If you want to transform your body, it takes more than just working out in a gym a few times a week, especially if you leave and head for the next fast food restaurant. I takes dedication to making lifestyle changes each and every day, 24 hours each day. Lifestyle changes do include working out regularly, but they also include eating healthier and getting plenty of rest. They even include making small changes to burn calories and build muscle tissue that you can consciously do each day. Once you start making these small changes and see how great you’re starting to feel, you’ll make even more and before you know it, you’ll feel fantastic and look dazzling.
Make an effort to exert more energy each day.
If you live close to work, walk there rather than drive. You’ll get the benefit of the extra exercise and also lower fuel bills and less frustration, particularly if you live in the city. Any time you have a choice, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Those few extra steps may seem like very little, but they can make a dramatic difference in your weight and fitness if you do it every day. Maybe you’re going from the first floor to the 25th floor, which is a lot of steps for anyone to conquer initially. In that case, walk up a few flights and catch the elevator the rest of the way. Don’t circle a parking lot looking for the closest spot, but park in the first spot you see and walk briskly toward the door. All these changes may seem minor but they all add up to big rewards.
Put on some music and have fun.
Dancing is one of the best forms of exercise if you’re not specifically exercising. When you’re working around the house, put on some music and boogie while you vacuum, dust or tidy up the room. Keep on moving as much as possible and you’ll start to see the results come faster, particularly if you’re also participating in a program of regular exercise.
Eating healthy isn’t dieting.
Not everyone knows the best foods to eat to help you get healthier and lose weight. In fact, most people don’t. Learning to eat healthy isn’t dieting. Dieting always ends and then you go back to your old eating habits. Eating healthy may mean you make substitutions, such as substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream or brown rice for white rice. It may mean you learn to cook healthier and rather than frying, learning to steam, bake or broil…while still getting the savory flavor you crave! Many of the changes save you a few calories, but added together they mean big savings and lost pounds.
Burn more calories by building muscle tissue. Muscle tissue requires more calories than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the more you’ll be boosting your metabolism 24/7.
Get some sleep! Sleep is often underrated. If you aren’t sleeping between seven and eight hours a night, you probably crave sugary products to keep you going. That can spell weight loss disaster.
Burn off that stress. Stress hormones make change to your body, but exercise burns them off. Cortisol, one of the hormones from stress is associated with abdominal fat.
Love who you are. You should never hate yourself or your body, but know it’s not really who you are. Hating yourself for eating too much is counterproductive. Leave the past in the past and look forward to the future.