how to lose weight naturally

Monica

Lose Fat Keep Muscle Mass Plus a Few Food Hacks

Keeping a healthy weight is more challenging than ever for most of us these days. Technology has made it easier in today’s times to be more sedentary. The temptation of fast food and it’s mass availability has made it’s way into the average household to the point where for some, cooking is out of the norm. We are challenged more than ever to incorporate exercise and healthy eating habits.

But what happens if we gain unwanted pounds and we desire to get to a healthy weight? Where do we start and how do we know what that weight is? Below is a quick way to calculate how many calories you need to intake in order to lose weight, taking into account your goal weight and level of activity.

Step 1:

(Ideal body weight meaning 5 pounds less of what you want)

Photo Credit: Rachel Ray Show, Dr. Ian Smith, “A Doctor’s Guide To How Many Calories You Should Be Eating To Lose Weight”

There is also a BMR (Basal Metabolism Rate) Formula which is more complicated but you can also use to calculate your needed calorie intake for weight loss.

  • Men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years)
  • Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)
  • (1 pound= 2.2 kilogram for conversion; 1 inch = 2.54 cm)

(above credit for calculation from: https://www.garnethealth.org/news/basal-metabolic-rate-calculator )

➡️Or push the easy button⏺️ so to speak and fill these parameters out with your personal data and let it calculate your BMR from the site below:

https://www.verywellfit.com/how-many-calories-do-i-burn-every-day-3495464 💪🏿🍉🥗🍎🐟

By the calculations for my gender, height, weight, activity level and age, I need to intake no more than about 1,650 calories in order to maintain my current weight. About 2 pounds per week is a healthy goal for most of us for weight loss.

Step 2:

The majority generally need to take in about 500 calories less in order to lose weight and about 300 or more to gain weight. This means for me that if I desire to lose weight, I need to take the above 1650-500= 1,150 calories per day. This number is just your starting point. It is up to you to fine tune it depending on how you feel and the appearance that is satisfying to you.

Step 3- Remember also these important keys:

✔️exercise at least 3-4 times a week such as brisk 40 minute walks, ✔️some form of resistance training for maintaining muscle, ✔️at least 7 hours per night of sleep ✔️and drinking your water goes a long way to help you on this journey. ✔️Intermittent fasting is very key. If you can fast for 14 hours and eat 10 hours you will receive great benefits. Make it a part of your day to day lifestyle. It’s not as hard as you think. See my previous post! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Fast Your Way to Health

Please comment back if you have any weight loss tips or your success story. Even if it’s small progress. It’s great to share and encourage others.

I want to also share some food hacks that are essential in my household and have helped me on my journey to maintaining a healthy weight.

A few are a bit more expensive but well worth the money when you notice the results and health benefits.

  • Coconut Sugar: a great sweetener to replace white or brown sugar because it’s less likely to result in blood sugar spikes. Each serving contains a small amount of inulin, a type of soluble fiber which helps to stabilize post-meal spikes. Also rich in iron, zinc, potassium and calcium. This helps me to not crave sugar and I feel satisfied. I use it for baking and sweetening most things in small amounts.
  • Veggie & Fruit Smoothies: Juice fresh fruits and veggies such as frozen kiwi or an alternative with beetroot, carrots, celery, and apple. Keep the pulp in your smoothie!!! The latter 4 ingredients combined help with weight loss, provide vital nutrients for overall health and muscle maintenance among many other things. Also helps with satiety so lessens cravings.
  • Decreasing sodium for healthy heart, arteries and blood pressure. Increasing potassium to prevent excess fluid retention, sheds pounds, builds muscle, balances electrolytes, promotes kidney health and aids metabolic activities.

Well I really pray this will help someone on their weight loss journey and lead to better health. 🙏🏿 As always, why not SHARE IT💖 , LIKE👍🏿 , REPOST♻️ , COMMENT🗬 and YES, SUBSCRIBE✅ by clicking Follow……Thanks so much for visiting, and please be a blessing and be blessed everyone!

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Monica

Journey to Wellness: Turning Back the Clock Part 3- Cut Out Sugar!

