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It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you want to lose weight yet don’t know where or how to start. Get expert guidance on how to take one step a day towards a leaner, stronger body and jumpstart your weight loss with these expert tips, meal plans and workouts!
Step 1: Booking a consultation and health appraisal with a qualified personal trainer is the most important first step to ensure a safe and effective start to any new program of exercise. The initial interview is a scheduled appointment intended as a mutual sharing of information with the expected outcomes of assessing client-trainer compatibility, discussing goals, and developing a client-trainer agreement.
Step 2: Organize your fridge in a way that will help you shed the unwanted weight. How you organize your refrigerator could be working against you. Make your fridge an ally with these pros’ tricks to make your fridge a weight loss ally.
Step 3: Stock up on superfoods. It’s important to keep a stock of healthy foods that allow you to put together a healthy meal at a moment’s notice. When eating out it is easy to consume north of 200 extra calories, making eating at home a no brainer when it comes to eating healthier and helping you kick the spare tyre.
Step 4: Your personality plays a large role in your ability to lose weight and keep it off. The attitudinal assessment is not an assessment of physical condition, it is a gauge of attitude, outlook and perspective, key drivers of attaining your goals of a leaner, stronger more functional self.
Step 5: Need a new personal trainer? Tiger Athletic Fitness & Conditioning is a modern, private, strictly by appointment gym in Sandton, Johannesburg. Our personal trainers are health and fitness professionals who use an individualised approach to assess, motivate, educate and train clients. We design safe, effective, fun exercise solutions for the individual who is accustomed to personalised attention and a modern approach.
Step 6: To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, which inevitably means one thing: portion control. But you’re not necessarily doomed to a growling stomach until you reach your goal. Here are a couple of easy ways to cut portions, trim calories, and lose fat without counting the minutes until your next meal.
Step 7: When it comes to working out and getting healthy, there are many different important components – such as strength and conditioning. To achieve your fitness goals, you need to have a strong core. Strength and conditioning is important and a critical addition to any fitness routine. Over the years experts have highlighted the importance of strength training in everyone
Step 8: Fat burning foods. Certain foods have a thermogenic effect, you literally burn calories as you chew. Other have nutrients and compounds that crank up your metabolism. Stoke your metabolic fire by eating more of these foods, while cutting out unhealthy snacks and empty calories.
Step 9: Bad training habits. Exercise is the most important component of a healthy weight loss plan, the scale will not move an inch if you take short cuts. You put in the time and effort, show up at the gym, and pride yourself in not taking shortcuts. So why is the scale not budging? Chances are, poor exercise form or bad workout habits are costing you precious calories.
Step 10: Cut out “low fat,” “fat free,” or “reduced fat,” while these labels are fine for dairy products like milk, you shouldn’t automatically assume other types of foods are any better for your diet than the full-fat versions as more sugar, salt, and additives are added to make them taste good. The result is foods that are lower in fat, sure, but contain more sugar and more calories.
Step 11: It takes many hours of regular workouts in the gym to blast the 8 000 calories it takes to burn just 1 kilogram of fat from your body. Championship Boxing is a fun, challenging 1 000 calorie per session that will engage you, push you and teach you totally new and practical skills as you move faster than ever towards your goal weight and aesthetic.
Step 12: Hunger is one of the biggest obstacles to any weight-loss plan, a protein-packed breakfast slows digestion and keeps blood sugar steady, meaning you’ll feel more satisfied and energized for the rest of the day. Eggs are an easy way to get this belly-flattening nutrient in your morning meal. Eggs and veggies in the morning are a delicious way to jumpstart your metabolism and fuel your whole day.
Step 13: Vegetarian day. Having just one meat-free day a week has been shown to reduce risk for chronic preventable conditions including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, not to mention it may also help you lose weight.
Step 14: Calisthenic Bible.The word calisthenics comes from the ancient Greek words kálos (κάλλος), which means “beauty”, and sthénos (σθένος), meaning “strength”. It is the art of using one’s body weight and qualities of inertia as a means to develop one’s physique. A longstanding urban legend has claimed that the exercise was named after one of its earliest promotors, the Greek historian Callisthenes.
Step 15: Post exercise overeating. Many people eat rich foods and larger portions after working out, either because they are truly hungry or just feel like they earned the reward. They end up eating back all, or more than the calories they have just worked so hard to burn! There’s nothing wrong with small snack or a filling dinner after exercising, but before you dig in, you must understand your body’s true nutrition needs so you don’t end up gaining weight despite all your hard work.
