Fitness
Confused with too many workouts and diet? Fitness coach shares 7 straightforward tips for weight loss
If weight loss is one of your priority commitments this year, it’s important to keep it simple to sustain the process. It’s tempting to include every new workout and fad diet in your routine. With plenty of promises for results, it’s easy to get distracted and try too many things at once. But as the saying goes, ‘too many cooks spoil the broth,’ similarly, too many complicated steps may not work. Fitness is all about sustaining the effort, and the best way to do it is by keeping things simple.
Raj Ganpath, a certified fitness coach as per his IG bio, shared 7 no-nonsense steps to fitness that might help streamline all the unwanted clutter in your routine. He gave a timeline of 3 months, where with consistency, one can see improvements in their fitness levels.
Walk as much as you can
The coach highlighted that one should walk as much as they can daily. Generally, there’s a spotlight on the step count. But Raj Ganpat urged that there should be a ‘greed for walking.’ He further added that 10 minutes of walking burns 40 calories.
Fostering a desire for walking is important. The mindset of ‘greed for walking’ is essential, preventing a sedentary lifestyle. With walking, whatever steps a person takes are the foundation of fitness. It’s the baseline activity to stay in movement at least once a day.
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Exercise four to five days a week
He divided exercise into two categories, strength training for toning muscles and endurance training for burning calories.
He said, “Two to three days of strength, two to three days of endurance. With respect to strength, any program, any equipment doesn’t matter. Just make sure you stimulate those muscles and for endurance, you can run, cycle, swim, jump, dance… just get your heart rate up, that’s all that matters.”
Maximise lean protein and vegetables in every meal
It’s a no-brainer that every meal should be balanced. The coach pointed out that every single meal majorly should be filled with lean protein and vegetables, regardless of where one resides.
Lean protein is low in calories and has a high concentration of protein. It helps build muscles. Whereas veggies are packed with essential nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins, and fibres, supporting overall nutritional requirements.
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Minimise sweet and fried food
Cutting back on sweet and fried food goes without saying. But Raj Gupta reminded one doesn’t have to completely eliminate. He reiterated that they should just be minimised.
Optimise starch
He said, “Optimise starch consumption because starch is essentially energy without nutrients. So if you’re active have more. if you’re not active, have less.” Starch is a carbohydrate, found in foods like rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta.
Don’t overeat
Overeating is one of the biggest challenges for weight loss. It can be a setback, ruining all the hardwork. Even Raj Gupta highlighted this issue and said, “Irrespective of where you eat, when you eat, what you eat, don’t overeat. And if weight loss is your goal, make sure you undereat by a tiny bit.” He hinted towards a moderate calorie deficit diet for those who wish to shed weight.
Adequate sleep
Adequate sleep is the pillar of good health. For weight loss as well, sleep is important. Raj Gupta advised that one should sleep as much as one needs to feel refreshed the next day. Often sleep is quantified with a number. But this is personal and may vary from person to person. Addressing this, Raj explained that adequate sleep to feel refreshed next day for one person can be 8 hours, for another 6 hours.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.