This subject alone brings millions of dollars each year to industries world wide. From crash diets and supplement plans to exercise subscriptions and gym memberships to body contouring garments… the list is endless.
The fact is that when you step out of the shower and look in the mirror, you want to look fantastic but too often we don’t.
Too often we let the opportunities of the day coax us into making the wrong choices and over time that leads to a body we don’t love anymore (and our health begins to dwindle as well).
So what can we do about it? You’ve probably tried more than 1 diet in your life – likely focused on calorie restriction of some type – and more often than not those don’t leave us with much long term success.
You’ve probably also had times that you’ve killed yourself at the gym trying to burn extra calories and while it seemed to work in the beginning, after a while there weren’t enough changes to match the motivation of your efforts.
After trying and failing time after time, we begin to hide. We cover what we can cover and change our wardrobe to be more befitting of our current body even though we keep our old favorite outfits at the back of our closet in wishful thinking.
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve worked with that have come in with this type of story. When I began Custom Fitness 15 years ago, it was with a dream of being able to help people achieve a higher quality of health and improve their physique in the most efficient and effective way.
I feel just awful for the people telling me these stories because I know that there are much better ways, the problem is finding them.
So today I want to share with you 3 things you need to change in order to begin losing your love handles and if it’s of interest to you, I want you to consider giving me a call to discuss your personal story and to see if perhaps my team has the answers you’ve been seeking.
To lose your love handles, you need to:
- Stop cutting calories and start enhancing your nutrition. In short, eat REAL, not processed foods with less to no junk added into the mix. Eat higher amounts of protein, think 20-30 grams per meal to help build your muscle tone and therefore increase your metabolism. Eat evenly spaced meals through the day so your blood sugar stays level and your body stops fearing a food shortage.
- Change your exercise routine. I know cardio has always been considered “the way” but the truth is, if you run 1 mile, you’ll burn at most 100 calories – I can tell you that most runners end up consuming a post run meal / drink that is definitely more than 100 calories so that doesn’t add up when you’re looking to burn. Your exercise routine should definitely have cardio elements but more than that, it should have strengthening elements. We’re not talking 3 or 5 lb weights here. We’re talking about using resistance that causes you to feel “done” at the end of your set. We need those muscles to be pushed. (And to all of my female readers who just got all bug-eyed about lifting heavy weights, no you won’t build too much bulk – consider the grocery bags and children you carry not to mention your purse! :o) My guess is that they all weigh more than 5 lbs)
- Deal with your stress. Sounds like wishful thinking doesn’t it? Truth is that there are many ways we can mitigate stress but when we don’t the body could really care less about losing anything and instead goes into survival mode. Not a problem if we only experience stress every now and then but for the typical adult, this has become a daily issue. Start to reduce your stress by getting a good night’s sleep – think 7-9 hours. Exercising can also help to lower stress levels so that workout we just talked about…get on it. You can choose from literally thousands of ideas to lower and reduce your stress- the most important thing is to do something today.
Okay, so that gives you the basics. These are things you can walk through on your own to experiment with but consistency will be your best friend. If you only try it for a week or two, you may not see enough change to keep you motivated.
If you feel like this is the direction you’d like to go but feel like some extra guidance and coaching would be helpful, give me a call and we’ll see if we’re the right fit for you. Remember that we are much more than a gym. We coach our clients to live their best lives through exercise, nutrition and lifestyle while offering continual support and guidance…we want to walk with you on this journey.