I remember the day that one of my clients asked for a food plan. In my cocky demeanor, I replied that I would have a diet for them the next day. My client looked at me with shock and awe: He didn’t want to “die” he wanted to “live.” From that moment on, I never wrote a diet again, I only wrote live-it's – a food plan for living. That day was a truly eye-opening experience. It was the day that I recognized that a diet was a temporary fix, most clients need a more permanent fix, one that lasts a lifetime. When you decide it’s time for a diet, I would like you to change the verbiage to “food plan.” This makes it easier to create lifestyle changes that will transform into new habits. If you are planning your next “diet” now, here’s my top 5 secrets to kick into action before you start.
1. Only Drink Water
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Make water your primary beverage of choice! Here’s the thing: I know water isn’t that exciting, but the body really needs it, we think better, feel better, and lose weight better, when we are fully hydrated. If you have two people on a treadmill, with the goal of losing weight, and one is hydrated and the other is dehydrated, who do you think burns body fat efficiently? Yes, the hydrated one. You see, you need water to move everything around as you are doing cardio. The dehydrated person has to get water from somewhere. Unfortunately, that bout of cardio will result in tearing down muscle tissue to get water, as opposed to burning fat.
Related: 13 Proven Workouts for Building a Powerful Chest
2. Move More
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Put some “pep in your step.” Start using your daily movements as calorie burning moments. Use the stairs, clean the house with your favorite tunes in the background, and race around Costco like there’s a prize at the end. The more effort you place on your daily movements, the more times your metabolism kicks on throughout the day and burns extra calories.
3. Consume More Protein, Vegetables, and Fruit
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Repeat after me…protein, vegetables, fruit! Food is about fuel, and that fuel provides the vitamins and minerals to give us both health and energy throughout the day. Before you plan your next “diet” gravitate to having quality protein, combined with a fruit or vegetable, with every meal and snack. This is a great place to start, think of it as your “meal foundation.” Protein helps the body repair and takes longer to digest, which gets you fuller faster. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with nutrients and help to provide energy to get you going throughout the day, a true win-win.
Related: #1 Weight Loss Food Mistakes You Are Making
4. Focus on Turning On Your Metabolism
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Learn to turn on your metabolism throughout the day. Think of your metabolism as a light switch that burns extra calories when it is on. It typically turns on for only two reasons: Working out and eating. Your metabolism is on when two mechanisms are working at the same time. When you workout with cardio, your body heats up and heart rate goes up, so your body must cool down, slow down your heart rate, and proceed to do your normal activities. On the same note, if you lift weights, your body heats up, you tear down muscle tissue and now your body has to cool down, repair the muscle tissue, and continue on with your daily activities. Two mechanisms working at the same time means extra calories burned. When we eat, we must digest our food. Some foods take longer to digest. The idea is to use these moments to your advantage. Maybe breakup your workouts into two shorter ones. Instead of two meals a day, try grazing. All with the goal of turning on the metabolism multiple times throughout the day.
5. Clean Out Your Refrigerator and Pantry
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This is a big one, but it’s worth every bit of effort: Clean out your refrigerator and pantry, and the freezer too. Things expire, we buy the wrong food when we are hungry, and we stockpile unnecessary items…just in case. The refrigerator is for all the fresh items and leftovers. Ideally, if you buy groceries on Sunday, by Friday the refrigerator should be bare. The freezer is for back-up food and meals. Here is where your batch cooking could house a few single serving meals for another day. The pantry keeps your seasoning, snacks, and meal prep accessories. Most of my clients will organize their desk better than their kitchen. If there is one thing I could beg you to do: Set up your kitchen for success, get rid of old and expired foods, foods you didn’t like when you first tasted them, and anything else you know you haven’t used in over a year. Setting up the kitchen for success is step one. We all have to use the kitchen at some point, even if you don’t like cooking, making sure you have the right condiments, storage containers, and organization will make mealtime easier to maneuver. If you cook or you order in, principles above still pertain to you.
Related: I Lost 40 Pounds in 4 Months With These Simple Tricks
6. Create Long-Lasting Healthy Habits
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Creating long-lasting healthy habits makes the occasional “diet” much easier to manage. The foods you eat create lasting results in weight, energy, and overall health.
💪🔥Body Booster: Exercising and eating are two ways to turn on your metabolism, so try eating smaller meals several times a day and breaking up workouts.
Adita Yrizarry-Lang is a Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Author, and Speaker
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