10 Ways to Kick-Start Your Weight-Loss

A Physiological Adjustment

Today, I’ve left my philosopher’s cardigan in the drawer, my coach’s whistle in my gym bag, my arse-kicking boots on the porch and my motivator’s cape in the cupboard. Instead, I’ve decided to slip on my trusted old exercise scientist’s tracksuit and talk about losing a few pounds. Of course, I know none of you will be interested in the subject but I thought I’d write about it anyway – just in case you know someone who might be in need of a little physiological adjustment.

If so, you might pass this along.

As you know, I’m all about creating permanent change and I’m definitely not one for quick-fixes or short-term solutions but sometimes we need a little kick-start to create some momentum and to build our confidence and enthusiasm for the long haul.

Getting the Wheels Turning

So, I’ve decided to base all of the following suggestions on a twenty-eight day time frame. Of course, twenty-eight days isn’t life but it’s usually brief enough to stay focused and long enough to see some results. The idea being that, once we see some positive change, we can then step into our next twenty-eight day block with a new attitude, a leaner body, a new habit or two and some serious momentum.

Before long, those twenty-eight day blocks will become a blur and eventually we’ll find ourselves firmly entrenched in the middle of some new-and-improved habits. Better habits. Smarter habits.

That’s the plan anyway.

Keep in mind that the following is not an individual prescription but, rather, some general advice from a bloke who’s seen his fair share of fat bodies. Including his own.

1. Lose the Liquid calories. Drink nothing but water for 28 days. Some people consume over a thousand calories a day in fluids. Which makes obesity almost unavoidable. Throw down a fruit and yoghurt smoothie and you may have just added a lazy six hundred calories to your daily total. Keep everything else the same and drop the liquid calories and you might be laughing all the way to the tailor. Or is it seamstress?

2. Record every single thing you put in your mouth. Not fun, not sexy and not a particularly ground-breaking strategy but effective nonetheless. Keeping an accurate record of food intake increases our awareness, accountability and definitely helps us make better decisions. And no, we don’t do it to become obsessed, we do it to be disciplined, structured, organised and successful. And lean, of course.

3. Find a hill. And walk it. Walking hills is a great calorie burner, a great metabolism booster and a great arse and leg shaper. The bigger the steps, the better. The steeper the hill, the better. If you’re unfit, ease into it. If you can’t find a hill, stairs will do nicely.

4. Buy a skipping rope. And use it. Cheap, convenient and effective. And tough. Generally speaking, skipping will burn more calories (expend more energy) than jogging for the same amount of time. Of course, it depends on technique, intensity and a few other variables but suffice it to say that when I skip the weight (and fat) falls off. Again, if you’re a beginner, ease into it.

5. Do new stuff. New exercise stuff, that is. For many people, their exercise regime is Groundhog Day all over again. All over again. All over again. When we do the same type of exercise, for the same amount of time, at the same intensity level (give or take), we end up with the same body. Typically, if nothing changes (with our exercise program), nothing changes (with our body). Do different to create different. 

6. Go sugar-less. Sugar is a killer. Not only does it turn many of us into diabetics and give us skanky teeth, it also puts our body in a hormonal state to store fat more easily – via the increased production of insulin. In other words, sugar creates a chemical reaction in our body that makes weight and fat loss less likely. Ironic that something containing zero fat can play such a huge role in the obesity epidemic. Watch those cereals. Most of them are crap. My fave? Natural oats.

7. Add some intensity. When it comes to exercise, many people are simply going through the motions. When they do exercise, they tend to make a two-out-of-ten effort, while hoping for a nine-out-of-ten result. No, you don’t need to be hard-core and, no, you don’t need to punish yourself but you do need to work at a level that necessitates physiological adaptation. Yes, intensity is relative and, yes, you should ease into it if you’re a beginner. But, if you’ve been training for a while, it might be time to get out of first gear.

8. Prepare all your meals. All of them. No take-away. No restaurant meals. No snacks from Seven-Eleven. Nothing in a wrapper. So simple and obvious that I shouldn’t have to suggest it but most people still won’t do it.

9. Find Two Minutes. Two minutes every hour you’re awake, that is. Did you know that if you can find a measly two minutes to do some moderate exercise every waking hour, you’re gonna add four hours (ish) of exercise to your weekly regime? Four hours! Your hourly instalment could come in the form of stair-walking, step-ups on a box, sit-ups, exercise bike, skipping, body-weight squats or a bazillion other simple and practical calorie-burning options. Two minutes isn’t even long enough to crack a sweat but add all those micro-workouts together and you’ll be enjoying a leaner, meaner you. I know many people who have dropped weight this way. If you must miss an instalment or two (for practical reasons), simply make up for it later in the day. You may even have to stretch yourself to a six-minute workout!

10. Exercise during the ads. Fact 1: Night time television typically contains somewhere around fifteen minutes of advertisements per hour. Fact 2: The average Aussie watches around three hours of TV per day. Fact 3: If Mr Average’s entire exercise program consisted of nothing but getting his heart rate up during the ads, he would be exercising for 5.25 hours per week! And losing his gut at a rapid rate.

The Last Bit

Naturally, the above list is not an exhaustive one but, rather, a few suggestions that have proven to be effective for many of the people I’ve worked with over the years. If you feel so inclined, you might want to start with one or two and build from there. Attempting all ten (suggestions) simultaneously would be a recipe for failure.

Have fun and let me know how you go.

If you have any thoughts, ideas or additional suggestions, feel free to share.

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