Five Tips to Make Weight Loss Easier

Sometimes it may feel like we need to take extreme measures to reach our weight loss goals, and this can lead to finding ourselves falling into an all or nothing mindset. The reality is that CONSISTENTLY applying a few simple tips can truly set you up for success as far as reaching your fitness goals. In this blog I outline 5 simple tips that you can work on implementing to help you in your weight loss journey. ​

When I talk with people about reaching their goals, I find it is common for people to try to implement new habits overnight.  At Wilcox Wellness & Fitness we help our clients implement healthy habits that they can sustain for a lifetime, and the key to sustainability is implementing new ways of approaching nutrition over a span of time. It’s not necessary to make big changes overnight, and frankly doing so will likely result in a short lived effort. Rather, working on making a 1% improvement each day will help you get to where you want to go in a more attainable way, and in a way that you can imagine sustaining for the rest of your life. 

1. Up your protein intake.
Protein is the most filling for the amount of calories you are consuming. With 4 calories per gram protein creates fullness for long periods of time and helps our body function and build muscle properly. Protein is super important when it comes to recovering from your training sessions to ensure those muscles are getting the proper nutrients they need to rebuild and repair.

Protein also has the highest thermic effect which means you burn more calories digesting protein than any other food source. ​

2. Consistently eating healthy fats. 
With healthy fats being the most calorie dense at 9 calories per gram, fats can make you feel full and satiated for long periods of time. This satiation can in turn help regulate your blood sugar levels and keep cravings at bay. Biggest thing to remember is to not overeat these types of foods as we only need small amounts with each meal. Examples of healthy fats could be nuts, avocado, salmon, eggs etc...

3. Increase your intake of fiber. 
Fiber is so important to the digestive system and helps promote a healthy metabolism along with making you feel full. We find fiber in our whole grains such as oats, quinoa, brown rice, whole grain bread, and more. Fibers, along with fruits and vegetables, help us retain water and stay hydrated. The big thing to remember here is that women only need about 25g/day and men about 35g/day. Too much fiber can cause digestive upset. ​

4. Eat a high abundance foods that are low in calories. 
This will mostly consist of your fruits and vegetables. Check out my blog: 

www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/brunswickblog/snacking-wisely

Eating a variety of foods will help you feel satisfied and curb cravings. You can eat high volumes of low calorie foods that make you feel full. This way, you won't break your calorie bank and you'll be closer to achieving that calorie deficit.

5. Embrace a little bit of hunger. 
When taking on a caloric deficit, you are going to be hungry. There is no other way to get around it. What we want to avoid is feeling like we are starving and the tips above can help curb those hunger feelings. When we begin a caloric deficit, our body doesn’t like it because it wants to meet its everyday expenditure. You have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable when it comes to weight loss.  ​

Your body will eventually catch up and it will be much easier to stick to the diet, but until you get there hunger will be a part of your life. Again, this should not be a feeling of craving, extreme hunger or starving, or any physical symptoms of lightheadedness, dizziness, fatigue, or loss of motivation and/or energy. If you are experiencing any of those symptoms your deficit is too great and is more harmful than beneficial. This should be a slow process of decreasing those calories over time at a healthy sustainable pace.

 I hope you find these tips useful! If you’re looking for even more support we are here to help!

To learn more about our programs and to answer all of your questions about what it looks like to train with us, schedule a quick, no obligation phone call at: www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/getstartedbrunswick.

​We would LOVE to support you in your health & fitness journey and assist you in reaching all of your goals.