels, your metabolic rate, and even your hormonal balance. The optimal level for macros and weight loss are generally carbohydrates at 40 to 50% of your daily calories, proteins at 25 to 35%, and fats at 20 to 30%,” she says.
She Recommends Using Apps
She recommends using an app like Lose It, which “makes it easy to enter your age, weight, height, gender activity levels, body type, and even your weight loss goals,” she says. “Other apps are MyFitnessPal and Chronometer. These kinds of apps estimate your caloric needs and suggest those macro ratios that suit your needs depending on what you want to do to measure macros.
She Also Uses These Tools
“Outside of digital means, I use some simple tools, such as a food scale, measuring cups and spoons, and nutrition labels. And I use all of this to adjust as needed. You can monitor your weight, body fat percentages, waist circumference, energy levels, mood, hunger, and cravings. For example, if you're losing weight too fast or you're feeling too hungry, you might want to increase your carbs and calories. And if you're losing weight too slowly or feeling too sluggish, you might want to do the opposite,” she says.
She Stopped Limiting Protein
She also stopped limiting her protein. “Did you know that people who consume more protein consume less calories overall? A high-protein diet can also benefit body composition. Most of us do not eat enough protein,” she says. “It can help reduce your appetite, increase your fullness, increase your metabolic rate, and help to prevent that loss of muscle mass from exercise.”
She makes sure her three main meals and snacks include at least one high-quality protein source. “Notice I said quality. I go for those lean protein sources with good fats. My main sources of protein are Turkey breasts and ground or cutlet form, chicken, breast, salmon, shrimp, tuna, Greek yogurt, and egg whites as well.”
She Stopped Over Exercising
“This one was big for me because a lot of time, we associate exercise with doing something majorly great for ourselves. And while it is, we can exercise more. So I have to stop doing that. I have to remind myself I do not need to be in beast mode all the time,” she says. “It's all about balance.”
She points out that excessive exercise can increase stress levels, impair the production of hormones that regulate stress levels, and lead to overeating and bad emotional health, which leads us to emotional eating.”
Lifting and Cardio
She now does lifting in cardio four days a week and has a step goal of 10,000 steps per day. “If you got a little chance to put aside working with a trainer for a little while, even to just get an idea of what your body responds best to in terms of exercise is worth it. From there, you can plan your own exercise goals and the things that will help you the most in your journey,” she says.
She Stopped Forgetting to Meal Prep
“Another thing I stopped doing was forgetting to meal prep,” she says. “Nobody wants to eat the same thing over and over again. But unless you're a pro at constantly calculating your own macronutrients, like your carbs, proteins, and fats, while maintaining a caloric deficit meal, prepping is the way to go. It helps me to build habits that make sense.”
RELATED:This Mom Lost 135 Pounds Without Exercise and These Are the Foods She Cut Out
She Started Fasting
“I also stopped eating all day or too frequently. Now, there's some old, outdated information that says it is best to eat all day long. But what happens for some of us is we're not counting what we're eating all day long,” she says.
“I've slowly moved back into my intermittent fasting ways. When we eat all day long, our digestive systems do not get a break. Constant snacking made me lose track of what I was actually eating and taking in in a day. And I would forget some of those things and forget documenting them as well. And just because you forgot you ate it doesn't mean the calories don't count. So, by having my eight-hour eating window between 12 and eight and then fasting the other 16 hours, I saw major results. I'm also seeing my hormones get back in check. I find that I'm burning more fat, and y'all ask me about my cravings.”
She Relearned True Hunger
She also started hydrating to ward off hunger. “I had to relearn to recognize true hunger and to only eat when I'm hungry when I'm feeling snacky. And between meals, I drink a whole bunch of water instead in order to satisfy my hunger,” she says.
She Also Measured Portion Sizes
“The same can be said about portion sizes. I measure my food,” she says. “Many people think they know how much food they're actually taking in, but research has shown that they're actually taking in twice the amount of calories that they estimate. The same can be said about portion sizes. I document digitally, I read my nutrition levels, and I break out my little cheap food scale. And this can simply be done by paper and pencil or a food journal.”
RELATED:Woman Lost 38 Pounds After 45 With Daily Walks and These 2 Simple Changes
She Stopped Being Impatient with Her Body
“Now, this last one, I think we all can relate, but I'm being impatient with my body,” she says. “Weight loss numbers fluctuate. Every day, you get something different that you've taken that can make a difference in your scale numbers. So it can be very, very daunting and very discouraging if you're checking all the time,” she says.
“Realize that weight loss takes time. I've had to do that again. Instead of stressing out about why the scale went up by three pounds after weeks of progress, I focused on my spiritual journey and my mental weight loss as well. I had to assess the people, places, and things in my life again. And some of those things had to go. Mental weight loss is real. Gathering my mind and dealing with my thoughts and mental health has helped my body to get in line.” And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.
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