We are naturally always seeking how to arrest ageing and disease. How do we look and feel the way we felt in our youth? The conclusion most of us come to is that it’s no mystery; there is no easy fix. It takes stating your goals, deciding that you are going to do it and sticking to the plan (possessing the motivation to keep going). If you are new to my blog or haven’t read parts 1 & part 2 of this series, please check them out. I hope you find all three of these posts helpful.

Refined & Unnatural Sugar- We must cut it out!!!

Sugar is slowly but surely killing us. It’s been said that it’s a drug. Very addictive and deadly. If we seek ways to cut down on this drug, we will naturally be and feel more youthful and lose weight so we can look more youthful as well.

So here are my top 9 tips on weight loss, starting with cutting out sugar:

  • Number One: Lower the glycemic index. This is how fast sugar is absorbed into the cells. Some foods absorb very quickly (high glycemic index) and some slower (low glycemic index). If you’ve ever been low on energy and have eaten a piece of candy or donut mostly made of sugar, you may have noticed that the energy didn’t last long. These foods have a high glycemic index, thus are not healthy and in fact drive us to crave more sugar and be hungry. Simply not enough nutritional value to sustain us.
  • Number Two: Stay hydrated! Keep the kidneys flushing that sugar and toxins out. If you add lemons to your water is is a sure way to enhance this process and your kidneys as well as your body will thank you. It promotes a healthy pH in the body and contributes to the production of collagen in the body from the vitamin C in lemons, which in turn helps to decrease ageing.
  • Number Three: Portion Control– Oh boy……this is where I’m going to lose a lot of people. How many times have I heard in my youth, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach”? This well known phrase was often said to me or my younger family members from an elder. Some of us are guilty of trying to stretch our stomachs to the size that is needed in order to consume the amount of food that we desire. If you have a waistline bigger than 35 (women) and bigger than 40 (men), it is within your best interest to begin making changes right away. Try cutting your portion sizes of what you eat to half. Make the calories count with foods packed with nutrition. You don’t have to compromise on taste either.
Photo by Marlon Schmeiski on Pexels.com
  • Number Four: Movement is extremely important. Do not under estimate the impact of walking, house chores that cause some exertion, moderate exercise at least 3 times a week and elevating our heart rate in exercise. Find the right fit for you whether it be boxing, bicycling, walking, swimming, aerobics, dancing, yoga and so on.
  • Number Five: Control your stress levels. There are so many options on how to achieve this. Exercise in whatever form you desire is one of them, Meditation, Hobbies, Spirituality. We must let go and let the Almighty handle whatever we can not change and learn to deal with matters that we can control. Cortisol must be kept at a healthy level or it will cause high blood pressure and weight gain just to name a few.
  • Number Six: Crucial! Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per NIGHT. Notice I stated at night because we are naturally not to be up and moving at night but asleep. Our circadian rhythm dictates that we sleep at night and this is when the body resets and repairs DNA. If we get the proper amount of sleep at the proper amount of time, it promotes growth hormone. Growth hormone helps in maintaining our youth.
  • Number Seven: Use Supplements and Minerals that help with blood sugar control. There are so many options, just to name a few: chromium, magnesium, cinnamon, ACV (apple cider vinegar) and Black Seed Oil (Nigella Oil). These naturally help with metabolism and you will see tremendous results. Find one that fits your life style.
  • Number Eight: Laughter is a must. Be happy despite what is going on in your life. Did you know that laughter releases the happy neurotransmitter, dopamine, in the brain. According to some researchers, when we laugh and dopamine is released it serves as a reward for the brain and brings about a sense of euphoria. This causes us to become more motivated. Can you see how this would also help inadvertently to decrease stress and help to keep us on track with our goals?
  • Number Nine: Push the reset button. The only ones holding us back are ourselves. We may be suffering from depression, guilt, shame, fear, disappointment, addiction. Break those chains and push that reset button. If you’ve gone to the Heavenly Father and asked for forgiveness for anything you’ve fallen short in and to those who you may have offended, don’t hold on to those feelings……LET THEM GO!

As always, why not SHARE IT🤛🏿 , LIKE,  REPOST♻️😍 , COMMENT and YES, SUBSCRIBE 👍🏿by clicking Follow……Thanks so much for visiting and let’s get healthy!!!