By Ryan Hail
We have all heard how to lose weight…Exercise More! Eat Less! Try this diet! While this information is not technically incorrect, it falls flat on actually giving clients the results they seek. Why? Because they are non-specific and some do not promote actual healthy habits. Here are my 3 steps to weight loss.
1) Intermittent Fasting (IF)
This is a method of eating in which you restrict your meals to a certain window of time in a given day.
How it works: Time restrictive eating can be broken down a lot of ways, my go to for most people is to start with a 16 hour fast followed by an 8 hour feed. A simple way to practice this would be to have your last meal of the day around 7-8pm, skip breakfast, then start eating again around 11am-12pm.
While skipping breakfast is the most popular method, you could also opt for an early dinner followed by a late breakfast. Regardless of how you decide to implement IF, the key thing to remember is that this is a piece of a much larger puzzle and does not give you “freedom” to eat a diet filled with unhealthy food. Be sure to choose nutrient dense, whole-foods such as vegetables, fruit, coconut oil, avocados, fresh fish, eggs, meat, nuts/seeds and beans.
2) Move 30-60 minutes on most days of the week.
This part is critical for not only weight-loss but mental and physical well-being. This can include a walk first thing in the morning, a CrossFit class, Yoga, Powerlifting, etc. The “art of doing” is the important piece here. Just move!
3) Manage Your Hormones. Manage Your Life.
Hormones basically run everything our bodies do. They are chemical messengers that are critical to life and vitality. When my normal tips and tricks do not work with a client, I start to become curious about how optimally their endocrine (hormonal) system is operating. One hormone that is getting a lot of attention right now is cortisol, better known as the stress hormone. Some cortisol is needed for survival but too much for too long can create havoc on your quality of life as well as your waist line!
Ways to balance your hormones:
- Exercise regularly
- Honor your circadian rhythm by sleeping 7-9 hours per night. Ideally from about 10pm-6am.
- Mediation and Breath Work 10-20 minutes per day
- Socialize with uplifting people
Bonus Material: (For people who have already implemented the strategies listed above).
- Lift Weights 1-3 times per week for about 30-45 minutes. This can be included in tip #2.
- Get a full blood panel to help you better understand your unique biological needs.
- Meet with a fitness professional to fine-tune your program.
- Research the Metabolic Typing Diet. (While I am not a huge fan of prescribing diets, this is one that looks at the individuals needs and can help people understand their relationship with food on a much deeper level).
Hopefully these tips not only guide you to weight-loss, but encourage you to lead a healthier life filled with laughter, love, and peace.
Note: Studies have shown that intermittent fasting has potential benefits for anti-aging, cancer, cognitive function, inflammation, hypertension, and the metabolic syndrome; but the evidence so far is insufficient to justify making clinical recommendations.²
References:
1) http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2017/02/17/intermittent-fasting- promotes-health-longevity.aspx
2) https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/intermittent-fasting/
3) http://drhyman.com/blog/2016/08/05/how-to- fix-your- hormones-and- lose-weight/
4) https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/28/study-reveals- that-exercise- alone-wont-cause-weight- loss
About the Author:
Ryan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science from Wright State University. In addition, he is a certified personal trainer through the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT), CrossFit Level 1 Coach, USA Weightlifting Specialist Level 1 (USAW SPC L1), Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 1 (CHEK) and he stays on the cutting edge of fitness programming through workshops and peer communications. He has enjoyed working with his clients to enable them to perform better, feel better, and live better for seven years. His background focuses on sports performance training, corporate wellness, CrossFit, and Olympic weightlifting. Ryan’s hobbies include Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, lifting weights, yoga, reading, stand-up paddle boarding, and exploring Austin!
Classes: Boot Camp. PowerFit. Barbell Club. H.I.I.T.
Great write up Ryan!