My Weight Loss Regimen Part 2

Nutrition



This is so key to weight loss. Getting healthy portions of protein, fat, and carbs is very essential. I will not try to even front and say I'm an expert on this, but what I do is try to balance out my nutrition with mainly whole foods. I know that eating more veggies, lean meats, and whole grains are alot better for me than processed foods. I wrote alot about maintaining a calorie-deficit. The absolute best way to do this is eat the foods that I mentioned. Because you can eat more of those foods, feel satisfied, and have not as many calories as you would of other foods. Since we were kids, we were always told about the foods that were good for us. I'm sure most of you remember the government chart with what foods to eat. Remember, it was in the shape of a pyramid, and it listed the type of foods to eat for a balanced diet. So even if you're not an expert on what is what (trust me I'm not, but I'm learning more each day) you generally know what's good for you, and what's bad for you. So what I do is find the foods that are good for me, that I've always liked, and just eating alot more of them. To give you an example, when I shop, I get the veggies I've always liked: broccoli, carrots, bell peepers, tomatoes, packaged mixed vegetables, and I will use these veggies for my veggie omelet, salads, or grilled chicken sandwiches. And if you love meat like I do, then you have nothing to fret. I know that in the past, when I had no idea about nutrition, I just thought diets consist of me eating foods I did not want to, and I would have to drastically drop my meat intake. The key I found out is that if you consume more lean meats, then it's all good. I do try to only have 2 meals with lean meats, but some days, I may have 3 meals with lean meats. So when I go to the store, I get just chicken breast, salmon, and turkey. But if you like beef and pork, then you can get that, but make sure that it's lean portions. For me, I've decided to drastically reduce my beef and pork intake, just because that was something I loved in the past, and definitely help in me getting to the weight I was. So still, once in a while, I will eat beef and pork, but I know that chicken, fish, and turkey are great lean meats that I love, so I just stick to that. But I have been thinking of incorporating some pork tenderloin, but for right now, I'm sticking to the things I know. I've stopped drinking soda all together. When I first to give up my soda cravings, I decided to switch to diet soda. It definitely helped in my weight loss. I was buying more diet soda, juices, and green tea. But in my current intake, when I go to the store, I just buy the green tea, and I don't even drink it that much either now. I'm drinking more water, and just recently, I got the idea from Muata, and I'm starting to alternate days where I just drink only water. But I still from time to time, get a diet soda. The point is that I'm limiting my intake of calories from liquids. I know in the past, I probably consumed 500-800 calories a day just from what I drinked. I remember in college, I couldn't have a soda or some juice in my fridge. I would love to get those cheap store sodas like Safeway Select, and stock up on those. Now, I have no desire to add calories from liquid. And if I do, than it's the Arizona green tea. I used to love that drink, even when I wasn't mindful of my intake, I would buy that often. And I know may think juices are better for you. I used to. But there not, and some is just as bad as soda. I enjoy juices in moderation, but that's how focused I am right now. I don't want any intake from liquids, so for right now, juices is taking a back seat. When I get to my goal weight, then I will probably add juices back, because some are good for you, and it would be a good way to get maintain the weight.



So that's basically it. That's my "diet". I'm loving what I'm eating right now, so I really can see myself eating like this for the rest of my life. As long as I'm mindful of my nutrition, the weight will come off. And let me emphasize again that I hate calling my weight loss a diet. Because it really doesn't feel like I'm on one. I'm just making better choices in my food intake, and making sure I have a calorie deficit every day. It's really that simple.

Excersise

Now, this one was a huge hurdle for me. By nature, I'm a pretty lazy person, and I'm still am. I still sit around the house, watching TV, on the computer, and/or play vids for hours a day along with a toke. But there is a difference from what I am today than what I was a few years ago. But years ago, my knowledge of the science of weight loss was non-exsistent. But now, I do some type of cardio at least once a day, 5-6 days a week. And the difference now is that I love doing it. Being a Big Dawg, and a much larger one a few years ago, I had this notion of weight loss, and it takes a person who runs miles a day on the road, and/or on the treadmill, and have to be in the gym everyday, but that is not the case.

