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| image from a beautiful instagramer |
I have always struggled with my weight, who hasn't right? I have tried different diets but none of them worked for me, that's why I decided not to diet anymore, and instead to life a healthier lifestyle. In August last year I decided to go Vegan, and that really helped kick start my weight loss journey, and a couple months ago I started doing Intermittent fasting, which is not a diet, its a way of eating and letting you body rest and use up the fat that has been accumulating in the body for all these years. Intermittent fasting has been the key to my weight loss, ever since I started doing 20 hours of fasting every day and eating healthy during my 4-hour eating window, that my weight has been coming off like crazy! (I will share some details about IF at the end of the post)
But here are my tips for living a healthier lifestyle:
+ Exercise 3 to 5 times a week // I was at the gym for quite some time, but after a while, I stopped being motivated to go, so I decided to work out at home and go for walks on the weekend.
+ Eat in a deficit // The normal intake for a woman is 2000 calories. Now if you eat more than that, just by cutting those extra calories you will see some changes. I don't know how many calories I was eating before I started this journey, but I decided to eat between 1200cals to 1400cals.
+ Use the My Fitness Pall app // This app is such a great tool! It helps me plan and log all my meals and see my macros as well. I love to plan my week of eating on this app.
+ Give up foods processed foods // in the beginning, I just reduced the amount of processed foods I ate, but with time I started to eliminate them from my life altogether. Just like in a Minimalist Lifestyle, eliminate what make your life better. I do however enjoy small treats like like dark chocolate and homemade ice cream.
+ Dont' have drinks with added sugar // I don't mean smoothies or homemade juices, I mean Coke and all those drinks in the market, ever energy drinks. They are not the best choices for you.
+ Do it for yourself // at the end of the day, you are the one living in your own skin, you should do it for you, to feel amazing, to feel confident, to feel comfortable in your own skin.
+ Create a Reward Chart // an amazing tool to keep you motivated is to create a reward chart (no food rewards) for example: when I loose 5 kg I will get new workout clothes, when I loose 10kg I will get my hair colored, when I loose 15kg I will buy a new bikini. This will keep you motivated to keep on going! And the end goal/reward will be to feel amazing about yourself and what you have accomplished!
+ Eat slower // Amazing as it may seem, I eat less and slower when I'm working on my computer or watching TV or reading a magazine or book. This may be controversy because we are always advised not to eat while watching TV, but I tend to focus more on the TV than on my food, so I will eat much slower, and even slower when working on the computer. So find what makes you eat slower, it can even be playing games or checking Instagram on your phone.
+ Use Intermittent Fasting to help your weight loss and to create better habits for yourself // Intermittent fasting helps your body to use up the fat you have stored in your body instead the of the only burning the things you eat. The longuer the fast, more fat your body will use up. I started with and 16h fast with an 8h feeding window, but now I changed to a 20h fast and 4h eating window, sometimes I eat 2 meals, other times I eat 3, and I do eat all my 1300 calories. Chose the best time window (for is from 12 pm to 4 pm) that suits your lifestyle.
+ Crate a Menu for yourself // I created this a few months into my weight loss journey, it started with a simple paper with healthy meals that I liked to eat, then I started to group them into Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, and I also added meal calories and quantities, this way it was so much easier to just pick my Menu and decide what I was going to eat that day. A time saver and a great way to avoid bad foods.
+ Don't do cheat meals/days // you CAN pick a day to eat more then you should, meaning, more than your calorie goal, as long as you don't go back to eating processed foods and sugary drinks. Once every two weeks I don't do Intermittent Fasting and eat what I want when I want, I don't count calories. BUT, I don't stuff myself either, I still listen to my body and stop eating when full.
+ Drink plenty of water // I try and drink at least 2 liters of water every day, especially during my fasting period, I also drink tea with no sugar and lemon water. Sometimes I do a shot of apple cider vinegar in the morning, it doesn't taste good but it has a lot of benefits.
A little bit more about how I do Intermittent Fasting
I started with a 16/8 hour fast, where you fast for 16 hours and eat during the other 8. It worked great at first, but then I fell off the wagon, so when I picked up Intermittent Fasting I decided to do 20/4 hour fast, where I fast for 20 hours and eat for 4hours. I start eating at 12 pm, I may start with a simple smoothie or go straight to lunch, and then I eat my last meal at 4 pm.
I eat around 1300 calories a day, and I burn around 450calories at work, I do some workouts at home, and go for walks on the weekend, but is all just simple exercises, that's why I only eat 1300calories. Since I started doing 20/4 I have lost 2kg in 2 weeks! And I still eat a bit of ice cream every day! This is why I love IF, it burns my fat in the morning when I work the hardest, instead of just burning my breakfast calories. If you guys what to know more about IF just check our Eric Berg videos on Youtube!
Intermittent fasting has become a lifestyle for me, not a quick fix. I feel more energized and it has helped my cravings a lot! Once I reach my goal weight I will change my eating window, just to keep the weight off. This really is life changing.