Step 16: Fight your cravings. “Cravings”—such a dirty word when you’re trying to lose weight or keep it off. No matter what your “I-want-it-now” food is, magwinya, burgers or cupcakes, you probably wrestle with what you want to do (eat it now!) with what you “should” do (go eat veggies).
Step 17: Sugar addict? Kick the habit Fact: we love our sugar and sugary treats. Arb fact: Former US President Ronald Reagan had to have jellybeans on his desk always. Vending machines and even till points almost everywhere feed our cravings for sweets. With South African sales of sugar filled drinks and other sweets soaring and the highest percentage of fat children and adolescents on the planet, we as a nation are addicted to sugar in all its glorious forms.
Step 18: Hidden sugar in your diet. You’ll quickly realize just how often sugar is added to foods when you look for it on ingredients lists. Even things that you don’t think are sweet, like tomato sauce, crackers, condiments, and salad dressings can be packed with sugar. Ingredients are listed in order of how much exists in the product. If it’s in the top three ingredients, it’s high.
Step 19: Quinoa is a dieter’s dream food. Each 1-cup cooked serving packs 8 grams of boep reducing protein and 5 grams of fibre. The pseudo cereal (it’s a seed) is also extremely versatile: in addition to swapping it in as a replacement for rice, you can use it to top a salad, mix it into a smoothie, or even eat it as a hot cereal for breakfast.
Step 20: Make your home a slimmer place. If your cabinets are so stuffed that you need to put food on your counters, fridge, or exposed shelving, you’re setting yourself up to trigger a craving. A bag of potato chips or chocolate out in the open will put the food on your radar when you walk by. The minute you see that visual cue, you want it.
Step 21: Kick – Lift – Box. Whether you’re a fitness newbie or long-time gym aficionado Kick – Lift – Box twice per week will get you to your fitness goals in no time. You can kick, punch and lift your way to a stress-free zone within minutes of your high-energy Kick – Lift – Box routine with movements that stimulate every muscle group in a simple, effective 50 min workout.
Step 22: Crank up your metabolism. How fast your body burns calories is dependent on many things, among them; genetics, your sex, and your age. Resistance training is the best thing you can do to reverse the inevitable age-related slowdown. If you have signed up for a Tiger Athletic Strength & Conditioning Program, then you’re already heading in the right direction!
Step 23: Your gut can make you slim. Simply put, if you get the microbiome, that collection of bacteria inside you healthy, you will lose weight. It’s less about eating a certain percentage of carbohydrates, protein and fat than about correcting the overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria, which is making you crave the wrong foods, triggering inflammation.
Step 24: 10 000 Steps a day challenge. Getting healthy and in shape doesn’t have to mean countless hours in the gym. As awesome as your 1 hour with your personal trainer is, it’s what you do during the other 23 hours of the day that ultimately defines the state of your health. Especially if your daily routine involves sitting for prolonged periods or you need some extra motivation to get more active. Why not join the Tiger Athletic team for the 10,000 Steps a Day Challenge?
Step 25: Barre. Want to lose the jiggle for good? Ballet-inspired workouts blast fat, focusing on your lower-half resulting in toned abs, bums, and legs. Getting you slim and trim with a 30-minute routine. Here’s the secret: Most exercises involve “micro-movements,” in which you move just an inch or two. “They take out the momentum, forcing you to stay in the contraction, which tires muscles faster, giving you faster results”.
Step 26: Evaluate, customise, communicate. These three simple steps are at the core of every exercise regime for every Tiger Athletic client. Through a series of proprietary tests, we evaluate your current fitness level, review injuries or restrictions and set short, medium- and long-term training goals. Everybody is unique, so are our workouts. With your goals in mind, we capitalize on your strengths and coach you through your weaknesses. Together we listen to your body.
Step 27: Skipping is an efficient, effective way to burn fat, strengthening your legs, glutes, arms, and shoulders in as little as 5 minutes per day. Jumping rope is a quick, convenient way to get your heart rate up into a fat burning zone wherever you are.
A skipping rope fits into any bag, so you know what that means…no excuses! Here is a quick routine. Try shortening the skipping segments by 20 to 30 seconds from 1 minute to start with until you can repeat the circuit twice or do body weight exercises during your 30-second rest periods, even trying variations of skipping like high knees or jumping jack legs.
Warm up skipping at an easy pace using a two-footed jump.
Skip as quickly as you can for the next 30 seconds.
Rest for 30 seconds
Skip as quickly as you can in a jogging style for 1 minute.
Rest for 30 seconds
Skip as quickly as you can in a two-footed hop with a side-to-side jump for 1 minute.
