We’ve officially hit 90 degrees! I would say that the countdown to get your body “SUMMER READY” is rapidly closing in!

As you know by now, I am 100% against quick fixes and last-minute weight loss cram-sessions. Since I am turning 33 in a few days, I thought I would celebrate by giving you a compilation of my TOP 33 ways to lose 10 Lbs, how to better conceptualize a healthy lifestyle, & how to stop believing it’s all about will power.

If there is anything I have learned in my 33 years on earth and 15 years in the fitness industry, it’s that it takes eliminating outdated  & antiquated beliefs about weight loss and incorporating a combination of positive habits and influences to lose weight and keep it off.

There is not 1 way, 1 trick, or 1 secret to a hot bod.

So, please read #1-33 as :that will, if slowly worked into your life, help you drop the 1st or the last 10 lbs!

1. Know your weaknesses….and OWN ’em! Logic & will power will often fail you. Never end up making it to the gym after work? OK! Stop beating yourself up and come up with a conscious solution already! Schedule morning workouts with a trainer, a boot camp, or with a friend!

2. The more you have yo-yo dieted & have gone on short-term exercise binges, the less likely you will see the # on the scale change when you begin to exercise. But don’t be discouraged! It’s the all important body composition (not “weight”) that will actually change (ie decrease in fat, and increase in fat burning lean muscle.) It’s common to drop an entire pants size and not see the # on the scale budge!   (see #13.) 

3. START with  realistic GOALS that have a deadline, are measurable, and specific! Short term goals should be tangible behavioral modifications like “I will pack lunch for work 4 out of 5 days this week”.

4. Modify ALL restaurant orders, even if it costs extra. (Consider it your flat belly tax.) Grilled, not fried. Substitute steamed veggies for french fries. Dressing and marinades on the side.   Whole wheat version of everything bread, wrap, rice etc.) IT ALL ADDS UP!

5. FASTEST WAY to get your eating in check: SLOW DOWN. Eating slowly makes you more conscious of what you are putting in and can cut consumption by more than 1/2. FACT: it takes 21 minutes for your body to recognize that you are full.

6. Cook for “+1” tonight & save time tomorrow.  At dinner, make your usual veggie, lean protein, and whole grain carb meal…but make an extra serving. Pack the other in a tupperware and you’ve got your Strong Healthy lunch ready for tomorrow!

7. Stop shooting for PERFECTION. It will never happen. You will just drive yourself crazy and fail big time. Forget bullet points on the science of carbs and heart rate and exercise.  Just do 1 thing tomorrow a little BETTER than you did today and mind what’s going in your mouth. Without trying too hard, you will inevitably improve on every level!

8. Doing ab exercises alone will NEVER get rid of extra belly fat.  You must CONSISTENTLY combine cardio, metabolic strength training and a clean diet in order to lose  the fat around the middle (and all fat for that matter.) Just focus on improving on 3 different exercises and as performance increases, FAT will decrease!

9. FAIL FORWARD. Don’t ever be afraid to make mistakes; consider it a way to gain valuable experience.  Each attempt gets you one step closer to finding what will work for you and makes you 1 step ahead of that person who was afraid to act at all.

10. Avoid the “rookie trap” of giving up too soon before results set in. Recognize that you are on a lifestyle change, not instant gratification. Expect approx 1-2 Lbs/Week for long-term adherence.  Focus daily energy on completing workouts/packing meals/sleeping 7 hours  VS “how fast can I drop 20 lbs that took me a year to gain.” The later is a recipe for failure.

11. Focus on being “FIT” rather than “THIN.” You will find it empowering & motivating to measure success in cranking out more push-ups VS obsessing over how many pounds you’ve lost.

12. SCHEDULE a CHEAT MEAL 1x/week. (Always mind portions though.) This keeps you motivated to stick a clean eating plan, it CURBS CRAVINGS and is the best long-term strategy for a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE rather than short-term crash-diet.

13. STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF. The scale is THE WORST barometer of success or failure of your diet & exercise program.  The scale CANNOT tell when you drop 5 lbs of unwanted fat and gain 5 lbs precious lean muscle. Use how your clothes fit or circumference measurements instead!  Pounds can lie, measurements don’t.

14. PLAN your meals for the day…IN ADVANCE. Magic word? PLAN. No last-minute guessing, NO emotional stress driven decisions. NO starvation induced binges. Make choices before the damage is done. Fastest way to correct behavior is to be conscious of actions in REAL TIME, not after.

15. Do cardio & strength at the same time. Go out for a run, 3 different times stop and do 30 seconds of each: Squat, Pushups, Step Ups, Jump Jacks, Dips. DOUBLE the workout, IN HALF THE TIME!

