The Best Workout for Weight Loss
Whether it’s the “New Year New Me” or focusing on that summer body, weight loss is always going to be a big focus whether we like it or not in out society. And I’ve had my struggles with it for years too.
Between wanting to lose weight by training for 2 hours a day on top of fasted cardio, all while working part time, going to school, and trying to start coaching people on the side, would you be surprised I burnt myself out incredibly fast, gained back all the weight I forced off and had a bad relationship with food and fitness for years to come?
I’ve spent the last 6 years trying to find my joy of fitness and health again, and at 31 years old, I feel I have a better handle on it than I did when I was training hard-core.
And between losing weight, being super active, to completely changing my personal life, gaining more weight than I ever have and slowly letting it drop, here’s my secret that I keep having to remind myself when it comes to weight loss.
Balance.
BOOOO! THAT’S NOT REAL!
I know, but let me explain and then break down into 3 specifics to keep track of in order to lose weight while keeping your life balanced.
Balance
Now, as much as balance isn’t always going to be possible and sacrifices need to be made at times, I still really try to focus on it. But maybe a better word would be flexibility.
Because if you’re able to be flexible in your life, you are more willing and able to adjust and deal with things happening.
Of course it’s great to have a routine, stick with it and be consistent. But I’m more talking and preparing for life.
As much as we don’t like it, things will happen in life that make it impossible to keep your nice healthy routine.
There could be a death or illness in the family that you want to be around for and help with. You could lose your job or change careers that drastically change your schedule and the one you do consistently will no longer work. You could be growing your family and adding kids to the mix, and even without having kids of my own I KNOW they change things, and even if you do get or eventually create a routine, it won’t always be perfect.
Even the more fun things, you could be moving homes, to a new area and need to adjust things based on your current environment. You could start a relationship, move in together and have different ideas for what works best and how to make it work together.
There are so many different things that can change a well crafted routine and affect your weight loss journey or sustainability, either entirely or even a little.
So the more flexible you are, the more balance you create with basic non-negotiables, and open you are to adjust, the better you can keep this change LONG TERM.
We aren’t quick fixes here. We’re long term, healthy and active old people here!
I spent too long shooting for having my life together by 25, and when that didn’t happen, I was at the same weight and hated where I lived, I spiraled into a dark place for years, that I just NOW feel like I’m crawling out of.
So we’re creating the change now. And here are the 3 things you need to keep in mind when creating a healthy routine for weight loss WHILE keeping things balanced and flexible for your future:
Diet
Workouts
Sleep
Diet
As much as I don’t like the word, it really just means what you’re eating. So duh, what you eat is important.
But when it comes to weight loss, there’s 2 ways of going about it. And personally, I see the benefit in a bit of both calorie counting and intuitive eating. Let me explain.
If you’ve had a bad experience with calories, like me, then you may be hesitant with this. Even when I was coaching people on this, we never went over calories because the goal has and always will be balance and flexibility.
So when it comes to calorie tracking, it’s really just checking calories and keeping it in mind. I’ve used different macro calculators online before, and they’re a decent starting points. Just google calorie counters, pick one and put in your info. What you’re looking at though, is just the calories and breakdown of it. So protein, carbs and fat.
The reason I like to check, is because then it’s easy to keep a mental note of how much protein I want to have (I always recommend looking at the higher protein numbers if you’re exercising for muscle support) and it makes me more conscious to try and shoot for the better options.
Otherwise, when it comes to intuitive eating, it’s just that: being mindful of what you’re eating and how you feel with it.
I refer to this experiment as your baseline healthy foods. You can check out my Food Experiment on YouTube where I dive into it more and share my own process and experience going through it.
But really, your baseline foods just mean your go-to list of foods that work well with your body, you like them and are easy enough to fall back on during hard times.
So for example, when I was going through a career change, didn’t have a lot of time for the gym, felt awful about myself and had zero energy for anything, I fell back on the things that worked best for me and worked through that time.
So things like protein pasta, smoothies, crockpot tacos or even good microwave meals.
It’s not always going to be the best thing for you, but the more consistent you are with your baseline, the better odds you have of either keeping your weight loss going, or even just maintaining where you’re at during a rough time.
Better than gaining 20+ pounds in a couple months like I did out of sadness and neglect.
Workouts
Consistency is key here, but above all else, I recommend having a list of go-to workouts or fitness types to fall back on.
What does that mean?
That can be programs you really enjoyed, training styles like bodybuilding or powerlifting, outdoor hikes or walks around the block, group fitness like CrossFit, bootcamp style, Pilates or yoga. If you’re looking for some ideas, check out my different ebooks full of plans and easy workouts to add in.
And the reason I recommend this rather than just trying to stick to or adjust your routine, is sometimes you can’t afford your gym anymore, sometimes the classes no longer work with your schedule, or you’re just bored and wanting to change it up rather than force it through another day.
I went through a time when I could barely afford groceries, so a gym membership was a luxury I couldn’t afford. Or, I even had a phase where I was working a lot, getting little sleep and calories, so excess movement would’ve done more harm than good. I will say though, this was when I went on a lot of walks, so there, again, is a balance to it all.
So now, I have a list of backup plans for when I’m low on energy, I try to at least walk down the blog and back. When I have more energy, maybe I’ll go for a bike ride after my workout to get some fresh air and shake things up a bit.
But the more flexible you are and the more options you have, the more likely you are to stay consistent and keep movement and your workouts in your life.
Sleep
And finally, sleep. Boy is this a struggle for me currently!
Like I said, the reason we’re focusing on balance and flexibility over a strict plan, is sometimes life changes and updates things, and what we once did no longer works.
For example, I got a part time job to support me as I grow my blog and Pinterest Management business. And that part time job includes 3a start times and either 11a or 2p end times depending on the season and how much extra work needs to be done.
And even as a morning person, it’s still something I struggle with. So in case you needed confirmation or a reminder, 2-4 hours of sleep a night is not great.
Now, some people need 8+ hours of sleep, and some do fine with 6-7. So finding out what works for you will be important as well.
But your body can only function on lack of sleep for so long before it completely drains you. Check out my video from my Food Experiment where I show and explain what happens when you ignore taking care of yourself fully and get sick.
No matter what changes or events happen in my life, if my sleep suffers, I will eventually suffer. And again, I know and completely understand that it’s not something you can control if, say, you have a new child. But this, again, is where the balance comes in.
On days you can get more sleep, don’t beat yourself up for losing time on other “to dos”. I still have to remind myself of this. Because with my precious off hours, I have things to do!
But that won’t help me if I’m paying for it later.
When your sleep can even be somewhat consistent, your cortisol/stress hormone goes down, your other hormones are able to better balance out, and the weight loss can be easier.
All of this to say, the best workout for weight loss includes more than just the workout.
The life you want doesn’t come after forced weight loss.
It comes once you decide to put yourself first, make things work starting now, and keep doing it long after you would’ve stopped before.
Your body needs to trust that you’re going to feel it, move it and let it rest. Otherwise it’s going to be in fight or flight trying to protect itself from the lack of food and excess stress you’re putting on it.
But the more you enjoy your food, look forward to your workouts, and overall get enough sleep to feel rested, the more your body will let go of the excess weight it no longer needs for protection.
If you’re ready for a complete reset in how you view health overall, check out my Sustainable Health Reset and get access for life to any and all updates I have.
You can create and have the weight loss you’re looking for. Sometimes it just takes a little adjustment to make it stick this time.
