I’ve been helping women and moms lose fat for a long time now. I’ve seen thousands of pounds melt away over the years. It’s a beautiful thing. I’ve had the chance to really hone in on what works when it come to losing fat and getting lean. Yup, there are some secrets. And yup, I’m gonna share them with you here. This information is particularly pertinent to moms, as you do not have the time to waste figuring this all out through trial and error. You need to do what works – NOW. Don’t dilly dally in all that hype that you see in the media. Stick to the basics that have been proven to help women shed weight, get lean and own the best version of their body.
I run weight loss programs locally in Seattle – in fact, I just kicked one of today with 24 clients. I also run online weight loss programs for moms. In a typical program moms lose about 10-20 pounds in the first 6 weeks and many go on to lose 30-40-50 pounds in the few months after that. That is no small loss. Here are the Top 10 Things my moms do to shed fat FAST and KEEP IT OFF:
1. Lift – Heavy
First off, you MUST strength train to lose weight. It is MORE important than your beloved cardio. Secondly, you must lift more than 3-5 pound dumbbells to get any benefit from your strength training sessions. You should always choose weight that you can perform no more than 10-12 reps with. Increase your weight anytime you can perform sets of 12 reps with decent form. This is how you build lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass burns fat round the clock. It is a beautiful thing. (PS: you will not bulk up using weights that allow you to perform 10-12 reps. I swear on my grandmother’s grave.)
2. Dump Your Cardio
Seriously, divorce the elliptical. Those 45 minute steady state cardio sessions are not helping you lose fat. High Intensity Intervals (which can be done of the elliptical, btw) are about 9 times more effective in burning fat, especially belly fat. You can also do these workouts in a fraction of the time. For examples of these kinds of workouts download the free ebooks on the right hand side of this page and refer to the workouts in the Top 5 Myths of Female Fat Loss.
3. Drink More Water
Even slight dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3%. Why would you do that to yourself?! Water also helps you flush bloat and water retention. Drink half your body weight in ounces EVERYDAY (ie: a 150 pound woman should drink 75 ounces.)
4. Go Green
Eat your veggies – yes, the non-green ones too! The more you can fill up on veggies, the less room you’ll have for junk. Also, veggies are very nutrient dense, meaning you can eat a ton of them for very few calories and lots of fullness (satiety). There are also a ton of ways to be creative with veggies and substitute them for some of your highest calorie foods. Here are some recipes.
5. Good Bye Grains
Get rid of all grains, even your Double Fiber Whole Wheat bread that Orowheat is selling you as a weight loss product. Whole wheat really is not your friend. For the most part it’s the same processed junk as your white bread – with a bit more fiber. Yes, I said it. Don’t hate the messenger. The only grains that have actual nutritional value are sprouted grains (ie: Ezekiel sprouted bread). But even sprouted grains are not needed by our body. Our dependence on grains is a habit and a bad one at that. Because of the refinement process, grains are more likely to make you sick than provide you with fuel. And by sick I mean cause disease (diabetes, obesity, and auto immune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disfunction) not just the little ole flu. The more you can reduce grains, the more you will have room for whole foods that will fuel you and help you shed weight and bloat.
6. Get Yer Zzzzzzs
Sleeping is a really important part of restoring your body everyday. While you sleep your hormones do wonderful things that allow you to recover from the day you just experienced and prepare you to function optimally the next day. If you don’t sleep enough or don’t sleep well, your hormones levels will be out of whack, especially your cortisol. If your cortisol levels stay high day and night from stress, you will *really* struggle to lose weight. I know it’s not easy for moms to control a night’s sleep in many cases. However, note the sleeping habits of your kids and do your best to work around that to get the most uninterrupted sleep possible.
7. Use Natural Diuretics
Now don’t go crazy on me here. Inevitably, 1-20 of you will send me hate mail for advocating diuretics. Before doing that please READ this. If you still feel compelled to send me hate mail, go for it. Natural diuretics are foods and drinks that help you shed water and bloat. They are not like pill diuretics (NOT natural) that deplete you of every bit of water from within and take with them tons of vitamins and minerals. Foods that are natural diuretics are cucumbers, celery, lettuces, asparagus, cabbage, fennel, beets, tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, dandelion tea and green tea. If you are offended my my suggestion to eat more of these, bring on the hate mail.
8. See Ya Salt
Minimize processed foods that have tons of salt and will make you bloated – particularly in prepackaged foods, canned soups and pre-made asian dishes (or anything drenched in soy sauce). I recently stopped eating pho (awesome Vietnemese soup) because it gave me such a complex. I would have it for dinner and wake up three pounds heavier with swollen eyes (aka “pho face”.) The salty broth plus soy sauce would keep me bloated for days. Not worth it. Sea salt sprinked on your freshly prepared food is completely fine.
9. Protein
Protein and veggies are your best friends when it comes to foods for fat loss. We already covered veggies, so on to protein. . . You should have protein with every meal and snack. You should have a significant source of protein for breakfast (eggs, Hot Mama Protein Shake, nuts or nut butters, meats). This will help regulate your blood sugar from the moment you start your day. Throughout the day have protein with every time you eat. Finish your day with a dinner high in protein so you’ll be less likely to have sugar cravings in the evening. Also, the more protein you have with dinner, the lass room you’ll have for carbs, which you REALLY do not want sitting in you when you go to bed. Protein helps you build lean muscle, which in turn helps you burn fat. It also fills you up like crazy. It is ESSENTIAL for weight loss.
10. Commit To The Process
Being “good” for one day and then eating junk the next will get you no where fast. Set aside a significant block of time to make a COMMITTED EFFORT toward your goal. Maybe it’s a month, or two months. Change will not happen overnight, but if you are committed, you can see dramatic change in a manner of weeks. Here is one of our programs for new moms that will give you major results in 6 weeks. We are also coming out with a follow up program for ALL MOMS very soon. Stay tuned . . . .
I hope you took notes on this. Perhaps you want to print this out and post it somewhere to stay mindful of these habits. These 10 Tips, used together, will give you AMAZING results. You have my word. If you have used any of these tips and found them to be helpful, comment below so other moms can learn from your experience!
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