Diet Tips for Ultimate Weight Loss

While physical activity plays a big role in weight loss and overall health, your diet plays an even bigger role. I've heard that weight loss is a result of 80% diet and 20% exercise. Perfect example is my mom, she joined Weight Watchers and in a year, she lost over 115 pounds! The only physical activity she performed was moderate walking while out shopping for the day... Although, I am still a firm believer in exercise to build a healthy heart, strong bones and muscle tone. But, if perform physical activity and eat junk food, your results will not pan out how you'd like them too. 

Sticking to a healthy diet is a lifestyle change. And, self control is a top reason most diets fail. So here are some diet tips to help you when you're struggling to reach your weight loss goals:

Put a Kick in Your Step with Kickboxing

The number one reason most people throw in the towel on their weight loss journey is because they get bored. Doing the same thing, every day, can get old real fast. So, to avoid getting burnt out or bored, vary your routine from day to day. Your muscles and your body will thank you, too. 

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All too often, when we hear cardio workout, we think the only option is the treadmill or elliptical machine. There are so many options to get your daily cardio in. One of my favorites is the Cardio Kickboxing class at +LA Fitness. The fact that you're jumping up and down consistently for 60 minutes, is like jumping rope, but a lot more fun! 

A Spot of Tea or Cup o' Joe?

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Would you like a spot of tea? Or are you a cup o' Joe type of person? There has been an ongoing debate of whether tea or coffee is better for you, which one you should drink in the morning, and what the actual health benefits of each are. I definitely prefer coffee over tea, but there are days a cup of tea taste pretty amazing. So just what is the difference and which is better? 

Eat This Not That Diet

Dieting is difficult, especially if you love to eat as much as I do. Often, when we think of dieting, we think we need to give up everything we love to eat, but that's not entirely true. When we completely give up all the things we love in order to shed a few pounds, we get bored or we let temptation get the best of us and indulge...in the worst way! Instead of cutting things off, make modifications.

For example, if you love tacos you can make a lot of modifications to make this meal healthy:

Where Should You Get Your Protein?

Did you know that aside from water, protein is the most abundant component of the body? Protein helps shed unwanted pounds, build muscle, and is great for overall health and wellbeing. Eating the right high protein diet typically results in a low carb diet as well. Our daily diets usually consists of 10-15% of calories comes from protein. However, when you increase your protein, this percentage increases to 25-35%.

If you opt to get your source of protein from food alone, be careful what you eat. Some foods high in protein are also high in fat. So be sure to select lean meats like chicken and fish. Shy away from too much red meat. Here are some more healthy options that have more benefits than just protein:

Weightlifting vs. Bodybuilding: Is there a Difference?

Many women believe that lifting weights will make them look like a bodybuilder and less feminine. Well guess what? You couldn't be any more wrong! Lifting weights, power lifting and bodybuilding are all different categories of weight lifting and should not be lumped together as a whole. I used to fall into the cardio only category thinking that was how I would lose weight and burn fat the best. 

Cycle All Year Long

I love spin classes at the gym and I love to ride my mountain bike outside. But, there have been days I get to the gym and the spin class is full, and other days where it's raining outside so I can't ride my mountain bike. So when I heard about bike trainers I was super excited and couldn't wait to get my own! I have looked into my own spin bike, like the Proform Tour De France bike, are really expensive...I'm talking $1,500 expensive!  

Now bike trainers can be a bit pricey too, but I'm not a competitive cyclist or anything. I do this all for fun. So I only needed a basic bike trainer. I looked around and read some reviews. There are a couple different types of trainers.

Get Back On Track with Your Diet

Monday is the perfect today to start over. I just had an entire cheat weekend with my diet/exercise program and I'm feeling very lethargic, lazy and unmotivated today. So if you're feeling like this too, here's the perfect way to get yourself back on track this week. 

It's never easy starting over...follow these tips for a little boost!

Count Your Calories

Studies have shown that those dieting that track their meals in a journal are most successful. In this day and age, who has time to keep a written journal?? It's obsolete! I always hear people say "There's an app for that!" And it's so true. But how do you choose the right one? That's a little more difficult. But, there are so many free calorie counter apps it can be overwhelming. So let me help make this easier for you...LiveStrong's MyPlate Calorie Tracker.