If the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that it is REALLY, REALLY important to stay as fit and healthy as we can – and that means both maintaining a “healthy” weight and keeping active.
And, whilst the lock-down has given us all a chance to do a “bit more” exercise, a lot of us will get on the scales and discover that we’ve actually put on a few kilos – which is bad news because we all know it’s a lot easier to put weight on than it is to lose it.
The picture gets even darker if someone was a few kilos overweight in March. Suddenly the 5 kilos surplus has become 10 kilos and instead of a hill, there’s a mountain to climb!
If you happen to be in this situation, then don’t despair, help is at hand.
The team at New In 90 have come up with some really effective home-based Programs that won’t focus on strict diets or specific exercises, but instead will show you how to adjust your daily habits and routines related to eating and activity.
This will not only result in weight loss and improved levels of fitness, but will also set you up for the long term.
Just imagine never having to worry about your weight or fitness again!
Why is it so hard to lose weight?
As we get older, all the external influences effecting our weight and fitness seem to work against us – children, jobs, stress and aching joints amongst other things all throw up barriers which make it really hard to even think about losing weight and keeping fit, let alone actually doing it.
In fact, we may arrive at the big five-zero and realise that the weight has crept on and we’re regularly consuming more calories each day than our bodies actually need – that extra cappuccino or glass of wine, however delicious, take their toll!
So, let’s look at some figures –
The “average” woman needs about 2000 calories a day to keep going without losing or gaining weight (although individual circumstances will always vary).
Of that 2000, the body uses about 70% just to exist – to carry out all the regular daily bodily things. 20% is used on the necessary moving around and the final 10% on digesting any food or drink you consume.
10 kilos of fat represents about 95,000 calories, so if you just “lived” for about 48 days and only drank water, then you’d lose around that amount of weight because your body has to utilise around 2000 a day to survive.
Not a recommended course of action, but it helps to know the bottom line!
If you just reduce the amount of calories you consume by 10% but keep your usage at around the 2000 mark, then it would take a heady 475 days to lose 10 kilos. That’s not a bad long term goal and just eating and drinking 10% less is not a particularly daunting task. For a lot of people, this may be a sensible route to follow.
But get this, increase your usage by just 10% will halve the time you’ll lose the 10 kilos.
Reduce your intake and increase your usage by 20% and suddenly you’ll be losing that 10 kilos will take 119 days – that’s just 4 months.
Much more exciting!
But wait – there’s a catch!
If you’re regularly taking in excess calories, say 2,500 (very easy to do – that 500 is only a full fat cappuccino and a muffin), then reducing that intake by 10% and increasing your usage by 10%, will have no effect.
In fact, you’ll go on gaining weight…
Why?
Because you’ll be using 2,200 calories a day but you’ll still be taking in 2,250 calories – an excess of 50!
That well-known equation calories in = calories out still stands.
So, in this situation, not only do you have to lose weight generally, but you also have to work out a way of reducing the average daily calorie intake down to the recommended 2,000 over the long term.
But the good news is that there’s definitely an alternative to life-long diets.
Most of us know that the only way to lose weight is to take in less calories than your body uses – for a relatively long period of time. And if you increase your daily usage at the same time, it’ll happen quicker.
And this is where the daily habits and routines come in.
If you are regularly taking in more calories each day than you use, then that’s because your daily habits and routines dictate this. Portion sizes, food and drink selections, snacks, activity, exercise and lifestyle in general are all the factors that add up to how much you eat and move around.
This is the reason why many diets fail. People go on a calorie controlled diet, struggle to stick with it (because they’re still doing exactly the same things as they did before) and then, when they stop, they revert immediately to their original calories intake and the weight comes back on again.
So here’s the answer.
If you adapt and change all those habits and routines at the start of this whole process then not only will you lose the weight, but you’ll keep it off because your “new” lifestyle will be dictating how many calories you’ll be taking in.
You’ll be in control!
So, that’s the theory – what about the practice?
First of all, you need to find out if you really need to lose weight and, if you do, by how much.
Then you need to work out how much energy, in the form of calories, you’re currently taking in. You can do this simply by writing a food/drink diary over 2 or 3 days (the more days the better) and using a calorie checker.
( https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/calorie-checker/)
Then you have to sit down and work out how you can reduce your calorie intake and increase your activity by between 10% and 20% (depending on your ultimate objectives) – not by devising all sorts of intricate food plans and diets – but by changing your habits and routines so that it happens as a matter of course.
Just make sure your objectives are realistic and your changes small.
Never set yourself up to fail.
If you like the sound of this approach, then the New In 90 Stepping Stone Program will show you exactly how to do it, and also help you overcome any barriers standing in your way.
You can find full details here.
The original New In 90 Program can then get you on your way by providing 90 days of specially devised objectives, tasks and advice to help you on your journey.
You can find full details here.
And if you would like to maximise the effectiveness of your weight loss and fitness journey then look at the New In 90 VIP Coaching Program – a tailor-made one-to-one program that takes you through the entire process from start to finish.
You can find full details here.
Good luck!
Sue & the New In 90 Team