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| image from a beautiful instagramer |
I have always struggled with my weight, who hasn't right? I have tried different diets but none of them worked for me, that's why I decided not to diet anymore, and instead to life a healthier lifestyle. In August last year I decided to go Vegan, and that really helped kick start my weight loss journey, and a couple months ago I started doing Intermittent fasting, which is not a diet, its a way of eating and letting you body rest and use up the fat that has been accumulating in the body for all these years. Intermittent fasting has been the key to my weight loss, ever since I started doing 20 hours of fasting every day and eating healthy during my 4-hour eating window, that my weight has been coming off like crazy! (I will share some details about IF at the end of the post)
But here are my tips for living a healthier lifestyle:
+ Exercise 3 to 5 times a week // I was at the gym for quite some time, but after a while, I stopped being motivated to go, so I decided to work out at home and go for walks on the weekend.
+ Eat in a deficit // The normal intake for a woman is 2000 calories. Now if you eat more than that, just by cutting those extra calories you will see some changes. I don't know how many calories I was eating before I started this journey, but I decided to eat between 1200cals to 1400cals.
+ Use the My Fitness Pall app // This app is such a great tool! It helps me plan and log all my meals and see my macros as well. I love to plan my week of eating on this app.
+ Give up foods processed foods // in the beginning, I just reduced the amount of processed foods I ate, but with time I started to eliminate them from my life altogether. Just like in a Minimalist Lifestyle, eliminate what make your life better. I do however enjoy small treats like like dark chocolate and homemade ice cream.
+ Dont' have drinks with added sugar // I don't mean smoothies or homemade juices, I mean Coke and all those drinks in the market, ever energy drinks. They are not the best choices for you.
+ Do it for yourself // at the end of the day, you are the one living in your own skin, you should do it for you, to feel amazing, to feel confident, to feel comfortable in your own skin.
+ Create a Reward Chart // an amazing tool to keep you motivated is to create a reward chart (no food rewards) for example: when I loose 5 kg I will get new workout clothes, when I loose 10kg I will get my hair colored, when I loose 15kg I will buy a new bikini. This will keep you motivated to keep on going! And the end goal/reward will be to feel amazing about yourself and what you have accomplished!
+ Eat slower // Amazing as it may seem, I eat less and slower when I'm working on my computer or watching TV or reading a magazine or book. This may be controversy because we are always advised not to eat while watching TV, but I tend to focus more on the TV than on my food, so I will eat much slower, and even slower when working on the computer. So find what makes you eat slower, it can even be playing games or checking Instagram on your phone.
+ Use Intermittent Fasting to help your weight loss and to create better habits for yourself // Intermittent fasting helps your body to use up the fat you have stored in your body instead the of the only burning the things you eat. The longuer the fast, more fat your body will use up. I started with and 16h fast with an 8h feeding window, but now I changed to a 20h fast and 4h eating window, sometimes I eat 2 meals, other times I eat 3, and I do eat all my 1300 calories. Chose the best time window (for is from 12 pm to 4 pm) that suits your lifestyle.
+ Crate a Menu for yourself // I created this a few months into my weight loss journey, it started with a simple paper with healthy meals that I liked to eat, then I started to group them into Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, and I also added meal calories and quantities, this way it was so much easier to just pick my Menu and decide what I was going to eat that day. A time saver and a great way to avoid bad foods.
+ Don't do cheat meals/days // you CAN pick a day to eat more then you should, meaning, more than your calorie goal, as long as you don't go back to eating processed foods and sugary drinks. Once every two weeks I don't do Intermittent Fasting and eat what I want when I want, I don't count calories. BUT, I don't stuff myself either, I still listen to my body and stop eating when full.
+ Drink plenty of water // I try and drink at least 2 liters of water every day, especially during my fasting period, I also drink tea with no sugar and lemon water. Sometimes I do a shot of apple cider vinegar in the morning, it doesn't taste good but it has a lot of benefits.
A little bit more about how I do Intermittent Fasting
I started with a 16/8 hour fast, where you fast for 16 hours and eat during the other 8. It worked great at first, but then I fell off the wagon, so when I picked up Intermittent Fasting I decided to do 20/4 hour fast, where I fast for 20 hours and eat for 4hours. I start eating at 12 pm, I may start with a simple smoothie or go straight to lunch, and then I eat my last meal at 4 pm.
I eat around 1300 calories a day, and I burn around 450calories at work, I do some workouts at home, and go for walks on the weekend, but is all just simple exercises, that's why I only eat 1300calories. Since I started doing 20/4 I have lost 2kg in 2 weeks! And I still eat a bit of ice cream every day! This is why I love IF, it burns my fat in the morning when I work the hardest, instead of just burning my breakfast calories. If you guys what to know more about IF just check our Eric Berg videos on Youtube!
Intermittent fasting has become a lifestyle for me, not a quick fix. I feel more energized and it has helped my cravings a lot! Once I reach my goal weight I will change my eating window, just to keep the weight off. This really is life changing.
4 comments
Lately I've been trying to eat slower and I really notice the difference :o
ReplyDeletexo
An Aesthetic Alien | Instagram | Facebook
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I saw some changes too :)
DeleteI ate less because I was giving time for my stomach to fill up and I felt leas bloated .
Sophie.
Sorry but it is not healthy to eat so little calories while working out almost everyday. While some of your tips are good and healthy, I think this is not something you should promote.
ReplyDeleteHey jane.
DeleteI dont work out everyday. I do small exercises at home and go on walks. When I was at the gym I ate much more calories!
I do burn a lot of calories at work, I work in a coffee shop.
I don't believe that 1300calories for someone that is trying to loose weight is low, but I do see that if I should implied more that this is for someone that is sedentary.
Best,
Sophie.