3 Easy Ways to Lose Weight You Probably Underestimated

It is easy to get caught up in all the new products, “fat burning” work outs, diets, fads, and pressure social platforms stream 24/7. I completely understand; over the past year it seems like the fitness ads and accounts on my facebook and instagram have multiplied exponentially. I cannot go one day without reading or seeing something about the right way to lose weight, or how to count your calories, or how I am doing something wrong. The industry is fast evolving daily, but the current COVID circumstances have forced the industry to oversaturate in an unregulated manner. Resulting in a flooding of contradicting information between a new trainer vs a veteran fitness professional or a specialized trainer vs a more general public trainer vs your acclaimed celebrity trainer.

All this ultimately can be distracting rather than informative.

Think about it, how many times have you found yourself looking up celebrity workouts or the newest diet and detox to lose fat in the past year. Then, the next day or next week you look up another different workout because you read in some random article that “confusing your body is the way to go”. So you find something on Men’s Health or Women’s Health, or you look up a fitness trainer on your Instagram account for a workout that looks like it could be fun or focuses strictly on the part of your body you want to target.

Look we have all done that at some point or another, and the issue here is that the abundant amount of information laid out in front of us ultimately confuses us when it comes to how and what is the proper way to exercise and feel good about our lifestyle. When instead it ought to be educating and clarifying the method or methods that are applicable to a particular set of needs, goals, bodies, and lifestyles.

So here is what I propose… review your fundamentals. Start small in order to build big. First focus on establishing some foundational habits and successes so you can ensure that despite what other things you decide to do or try, at the very base of it all you have solid foundations that work and build consistency in your life.

That is why I want to shine a light on 3 simple ways we often miss and/or forget that helps us reach a durable healthy fitness routine:

Go out for a walk

Sounds pretty simple right? I know walking on a treadmill sounds pretty boring and often I find that when I ask my clients to walk on the treadmill for 45-60minutes at a slow pace it is as if I had asked them to pull their teeth out slowly. Nowadays, if there is something positive we as a community got out of being stuck indoors is an appreciation for going out for a walk. Being able to breathe fresh air, enjoy nature and the open air, and move around unbound. I believe [We] as a generation had lost the basic human fulfillment rooted within the connection with our environment, the people around us, and allowing time for ourselves. Our bodies craved the reintroduction of a healthy mind and body connection in our daily lives.

That is the beauty of going out for a walk, you not only get to recharge your body with the energy that surrounds you (the sun, the plants, and the natural air) but also recharge your mind by allowing it to pause, reconnect with the body, and lower stress hormones.

Enjoy sharing your food time

If you grew up in a family like mine, meals were always shared together as a family. Lunch and dinner were a whole ceremony in itself — table manners, seating arrangements, mat and silverware placements, sharing stories, knowing when to talk and when to chew as if chewing would help assimilate better the thoughts brought forth during conversation — and you were bound to sit through it all. All 2 hours if it came to that. As a child I ever understood the value of it, all I wanted was to finish my food and go out to play but as an adult I am able to uncover that there is something so deeply rooted in those interactions; something so culturally valuable, so human but that unfortunately it is very easy to miss in today’s “grind” mentality.

When we think about some of the healthiest places found in the world, we often hear the term Blue Zones thrown out. These communities and cities, where it is not unusual to find high rate of centenarians, have been characterized by a particular style of eating, and socializing. If you look at what makes Blue Zones so successful at fostering healthy long lives you may stop at the diet and claim Mediterranean cuisine is the healthiest, but much like the kid version of myself sitting on that table wanting to move on with my day and call it a day, you would miss one of the most important keys to their success: socializing during their meal time.

Their lifestyle plays a huge role in the happiness and satisfaction of each meal. The kind of satisfaction I am referring to does not come from a glutton perspective but from an appreciative and nourishing one for the body and soul. These communities view the time spent eating as a direct viaduct for their social inclusion, daily human connection, and appreciation of the self, which then in turn reflects in the processing and assimilation of the nutrients ingested in their diet.

As you see it is not just what you eat but who you eat with.

Play

It does not get easier than this. Go out and Play! Find an activity you enjoy doing and do it a lot and often — whether you play sports or used to play sports, whether you are getting back are doing more improv movement, or you simply want to pull out the skates from the closet. Although as performers all the rehearsing and auditioning and performing contributes to 90% of your Play, you cannot afford to wait until it all comes back to get back in the shape, both physically and mentally, you are expected to be upon your return to the stage.

Be proactive and enjoy the early signs of Spring we are experiencing (thank GOD!).After all too much work and no play make Jack a dull (wretched) boy.