A hack is a strategy designed to make your life easier and more manageable. They are great time savers and will make you much more efficient. This means quicker results. Today, I want to present you with 7 fitness and nutrition hacks you can start using immediately. Enjoy!
1. Add protein powder to your morning oatmeal
Protein is one of the most important, yet under-consumed nutrients, when it comes to weight loss. Protein helps build muscle mass, which means you will be burning more calories throughout the day. More calories burned=more weight lost. It also helps you feel full so you don’t feel the need to constantly snack.
Breakfast tends to be the meal everyone rushes. Whether its sleeping in or getting your kids ready for school, it always seems to be tough to get a good meal in. That’s why a lot of people turn to processed foods like pop-tarts, cereal, and bagels.
One of the key factors in eating a good breakfast is being able to make it quickly. This is where oatmeal becomes a nice choice. I’m not talking about instant oatmeal, but actual oats. You can usually find these in the natural department of your grocery store.
All you need to do is add a scoop of your favorite protein powder (preferably whey protein) to a serving of your oats. Mix the two with a little bit of water and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds. This meals takes about 3-4 minutes to make and eat.
Not only that, but it contains anywhere from 20-30g of protein. A great way to start your day.
2. Use active rest during your workouts
Rest is very important during a workout. It allows you to recover between sets or exercises in order to continue working at the same intensity. Normally when people rest, they don’t move at all.
Active rest refers to moving while resting. An example would be performing a corrective exercise. If you have poor hip mobility you could be doing leg lowering during your rest. This is an easy way to correct muscular imbalances and postural issues.
On the other hand, it doesn’t have to be corrective at all. You could simply perform some type of low level cardio activity like jumping jacks. Either can work, but the benefit is that it keeps your heart rate up, meaning more calories burned in a workout.
3. Use your hand as a measuring tool
Counting calories is tedious and time consuming. No one likes dragging out the measuring cups and food scale while they are cooking a meal. But, when you are trying to lose weight knowing how much to eat can help.
Your hand can actually be used to tool to estimate how much food to eat. I’m not going to go into much detail here because Precision Nutrition has an awesome article showing you how to do this. They even have a picture you can print out and keep with you.
4. Incorporate circuit training with heavy weights
Circuit training is a great way to burn a lot of calories. The only problem is when most people do it they use light weights that they can lift for 20-25 reps.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the goal when losing weight is to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. That is why strength training is so important.
On average, a circuit is anywhere from 4-8 exercises done back to back. When doing this, aim for 8-12 reps per exercise. Choose a weight that allows you to maintain this rep range throughout the entire circuit.
This shouldn’t be an easy 8-12 reps. The last few should be challenging but you should be able to keep proper form. This will help you not only build lean muscle but shed some excess fat too.
5. Make more food a dinner
I would argue lunch is the meal that is eaten out most on a daily basis. When you’re at work, it’s easy to drive down the block to your favorite diner. However, these meals tend to be high in calories.
One of the easiest ways to ensure you make a good lunch is to make a good dinner. Leftovers are the perfect solution to eating out. You are essentially cooking two meals at one time.
This makes things hassle free. No more worrying the next day what you will eat for lunch. You will have already prepared a nutritious meal to compliment your goals.
6. Form a new habit
I recently finished reading the book The Power of Habit. It was fascinating to see how habits control our activities throughout the day. They become so automatic that we don’t even think about doing them.
Not exercising, eating fast food, and going to bed really late are all examples of bad habits that can affect your weight loss. But the good news is you can create good habits, that will get you results, with a little bit of work.
One of the primary things the author shows, is how new habits can be formed. A habit is controlled by a habit loop. Within this loop is a cue, a routine, and a reward. This forms a cycle that all habits operate on.
The key to creating a new habit is first creating a cue, then establishing a routine, and then creating a reward. So let’s use the example of creating the habit of going to the gym after work.
A cue would be bringing your gym clothes with you to work. The routine would be each day that you do this, you would go to the gym directly after work. The reward could be the fitting into a certain outfit or the accomplishment you feel when you step on the scale.
Each time you experience the cue, your brain remembers the routine associated with it. Continue performing this new habit week in and week out. It will become so automatic that you won’t even think twice about getting to the gym.
7. Track your accomplishments everyday
There’s this saying that goes “what gets measured gets done”. When it comes to health and fitness, it’s no different.
Tracking your progress is a perfect way to inspire motivation. There will be times when it gets tough, but when you see your results it gives you the energy to keep going.
One way to do this is to purchase a calendar. Write your goal at the top of the month. Each day that you do something to inch you closer to that goal place a red X over that day.
Maybe it’s to bringing lunch with you everyday to work. Each time you do this and place that X on the calendar it provides a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Soon enough you will have a chain so long that you won’t want to break it. This will make it much easier to be consistent.
Conclusion
There you have it! These strategies will make your life much easier. Weight loss isn’t hard. Once you create a plan and stick to it, you will see progress. The difficult part is actually sticking to the plan. Use these hacks to your advantage and stay consistent!
References:
1. Duhigg, Charles. (©2012) The power of habit :why we do what we do in life and business New York : Random House.
Photo credit 1: http://www.eatsandexercisebyamber.com/home/meal-prep-for-beginners
Photo credit 2: http://charlesduhigg.com/how-habits-work/
Photo credit 3: http://www.purocasting.com/general/new-years-resolution-dont-break-the-chain/uk-london-british-casting-director
