So… you’re starting your fat loss journey and looking for some help on where to start! I gotcha friend!

Here are my top tips to help you get rid of that excess fat and get the ball rolling! 

1. Track your current eating habits – If you aren’t already tracking your food this is the first place I would start. We don’t know how to create a deficit to lose fat if we don’t have a starting point. I would try to track at least 3-5 days’ worth of regular eating before you go changing it up. You can use a digital food tracker like My Fitness Pal app or the Lose it! app or you can jot down in a notebook the food, the serving size, calories and macro information. Sorry to tell you but this includes tracking all the tiny little snacks you grab through the day also! That means the 6 almonds you stole from the bag thinking they won’t add up, the handful of chips or the extra bite from the stove top that didn’t make it to your actual plate.  Once you know where you are accurately starting from you can see where you need to improve! 
2. Focus on PROTEIN – At this point you should know where abouts your calories are since you tracked your food for a few days. Your protein goal should be roughly 1g of protein per 1lb of your ideal body weight. For example, let’s say you are 160lbs right now and your goal is to be 150lbs. We should set our protein to be about 150g each day. Protein first and foremost has a huge impact on your overall satiety level. Eat your protein and you will feel fuller for longer preventing you from mindless grazing and always thinking about food. Protein is also vital to building muscle and retaining the muscle you already have when in a fat-loss diet (Yes, you will lose muscle as you lose fat, so we want to keep as much of that as possible!)
3. Eat WHOLE FOODS – I know you know this one, but this one is important and lots of people skip over this and just stick to packaged processed food because it’s easier. This makes it harder than you think it would. Processed foods contain lots of fillers, added sugar, loads of unnecessary calories and they are frequently lower in protein than if you just make it yourself. Look for single ingredient foods like chicken, beef, fish, eggs, rice, whole grain breads and pasta, organic fruits and vegetables, nuts and other fats. You get the picture. 😊
4. Drink your water – Hydration affects everything in your body. Literally everything in your body needs water. Most people are walking around dehydrated even though they don’t think they are. We live in a world where coffee, pre-workout and other caffeinated drinks are amping us up but also dehydrating the living daylight out of us. You make fun of your friend walking thru life with the “emotional support water bottle” but I tell you what, I bet they aren’t dehydrated. If it’s with you everywhere you go, I guarantee you, you will drink it. Want to take it up another notch, add some electrolytes to it or just a pinch of salt to kick up your hydration 
5. Get your steps in! – Walking is soooo underrated! I’m not asking you to speed walk, or jog, just regular old walking at your usual walking pace. Walk 10-15 minutes after a meal, walk your dog, walk at sunrise and sunset to get natural red light, just walk. Walking lowers your cortisol levels, burns a few calories and it’s great for your heart health and fat loss, so get your steps in. It doesn’t even have to be 10k steps, just start walking as often as you can.
6. Get enough sleep. – So many people wake up early, work long days and then come home and stay up till 11pm just to do it all over again 5-7 days a week. 4-5 hrs of sleep is killing your fat loss. Aim to hit 6-8hrs of sleep every single night. Sleep is absolutely needed for recovery throughout your body, not to mention that it’s when your body is most likely to repair and rebuild cells, but on top of that, lack of sleep can really mess up the hormones that regulate your hunger and your metabolism. If you are constantly tired, your body will kick in some hunger pangs to send you seeking out food. Why you ask? Because food is what gives you energy, particularly sugary sweet things give you energy the fastest. Now you know why you are always looking for sugar and carbs! Get restful sleep, start breaking the cycle and you will feel the difference! 

Do some or all of these and you are well on your way to success. Best of luck with your fat loss journey and if you need further assistance with your nutrition or what to do in the gym, hit me up and lets talk!

Stay Strong!

~ Coach Ame