16. Measurement = Motivation. Replace self-discipline with DATA.  Seeing progress in change in #’s makes repetitive tasks of workouts, cooking meals etc fascinating! A few suggested measurements to take: Circumference, heart rate w/ daily tasks & exercise or even time to complete 20 pushups, for example.  This creates a positive feedback loop that makes the ACT OF MEASURING more important than what you are actually measuring. 

17.  Create a VISION of where you want to be + Take MASSIVE Action = Live your dream.

18. Calorie burnage is cumulative. Being that it’s the “end of day totals”  that count, always seek out ways to do a lil bit extra!  E.g. Get off the train a stop earlier (or park farther away.) 2) Use the b-room on another floor and take the steps 3) WALK 20 mins to a farther lunch spot OR walk 20 minutes after you finish.

19. Greatness is, by and large, a conscious decision.

20. Get 7 hours of sleep. Getting too few hours increases CARB CRAVINGS, increases risk for heart disease, screws with weight loss hormones, and makes you 4 TIMES more likely to be overweight! For max benefit, experts suggest hitting the hay earlier, rather than sleeping later.

21. Fall in love w/ your nakedness. Look in the mirror &  focus FIRST  on your favorite body part. Don’t pinch your least fav.  Say out loud, “I love my _____.”

22. THINK about (and become) the person you want to be. Whatever life-situation you find yourself in is merely a reflection of what your subconscious mind repeatedly thinks about. Quit calling yourself the “fat girl,” or “unmotivated” and start thinking about and believing that you can be whatever you want to become.

23. Set it and forget it! Forget the “big picture” day-to-day. Yes it is imperative to create a long-term goal, but then please tuck it away. Your daily energy is better spent on packing healthy lunches, controlling stress reactions, completing daily workouts, and sleeping 7 hours.

24. Paint-by-numbers SUCCESS: 1 Day at a time. 2 People to support you. 3 Goals/month. 4 Pieces of fruit/day. 5 Vegetables/day. 6 Meals/day. 7 Days of activity/week. 8 Glasses of water/day. 9 Different exercises/workout. 10 minutes of meditation/day.

25. NEVER COMPARE yourself to anyone else’s body. Heidi Klum dislikes her cellulite, Tyra Banks has a self-proclaimed “fat ass”, and Giselle thinks she has a big nose.

26. Don’t sweat the small stuff. When you are committed to a lifetime of healthy living, inevitably you will skip a few days or even a weeks worth of workouts. Who cares, so what?!

27. If it seems too good to be true… it probably is.   NO ONE with a Strong Healthy body has ever achieved it in a short amount of time or without healthy diet and exercise habits.

28. Fat can be contagious.  You are more than 2x as likely to become overweight if your friends or partner is overweight.  Search for comrades that support and enable healthy habits. Find a workout group or team of like-minded goal oriented women.

29. Eat Breakfast. The single most important thing you can do ALL DAY to kick-start your metabolism, foster better food choices, and prevent weight gain. Common thread between those with difficulty losing fat & obesity related illness: they don’t eat breakfast.

30. It’s easy  to come up with 1000 ways to fail at being healthy. Alas, all you need to find is ONE way to be SUCCESSFUL.

31. Don’t try to lose 20 lbs, it’s too huge of mental hurdle.  Start by replacing ONE, yes 1, bad habit with a positive correction each week. E.g.  Week 1:  add 2 veggies more per meal. Week 2: sleep 1 extra hour/ night. Week 3: Don’t eat out until the weekend. etc.

32. Excuses OR Results. You can’t have BOTH.

33. Start the week by scheduling in your workouts as the most important meeting of the day. “I don’t have time to workout” REALLY MEANS “I would like to procrastinate a little longer.” Get real. Get focused.

BONUS! Here’s 2 more b/c I love ya:

34. Always seek out easy cooking alternatives that can cut calories/fat/sugar by more than half. Ground Turkey vs Ground Beef, 0% Greek Yogurt  vs Sour Cream, Apple Sauce vs Processed Sugar, Baked Sweet Potatoes vs French Fries. Small decreases ADD UP: save 500 cals/day x 1 week = 1 Lb of fat lost!

35. SPICE IT UP to make healthy unprocessed food taste delish! Keep garlic, salt-free spices, onions, and tons of lemon handy. Once you detox from mainstream packaged/processed crap you will NEED those spices!

GO OUT THERE TODAY AND BE AWESOME!

Your Fun, Fanatical, Fitness Expert,

Laura Miranda MSPT, CSCS
www.StrongHealthyWoman.com
646.454.0777