Starting a weight loss journey can be hard and confusing at first. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and many of us lack motivation to get started, or lack the discipline to continue fighting for the life that we want. Motivation comes and goes, but you need to start to holding yourself to a higher standard. When you do, you will start believing in yourself, you will become empowered, self-disciplined, and unstoppable!!
The 6 daily fundamentals that I will be going through below, will help you to create healthier lifestyle habits, and aide in your weight loss, maintenance, or weight gain journey.
Are you ready to check yourself? After reading through these tips, I want you to ask yourself-- Am I practicing these basic fundamentals daily in my life? If you aren't, let's start to incorporate them!
Tip #1 - Eat More Protein
Protein is the most satiating of all the macronutrients. This means that it will keep you fuller for a longer period of time when compared to just eating carbohydrates and fat.
It is critical for our overall health. Not only is it the main structural component of our bodies, making up our lean muscle tissue, but it makes sure that everything in our body is functioning properly-- hair, skin, nails, joints, hormones, DNA and our immune system!
We also want to make sure that we are prioritizing eating complete protein sources. Complete protein sources contain the 9 essential amino acids that our bodies cannot produce on its own. These essential amino acids stimulate our bodies to maintain and repair/build muscle, and burn carbohydrates and fat for fuel!
Women, try to eat 20-30g of protein per meal, and Men, try to eat 30-40g per meal, depending on your goals!
Tip #2 - Eat More Whole & Nutrient Dense Foods
Nutrient dense food provide the body with vitamins, minerals, fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. They also have less sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.
Eat more fruits, vegetables, yogurt, nuts, lean meats instead of fattier cuts, wild caught salmon and seafood, whole grains, and seeds! These are going to give your body the nutrients it needs to help you lose weight and to feel great overall.
Tip #3 - Increase Your Fruit and Veggie Daily Intake
Fruits and vegetables contain micronutrients that our bodies need for our overall health and well-being. Our body cannot produce micronutrients, so we need to get them from our diet.
Micronutrients are crucial for our energy function, immune function, brain development, blood clotting, bone health, fluid balance and nutrient absorption, among many others! By increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables we eat, and by eating a wide variety, we will be fueling our body and metabolism to work it's best.
Tip #4 - Drink More Water
Drinking more water is one of the best and easiest things we can do for our body. Drinking enough water will improve your metabolism, so you'll have more energy, it will improve your strength, power, endurance, and muscle recovery, it will improve the digestion of our foods, it will improve the nutrient absorption in our gut, it will aide in weight loss, and the list goes on!
Most importantly, it removes waste and toxins through sweating, urine, and your bowels! This is very important for the spinal cord injury community, because UTI's are so common!
Aim to drink AT LEAST 64oz of water, ideally 100-120oz, especially if you are exercising!
Tip #5 - Resistance Train at Least 3X per Week
Resistance training is SUPER important for any goal that you have in life, physical or mental. When we resistance train, we are actually breaking our muscles down, and during muscle recovery, our body goes in to repair that broken tissue, which in turn makes that muscle group stronger!
It increases our muscle strength, flexibility and balance so that we can remain as independent for as long as possible! There are so many other benefits too, improved sleep, improved posture, decreased risk of injury, greater stamina, and weight management to name a few.
You don't have to go to the gym or workout for an hour either. Start with just a few sets of a a couple exercise or go for a brisk push or walk, you can always add in more as you progress!
Tip #6 - Move Your Body for at Least 30 Minutes per Day
It has been found that getting in 30 minutes of exercise each day of the week has MANY health benefits. Whether you are resistance training, doing cardio, or simply going for a push or walk, it is crucial for overall health and longevity.
"It is quite clear from numerous large-scale, well-conducted epidemiological studies, that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days lowers the risk of premature death and many diseases, such as stroke, heart attack, Type 2 diabetes and many types of cancer,"said Ulf Ekelund, a professor specializing in physical activity epidemiology at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences in Oslo.
Let's get our 30 minutes in and start prioritizing our body, mind and our longevity!
Did you check yourself?
After going through these 6 basic fundamentals for a long and healthy life, how many are you doing daily? If you are already doing these things, that is great, keep it up!! If you are not, there is no better time to start than now.
There is never going to be a "right time" to start prioritizing your health. Do you want to wait until your doctor tells you that something is wrong for you to start, or do you want to start today and incorporate these lifestyle habits to prevent future diseases and ailments?
I am here to help in any way I can with your nutrition and/or fitness goals!
Comment below if you enjoyed this post!
xx
Nikki Walsh
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