Rest for 30 seconds.
Step 28: You’re probably familiar with salty, sweet, bitter, and sour, but did you know there’s a fifth taste? It’s called umami, and a recent study shows that it has a unique effect on appetite. Umami, which means, a pleasant savoury taste, has been described as a mouth-watering, brothy, meaty sensation with a long-lasting aftertaste that balances the total flavour of a dish. Umami flavour occurs naturally in several healthy foods.
Here are five nutrient-rich umami options that may help you eat less, along with easy ways to enjoy them!
Mushrooms provide just 20 calories per cup, and they’re the only plant source of vitamin D, a key nutrient linked to lower rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and certain cancers. Studies also link low vitamin D intake to more total fat and belly fat, and recent research has found that adequate blood vitamin D levels improve muscle strength and help muscles work more efficiently by boosting energy from within cells. Mushrooms also contain unique antioxidants that fight aging and heart disease, and natural substances in mushrooms have been shown to protect against breast cancer by preventing levels of estrogen in the body from becoming excessive. Shiitake, Japan’s most popular mushroom, is particularly rich in umami flavour. Simply sauté some ‘shrooms in organic, low-sodium vegetable broth with a bit of garlic, and add them to almost anything, including omelettes, salads, soups, or open-faced sandwiches.
Truffles, are one of the world’s greatest delicacies, contain three types of natural umami substances. This fungus, which has been referred to as the diamond in the kitchen, is quite expensive because it’s difficult to cultivate, but a tiny amount goes a long way. Just a thinly sliced or shaved bit of truffle adds robust flavour to any dish, but you can also use truffle oil to make a simple vinaigrette along with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and herbs. Or drizzle truffle oil over cooked veggies, spaghetti squash, or a lean protein like organic eggs or fish.
Green tea – The list of green tea’s benefits is impressive. Regular consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, blood pressure, cancer, and osteoporosis, as well as overall anti-aging benefits. In addition to using green tea as a beverage along with meals, I like to use both brewed tea and loose leaves in cooking. I whip loose tea leaves into smoothies or combine them with pepper and other herbs like thyme as a rub. Brewed tea makes a great base for a marinade or soup or a flavourful liquid for steaming veggies or whole grain rice.
Seaweed, with benefits that range from heart protection to weight loss. One recent research review concluded that some seaweed proteins work just like blood pressure meds, and in animal research, a component in brown seaweed was shown to help rats burn more body fat. In addition, seaweed’s star nutrient iodine helps regulate the thyroid, and its magnesium may help enhance mood and improve sleep. In addition to making a side of seaweed salad a staple in your sushi orders, you can add a dollop to many savoury dishes, including scrambled eggs, stir fry’s, and soups.
Tomatoes, as the levels of the umami provider glutamic acid increase as tomatoes ripen, and research shows that in the inner agoutis of a tomato are tied to a stronger umami aftertaste. To take advantage, add sliced ripe tomatoes to a garden salad, or roast or grill tomatoes to further intensify their flavour. Bonus: cooking tomatoes provide more lycopene (as much as a 164% boost!), an antioxidant linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, and cancer, as well as skin benefits, including preventing wrinkles.
Step 29: Join Aubrey in his 30-Day Solid Abs Challenge to build a stronger core and leaner abs. Gaining weight solely in your stomach may be the result of specific lifestyle choices. The two S’s, stress and sugar play a significant role in the size of your midsection. Fat around the middle is in fact unhealthier than being overweight, can increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and even cancer, especially breast cancer.
Step 30: You’re not alone if you are struggling to maintain your motivation. Most exercise beginners start their plans feeling motivated, then totally lose steam by the one-month mark.
Daily reminders to self on why you’re losing weight, sticking with the habits you’ve adopted through these 30 steps and not missing your personal training sessions will help you continue until you have reached your ideal weight!
Research shows an association between weighing yourself and weight loss. In a study, the more often people stepped on the scale, the more weight they lost. Once a week is enough, don’t just rely on your personal trainer for your weight measurements. Keep the numbers, it is self-motivation and regulation in action!
Tiger Athletic is a modern, private, appointment only gym in Sandton, Johannesburg using a rigorous, results-focused methodology we are passionate about helping you be the healthiest version of yourself, so you can lead a more fulfilling personal and professional life.
Together changes everything. Let’s work out.
Reference:
NSCA
Harvard
Health Magazine
Cornell University
Duke University
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Journal of The International Society of Sports Nutrition
Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism
University of Ottawa
Vanderbilt University
University of Southern California
British Medical Journal
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