If you’re constantly in the martial arts gym working towards your fitness goals, then you’ve got one part of the equation down. The second half of the formula to success, of course, lies in how you take care of your body.
It’s great that you have the work ethic. But in order to see quick and lasting results, you have to change the way you live your life.
Getting the physique of your dreams and leading a healthy lifestyle may seem difficult on the surface, but after you unlock these amazing life hacks, your path to success will become much clearer.
By making small and sustainable changes in your daily life, you will be able to reach your goals.
Today, Evolve Daily shares 10 healthy weight loss tips that you can practice regularly to help you lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle, without wreaking havoc on your body.
1) Observe your eating habits
Martial artists have to maintain a strict diet, especially when competition is approaching.
Being mindful of your eating habits and carefully observing how much food you take in can be beneficial to your health, unlike mindlessly stuffing yourself or filling your plate with food that your body does not need. Portion and calorie control plays a huge factor in weight loss.
What time do you usually eat? Are you eating late at night? Do you snack on something while doing chores? Do you finish your kids’ plates? Are you a stress eater? These are some of the things you need to discover within yourself.
It’s important to be aware of the different factors affecting your eating habits, so you can better regulate yourself. One good way to do this is to keep a food diary, tracking everything you eat, and counting calories.
2) Get enough rest
Find the right balance between exercise and rest.
The quality of your sleep has a correlation to the food choices that you make during your waking hours. When you enjoy better sleep, you are more likely to choose better options for yourself. You’re also least likely to consume caffeinated beverages and soda throughout the day.
With enough sleep, the appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin are balanced; thus, appetite levels do not spike. According to studies, adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
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Of course, ample sleep also helps you regulate your metabolism. The more your body is rested, the better it works in processing the energy you need to function throughout the day.
3) Enroll in an exercise program that you actually enjoy
Muay Thai helps people develop self-discipline.
One of the best ways to stick to an exercise plan is to pick ones that you genuinely enjoy or have an interest in. It will feel less tedious, and you will not feel like you need to drag yourself to the gym or to class if it is something you love doing.
Keep in mind that consistency plays a vital role in your fitness. If you find yourself making excuses to skip sessions, your program may be too intense or it may not be the right fit for you as of the moment.
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A martial arts class is an excellent choice as a fitness program. Some disciplines, such as Muay Thai, can burn up to 1,000 calories per one-hour session, depending on how intense you want to go. It’s also loads of fun, which will no doubt keep you coming back to the gym for more each day.
4) Stay Hydrated
It’s vital that you drink enough water, especially if you’re exercising.
It’s no secret that keeping well-hydrated is the key to good health. A plethora of studies throughout the years has linked hydration to healthy weight loss. Drinking water helps you burn more calories at rest, which is also known as resting energy expenditure. Drinking half a liter of water may increase the number of calories you burn for at least thirty minutes.
Drinking water before a meal also helps suppress the appetite, which tends to reduce calorie intake and scale down the possibility of long-term weight gain and obesity.
How much water are we supposed to drink? Drinking 1-2 liters of water per day should be enough to support weight loss, according to studies. But you’ll need to drink extra if you’re active in the gym.
5) Stress Management
Martial arts is one of the most fun workouts you can do.
Not many people know, but stress is a major contributor to weight gain. It’s a very difficult thing to manage. We’ve all heard about stress-eating, which is an occurrence that happens when the body is under stress and pressure.
The stress hormone called cortisol prompts fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy. High cortisol secretions result in heightened appetite, triggering us to eat way more than we should.
Hence, constant stress, or not addressing stress, can lead to high cortisol levels that spark your appetite. This consequently leads to weight gain or difficulty losing unwanted fat.
6) Proper Meal Planning
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It is good practice to plan your meals in advance to help you keep track of what you eat. It can be daily, weekly, or monthly plans, that all depends on what works best for you. You may also consider packing snacks so that when you get hungry, you will not find yourself straying away from your plan.
Planning and preparing food in advance also comes in handy when you have had a tough day. No matter the circumstance, you can still stick to your meal plan for that day, and you would be less likely to order in food when you are tired.
Your future self would appreciate that very much!
7) Go grocery shopping with a full stomach
When shopping, stock up on healthy options.
Eating right begins when you have a kitchen and pantry that supports your fitness goals, so you better be prepared when heading to the supermarket. When we go grocery shopping for food when we are hungry, it is more likely that we get food that is not really ideal or beneficial to us. We are also prone to buying too much, especially unhealthy junk food.
When you go grocery shopping on a full stomach, you will avoid buying snacks and unnecessary food items much easier. Consider having a list prepared beforehand so you can avoid impulse buying.
8) Cook and eat your meals at home
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Enjoying home-cooked meals makes it easier for you to stick to your meal plan. Not only is eating at home more cost-efficient for your budget, but you also get to regulate your meal’s ingredients. You know exactly what you’re putting in your body.
When you opt to eat at home, you know exactly what’s on your plate. When you eat out, you are clueless. Strive to include a healthy portion of fiber, protein, and carbohydrates. A well-balanced meal is the key to good health.
Furthermore, cooking at home can be a lot of fun for the family.
9) Treat Yourself!
Multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao training at Evolve MMA (Far East Square) in Singapore.
Reaching set fitness goals calls for a celebration, indeed! What do you usually reward yourself with? Do you feel like rewarding yourself with a serving or two of your favorite comfort food after the scales have shifted?
While rewards and cheat meals are a great way to stay motivated, it might also defeat the purpose of your healthy lifestyle.
Try comforting and congratulating yourself with non-food items. It can be a massage that you’ve been aching to get, a new set of workout clothes, tickets to the cinema, or enrolling in a new class you’re interested in.
When you replace the relationship between food and emotions, you will make it a lot easier for yourself to make healthy decisions in the future.
10) Your Mindset Matters
The more you train boxing, the more you think about it all the time.
While it can be frustrating to not notice any results after the first few weeks despite all your efforts and carefully planned meals and all those hours clocked in at the gym, just try to give yourself and your body more time to adjust.
After all, fitness is not a destination, it’s a journey.
If you have the right mindset, you will try to do the right things, eat real food, move your body more, get enough rest, and find ways to relax and de-stress. Your mindset energizes your motivational battery.
With a growth mindset, your fitness journey will help you embrace challenges, and you would try to constantly work on improving yourself and understanding how your body works.
Having the right mindset will get you further, not just in your fitness goals but in life.
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