It’s all very well losing weight – actually it feels fantastic to lose weight and feel fit – but, short of coming here to Overland Park Boot Camp on a regular basis (which we’re sure you will ;)) what other lifestyle changes do you need to make to ensure it STAYS off? The following are some tried and tested tips which will definitely help you stay looking great:
Eat healthy to retain weight loss
- Dedicate time for food shoppingTreat an outing to the supermarket as you would a gym session. In other words, block off an hour or so for it every week, plan what you’re going to buy beforehand, and never miss it. That’s because in order to eat healthy meals which are going to help maintain your weight loss, you have to be able to cook them. And to cook them you have to write a list of ingredients that you’ll need. In other words, this all involves planning. It’s worth it though – if you don’t have a well stocked cupboard you’re more likely to turn to calorific take-aways and constant snacking.
- Decide when you’re going to cook
Again, this should be part of your new timetable too. Set aside a good couple of hours every week to cook a healthy stew, soup and other healthy vegetable-packed dishes which can you freeze and just microwave after returning home from work or the gym when the last thing you feel like doing is preparing a meal. - Don’t deny yourself food at night
A lot of people set themselves a cut-off point time-wise for eating believing that if they eat late at night they’re not going to be able to burn off the calories. It actually makes more sense to eat regularly with intervals up to four hours prior to going to bed than to stop eating at 6pm and leave your stomach empty until 8am the following morning when you’re bound to be ravenous. As long as there’s around two hours between eating and heading for bed your sleep shouldn’t be interrupted by late-night digestion. And talking of sleep… - Try and get around seven hours or more of sleep a night
Getting lots of sleep makes you less hungry the following day. This is because not getting enough sleep results in an over-production of ghrelin – a hormone which controls how hungry we feel. This is released on fasting for instance. The more ghrelin that’s released the more likely we are to crave sugar and other carbohydrate-laden foods.
For more weight management tips have a word with any of the coaches here at Overland Park Boot Camp in Kansas City.
