When it comes to our physical fitness most of us have had our own experiences with the desire to lose weight whether it be 5 or 50+ lbs. For anyone who has tried to lose weight at some point knows that it can become very difficult. Even with eating healthy and maintaining a regular fitness routine.
In starting my weight loss journey, when researching weight loss and the different excises routine. One of the biggest things that was made clear to me early on was that we as humans are made in such a way that we could survive without consuming 3 meals a day. Do thing such as skipping breakfast, this could be a bit of a change but studies have shown that when exercise is performed on an empty stomach can increase weight loss by burning fat storage.
Continuing my research, I also found that there are diets that require 6 small meals a day. “This is to keep your metabolism functioning at the highest capacity possible.” That sounds reasonable, right? Due to being taught all our lives that we need to eat to keep our metabolism going and if we didn’t eat our body would go into starvation mode. Therefore causing our body to store carbs and calories converting them into fat rather than using them for energy.
Wrong! The University of Ottawa did a research study where they concluded that eating 6 small meals a day would not improve the weight loss that was thought to come from this type of diet. As it also concluded that overeating could come from the 6 small meals a day. If you like to learn more about this way of dieting 6 Meals a Day for Weight Loss is a must-read.
The question you may have is what can I do then?
This is a brilliant question, and it seems to be on almost everyone’s mind, including mine when starting my weight loss journey. We are all different so what works great for you may not work so well for someone else. Over the years I have learned that it does not matter to most as it does to others when it comes to their schedule workout routine. Early risers choose to workout in the early morning because when it comes to the afternoon they seem to have used their energy on things that made a priority over hitting the gym. Others amazed me, they have more energy in the afternoon than they did in the early morning to follow through with their commitment to the gym. Then others may work out early morning and continue their day with just as much energy as they had in their early morning workout. This is where most of us would love to be!!
So, wanting to boost my energy levels to make my whole day benefit me at work and at home ones I made it home, with household chores that I may have. In trying to gain a much-needed energy boost to accomplish my goals. I did some research to see if the time of day has anything to do with the amount of energy that is gained.
Not only finding the best time to work out and sitting up a schedule with the times and dates that work for you.
Try IF (Intermittent Fasting) as mentioned in the first part of this article. IF showed up as skipping breakfast and working out, but IF can be more than just that. As it can start at any time of the day. Probably by now, you have heard or read about IF. For those that have not it is where someone will sustain from eating anywhere from 2 days a week for a full 24 hours or 16/8, 18/6, or 20/4 (This is 16 fasting 8 eating or 18 fastings and 6 eating, or 20 fastings and 4 eating.) Now if this is done then there are important things that you have to remember.
Working out with this type of lifestyle is great for weight loss! Some of the benefits of IF are:
- Lowering blood pressure
- Lowering blood glucose levels
- Reduction of inflammation
- Increased energy
- Improved mental clarity and concentrations
Just to list a few, there are many more benefits to IF. Fasting is not a new concept or one of those Fade diets. This is because Fasting is a way of life and it is as old as time itself. The problem is that it is not as pushed as much as food is. In this day and age, all we keep hearing, seeing, and in some cases smell is food when we out, It is sad! I mean don’t get me wrong, I love food! Some times I just want something sweet ones in a blue moon I have some dark chocolate mixed with mint broken up into pieces having the willpower to stop after a few so that I can continue to lose weight.
Ways to make it through the fast
Some times no matter how long you have been fasting you can get weak at holding yourself form eating. A few ways to help you continue your fast:
- Drink a lot of water
- Have a cup of black coffee
- Find a hobby
- Set a goal time
- Do not be hard on yourself
- Do not give up
Drinking water will knock the hunger down but unfortunately, the satisfying feeling will not last long. So, you may have to continue drinking water for satisfaction. Which can have very positive health effects on the body like clearing skin, improve weight loss, and helping the body to remove toxins. 6 Reasons to Drink Water if this piques your interest.
Drinking coffee will give you the feeling of being full for a little longer than the water will. Try not to overdo it with it, containing caffeine because drinking it on an empty stomach could cause some undesired side-effects.
Having a hobby will keep your mind and body preoccupied along with doing something you love and is a stress reliever. Hobbies like exercising, yoga, learning something new, cooking, or gardening.
Setting up a goal time may feel a little intimidating at first, especially if you have never fasted before. Start with a fast 14 hours fasting and 10 not fasting worked for me the first month. Then, if you feel comfortable turning up the fasting time by 2 hours for month two.
Do not be hard on yourself, go easy on this change that you are making does not happen overnight. It will take time to learn your body in this new light. So, pay attention and do not overwhelm yourself.
Do not give up!! Anything worth having is hard. The first step is the hardest!
Some research that I did, clarified what I learned when I was a teen. It seems to still be true today. Based on an article called This Is the Best Time of Day to Work Out, According to Science. For instance, waking up early in the morning going to a run on an empty stomach will encourage your body to switch over from burning carbs to fat.
Although, waking up early every morning may not work for everyone. An early morning fitness routine may not be possible due to ones working schedule. Lunch or evening workouts can work as well. One of the best parts about fasting is that you can start whenever you want even if it is in the middle of your day. The best time to work out is when you have been fasting for a few hours prior. This will help with the fat-burning process.
The first step in finding the best workout time is looking at the routines that you already have established. Some times finding time may not be the reason for not getting your workout in it could be the lack of motivation. Some ways that you can fit in your schedule work out and keep your motivation could be:
- Workout Buddy
- Have five minutes? HINT
- Counting those steps
- Do more for yourself!
- Follow others on your favorite social media sites
Workout Buddy – This person you can lean on each other for the support that both of you may need. It helps to make the workout itself easier and fun if you are just starting.
Have five minutes? – Break out into a HINT workout to get your heart rate up. Doing this at least 6 times a day for a total of 30 minutes. Breaking up the workout can help you ensure you are getting some type of workout. The days that you planned on a full hour but it was cut short you can at least with the HINT exercise will put back into your routine.
Counting those steps, every single one counts! If you are just starting it is easier to start with walking. Even if you are not in the mindset of a workout having away to count makes you aware of how many steps you have taken. Set a goal of 10,000 even if you don’t hit that goal every day keep trying.
Do more for yourself! –These days we find it easier than ever to just sit around and let someone else to the weight lifting. This is not always a good thing. Some call this working smarter but is it? Why not get outside and push the lawnmower instead of hiring someone to do it for you? Vacuum your home instead of having a robot do it! It is nice to do those things on your own because one day you may not be able to and you could miss out on learning something or even teaching a very important lesson.
Follow others on your favorite social media sites- thetrainingmanual on Instagram is one of my favorites and keto_sarah check out their profile to see why! In thetrainingmanual profile, it is about motivation and different workouts along the right way to do them. keto_sarah is about the keto diet, if you have not guessed it yet. This profile post about actual people with their amazing weight loss before and afters! Seeing these pictures seems to always make me put down the cookie that I just picked up!
In conclusion, finding the right time for your fitness routine is one of the most important things that you will have to do to live a healthy lifestyle. Enjoying the new-founded hobbies, friends, increase in energy, and most importantly the new you! Every Day is a new, a great time to start over if you need to or make it better than yesterday.
Have you tried IF or HINT, please comment and share experiences.
This information in this article is only to inform and not to be toking as a proxy for a Medical Physician.
