What NOT to WEAR when you want to lose WEIGHT
DON’T WEAR THESE IF YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT
Are you thinking that we made a mistake in the title? I don’t blame you. During these last few months in lockdown, we have had many of our practice members complain about putting on weight. Our routines have more disrupted. Gyms closed, curfews, working from home, the list goes on and on. In this blog we are talking about what not to wear if you want to lose weight.
Something has to give, and exercise and diet are two areas that have suffered during these times. So where does the question about what clothes not to wear come into the picture. I’m talking about people wearing tracksuit pants, leggings or any pants that are elasticated and stretchy. I have found, personally, that living in pyjama bottoms all day, day in day out can mean that your waistline stretches and expands because of the expansive waist bands.
5 Steps to Maintaining Good Weight during Lockdown (and beyond)
- Get out of your tracksuit pant, leggings or elastic wasted pants.
Start by getting out of these elasticated numbers and get into jeans, zip up trousers or skirts (non-elasticated of course). They are a great indicator of whether you are putting on weight. Are your jeans getting too tight, your work pants. With all the online meetings people are attending as they are working from home, what your wear on the lower half cannot be seen. So understandably, the most comfortable, no dry cleaning garment was substituted. The ‘tracky dacks’ as we commonly refer to these loose waisted, comfy pants.
2. Diarise your daily exercise.
If you have been putting off exercising, then now is a great time to start. Then and only then can those elasticated pants make an appearance. Get out walking, riding your bike, joining in on a online zumba or yoga class.
Get you diary and mark 30-40 minutes a day to get back into some exercise. Remember to include some aerobic exercise, strength work and some exercise. Avoid doing the same exercise each day and if you have children, include them in too. Kick the ball around or riding a bike are fun ways to get out and include that vitally important movement.
3. Plan your meals
Sit down and write out a meal plan for the week. If everyone is home then making more for dinner can then be used as lunch the next day. You can do a bigger shop and reduce the need to pop out for 1-2 items every day. You can have a meat day, a chicken day, a pasta day a fish day a vegan day and so on. Then, recycle the recipes each month, substituting vegetables for what ever is more in season.
4. .Get a buddy to keep you accountable.
If you want to lose weight, then finding a friend who is wishing to do the same will help to keep you both accountable. Check in with each other regularly and even sharing meal ideas can save you both time.
5. Three things to do each day so you can burn calories.
First is avoid snacking. Have cups of herbal tea or lemon infused water in between meals and cut out your trips to the kitchen.
Secondly avoid some carbohydrates. These foods include pasta, potatoes, bread, rice and pastries. If you are not burning off the calories that these carbohydrates produce, then they will turn into unwanted fat.
Thirdly avoid sugar. Biscuits, ice-cream, soft drinks, sweets, chocolate or anything that contains sugar will turn to fat in your body if you don’t exercise enough. Even eating excessive fruits will do the same – limit fruit to two pieces a day. These foods do not have nutritional value and will stress your body and help if you want to lose weight.
Consistently adhering to the above points will put you back in the driver’s seat and start to get your weight and your health back to a level that you are happy with. Habits take time to develop, so be patient and persist. You are worth it.
Looking for some healthy breakfast ideas, CLICK HERE If your overall mobility needs assessing, then start with adding these few movements in your day. CLICK HERE.
For regular updates be sure to follow us on our Facebook and Instagram
Lisa, director
