Weight loss – How to lose it and keep it off

I have to start by saying… You are enough. You don’t have to hit a number on the scale to be worthy. But if you are tired of being exhausted and never feeling like you have enough energy, you are in the right place.

Set realistic goals

You aren’t going to go from lifting 3 lb weights to 15 lb weights overnight. Where would the fun in that be, anyway? But you can go from 3 lb to 5 lb to 8 lb.

Pick goals that are driven by your end goal. “I want to have more energy”. Your goal should be, “I can walk up the stairs without feeling out of breath” instead of “I need to lose 20 pounds”.

Nutrition

You cannot be a healthier version of yourself if you don’t evaluate the food that you put in your body. This where where the math comes in (and don’t worry, it’s simple!)

The number of calories that you eat has to be less than you burn to lose weight. Download myfitnesspal on your phone or use the website and track what you eat in a day.

How do I know how many calories I burn?

The best way is to get a fitbit or apple watch. These are going to show you how many calories you burn at the end of the day in your activities. We burn the most calories just by moving around and being active in small ways throughout the day. If you work out on top of it, that’s extra calories that you burn.

Simple math: Calories eaten – Calories burned = calorie deficit

When your calorie deficit adds up to 1,000 calories, that’s equal to 1 pound of weight loss.

Do not deprive yourself

This does not mean eat cookie dough for dinner, though I have been guilty of it before and I am sure will again. Pick your treats or splurges. Build them into the calorie deficit. By eating nutritionally rich foods instead of goldfish, you are going to have more calories to play with. Get a small scoop of ice cream. Even better if you pick an ice cream that has lower calories.

If you don’t focus on one health switch at a time, you will binge eat and “fall off the wagon”. Just get back on and reset.

Keep it simple

If you love to cook and have the time, go for gourmet meals! Reality is… most of us are doing good to survive the day and put something on the table for dinner and throw our kids in bed and then take deep breaths.

Cook simply. Throw a package of chicken breasts in the crockpot with a tbs of olive oil and top with 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook it on low for 6 hours and it will shred easily with a fork. Throw that on plates with your favorite sauce (try to keep it low sugar) and sides of veggies! There are nights those veggies are roasted in my house and nights that it’s raw bell peppers and carrots. THAT’S A GOOD DINNER!!!!

Movement

You have so many options in movement. Find the one that you love most.

When I first started consistently working out, my movement was cardio because the only way that I could get through it was to essentially be yelling at myself in my head. “Come on, Leah, suck it up. You let yourself get to this point. Push through it if you want to see a change!” I am not saying that this was healthy. But it was honest and a way to work out the frustration that I had at myself.

We do not change our mindset by speaking it into existence. Move your body. Change your mind. These words will forever be my moto when I am stressed or angry. If I can move my body, it gives me mental space to shift my mindset.

First steps

Decide how much you think you can really change. There are two options:

1. Go all in: Plan meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Decide what you movement is going to be. You can email me at hackingtheworkingmom@gmail.com or message me on Instagram (@hackingtheworkingmom) if you want help finding movement!
2. Pick one thing to change: Your lifestyle might be so fast that the idea of sticking to three meals that are planned a day sounds insane. Pick something simple. “I will plan my eating out and it will only be 3 times a week.” or “I will get grilled chicken instead of fried chicken”.

Comment below on what you are going to do first!