In this post I am going to share with you 3 super easy things I did to jump start my body’s metabolism BEFORE I set foot back in a gym over 24 months ago. It had been 10 years since I was last seen as a “regular” at my usual gym of choice in town. And I was determined to make the most of it when I was ready to get back in there. Here’s what I did.
This was really simple in theory, and it worked like crazy for me as well. But the change was partly significant, because convenience often dictates what habits or actions we take on a daily basis. This is the breakdown of my eating changes that I made then that became my norm shortly after.
NO MORE SODA
I wasn’t a huge soda consumer really at any point in my life, but when I would go out to eat, it was so easy to pour a sprite or root beer in my big empty paper cup I received after paying. And half way thru my meals eating out, I could feel it sitting in my stomach after drinking a full glass and then sitting back down after a refill. Ugh. I’m not going to go on about how much sugar different soda’s have, or the detrimental effects on weight gain that diet type soda’s actually cause (that’s another post).
But I will give my opinion about soda, or “pop” as it’s normally called ’round here, and that is it’s likely the #1 culprit behind many of today’s obesity problems us Americans see around us everyday, or experience ourselves. Especially in our own kid’s and younger generations. Wanna lose 8-10 lbs in 30 days on your own? Cut out ALL Soda’s or pops from your diet. I’m not saying carbonated beverages all together, I’m talking Soda Pops. There is a difference.
NO JUICES or SPORTS DRINKS
Now I USED to drink all kinds of Juices. I’m talking Orange Juice, Apple Juice, Pineapple Juice, Cranberry Juice, Grape Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Cherry Juice, Carrot Juice…. Ok. You get the picture. I LOVE Juice. Lol, at one time I had 3 different Juicing machines to make my own juices at home. I’m down to 2 now. And although in the fall I still make my own apple juice and carrot juice, I’ve cut WAAAY back the rest of the year.
The reason why is fruit wasn’t made by our Creator to be “juiced” and then drank up. We are supposed to eat it. The fiber that’s included in the fruit helps give us that “full” or satiated feeling in our gut when we eat it. When we juice fruit, the fiber gets mostly removed. I say mostly because things like orange juice can be purchased “with pulp.”
The problem though is that the amount of natural sugars, which aren’t something to really worry over when the fruit is eaten as a whole, skyrockets and is multiplied with every ounce that is squeezed and pressed out of the fruit when it’s being juiced. It’s simply WAY too easy to consume TOO MUCH sugar when that fruit sugar is being served in a cup, rather than the way it was picked off the bush or tree.
NO PREPACKAGED FOODS
This lose fat hack I have since modified, but it worked like a charm even the first time I gave it a go. This involved me eating ONLY fresh, canned (no salt added), or frozen fruits, vegetables, and meat. This does not include frozen meals like tv dinners, frozen premixed vegetable stir fry in bags, frozen corndogs, or anything frozen that’s been seasoned or had a preservative added (frozen cooked shrimp was and is still an exception FOR ME). This also doesn’t included canned fruits, as they are almost always preserved in a type of “syrup.”
There’s a lot to be said about eating only what God has produced vs. what man has. We should know that what He made is perfect, I’m not saying I am or that you are (idk maybe you are!), and when it comes to helping restore our bodies to a more “natural” leaner and slimmer state of being, I’ll take what was given to us instead of what man has “improved” upon.
The normal ratio of vitamins and minerals that are included in food that is grown and raised is healthy, when each is eaten in reasonable moderation, of course. Eating prime rib for every meal probably isn’t the best thing for cholesterol and arterial plaque, but it sure tastes good every now and then. Also, you can’t live off chicken breast or turkey burger forever. Your body AND Brain need carbohydrates to function properly, along with other vital metabolic processes on even the cellular level.
This is what happened to ME after a month of committing to these 3 tips
The first thing i noticed before any fat disappearing around my belly was that I had a bunch more energy. It was also easier to go to sleep at night AND wake up in the morning. After about 3 weeks i could see the ring of flab around my belly button area going down. I hadn’t been weighing myself yet at this point, but the physical change was already noticeable.
The next thing that happened was some of the aches and pains in my lower back and shoulder started being less annoying. I don’t know if this was some form of relief from not carrying around a little extra fat here and there. I do know i wasn’t in as much pain. especially my shoulder, when I woke up in the morning.
Finally, the last week I did start weighing myself. That last week I lost 3 lbs; that was in 7 days, or from Sunday to Sunday. This is in addition to whatever fat I lost that I could see visually the prior three weeks around my stomach, which I would guess was an extra 4 to 6 lbs.
Closing Thought
When it comes to weight loss and attaining our personal goals, we find ourselves, mostly subconsciously, evaluating the goal to the level of difficulty which we perceive we must overcome to reach that goal. I know diet changes are a real gripe or concern for almost all of us on that path. I want to share with you the hundreds of tips and tricks, and I’ll call others cheat codes, that make this process much easier to live with. That is, it makes it possible to reach your weight loss goals and make them stick for the long haul. Thank you for letting me share this with you today!
Josh L.