In my college days, when I was trying to get in shape, I would run around the track, go to the gym, and play some basketball. But at this time, my nuturtion was terrible, so even though I was doing some things, all of that was in vain. Let me say this again, IF YOU'RE NOT EATING RIGHT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL NOT EXCERSISE! So what I mean is if you're not maintaining a calorie-deficit and have a good nutrition, you will not see any results from excersising. You may think I'm bullshitting, but let me try to explain some of the science behind it. So lets say you run mile a day, and you weigh about 280. You burn about 175 calories. Now, lets say the calories you burn for living is about 3000, and you just ran a mile, so you're burning 3,175 calories a day. But since you've been running, you think that you can eat whatever. Lets say you eat 4 meals, about 1000 calories per meal. You consumed 4,000 calories a day! So you will actually be gaining weight, even with your committment to running. Now, this is the anomoly that I believe alot of us run into, because even though you might be working out, you're not seeing any results like you think, because you think going to the gym, and running a mile a day is helping lose weight, but that's far from the truth. There is tons of evidence on this, and you can do some research on your own to check this out. So basically, you're doing the workouts for nothing, and your regain will not be as fast, but you still will be gaining weight becuase your caloric intake is not in check. You can run 2 miles, then have 2 slices of pizza, and wipe that out completely. Check this video out to see what I mean.

Now, with that said, you might be saying, what's the point of excersising if it doesn't burn too many calories from doing it? Well, there is a tons of reasons to excersise. My number one reason for excersise is for my mind. I feel so much better mentally after a workout. I feel alot better about myself, and it helps in my confidence. Also, I still want maintain my athletic menatality. I've always felt that I'm an athlete, and even in my bigger days, I would still be able to play ball, and run around. I feel alot more faster and stronger now with the weight I'm losing. Now the #2 reason that I excersise, is because it aids in my calorie deficit. Not only am I'm burning the calories from just living, and working out, I'm still maintaining my calorie deficit. And because I burning an extra 200-400 calories from working out, my deficit has more of a difference than it would if I didn't, and I will lose weight a little faster. Plus, I want to maintain my lean muscle mass, so doing bodyweight excersises is a great way to maintain my lean muscle mass, so when I lose the body fat, I will see more muscle than fat. I'm not an expert on this at all, but I think that doing resistance training at a very high level is something I'm gonna put off until I'm at my ideal body fat percentage, and I would suggest you do the same. Just do something that will keep you toned, and if you want to get bigger, just put if off.

So like I said in the beginning of this segement, I do some type of excersise at least once a day, 5-6 days a week. And in the past, I would run around the track, and go to the gym. Let me empasize, you don't have to do some hardcore workout to get a good workout. And alot of the times, it will hamper your weight loss. I think back to my college days, and I would do a workout that I just hated. I kinda liked the gym, but I didn't like everybody that was in there. I wanted to be able to concentrate on my workout, and some times were peak times, so I would put it off. So after running a mile, with my legs feeling like crap, I would hate it, and cycle back to my old habits, because I hated doing it so much. And I'm sure alot of you have done the same. And with me having flat feet, running around the track was a painful experience. But now, I have done a 180 in my knowledge, and I know that anything that you do can be an excellent way to get a workout. Take me for an example. I mentioned in my journey series, that I went to a reggae festival, and it really changed my life. I remember dancing so much to the music. When I got home, and was blasting reggae, I would get up and dance, remembering my reggae expereience. Then the lightbulb went off in my head. I loved to dance. Yeah, that might sound gay, but I just love to dance. Music really gets me moving. So I said to myself, I could use this as cardio. So I incorporated this with my workout. So I dance for 30 mintues a day, and get a great workout, and it's something I love to do, and look forward to doing it. I would suggest you find something that you love to do, and you can do it everyday. Basketball, riding bikes, walking around, etc. are great workouts. But the main thing is to find something you love to do, and it gets your heart rate up. Why is this important? With me, I do three different types of cardio that I like to do; dancing, sprinting, and punching the heavy bag. I incoporated these three things in my weekly cardio, along with a bodyweight workout everyday, with doing my more strenuous bodyweight workout every other day. Now, there is some days, I really don't feel like going outside, and dancing is the most fun to me out of the three. So I know if I don't feel like doing the other, I can always go back to dancing to get my cardio in. But like I said, I like to hit the heavy bag and sprint. This is great way to workout, and build great lean muscle mass compared to jogging. The evidence for this is just look at Olympic marathon runners compared to sprinters. The marathoners are alot leaner, compared to the sprinters have more muscle mass. Not sure about the science behind this, but I believe it's about burning your muscle protein. When you're jogging for a set period of time, at some point, your body stops burning energy, and burns muscle protein. Please, do more research on your own to understand this, but that is my novice understanding of it. So it really depends on what type of body type you want. I would rather look like Tyson Gay than one of those African long distance runners. So again, do what you you like. Don't think you have to do something crazy to get a workout in to lose weight. The main thing is that you do something that gets your heart rate up, and you will be fine.

The sum up

So in conclusion, the 4 main things that I focus on in my weight loss regimen is my mind, my caloric intake: maintaining a calorie deficit, my nutrtion: the type of foods I eat, and excersing. If you master these four things, you will lose weight. It's really that simple.