You have been meaning to get in shape and ditch junk food since winter and even put all the good habits on your New Year’s resolutions list, but… who am I kidding – I know how stressful the finals are. I know how consoling a cup of cocoa is and how cheesecake whispers your name when you’ve been cramming for the test the entire afternoon and still have a couple of 1500-word essay samples to be written for Monday. I know.
Yet I also know the anxiety that creeps up when the weather is getting warmer, and you can no longer hide in the safety of your oversized sweatshirt. Don’t worry. Two weeks is more than enough to get you on track to a better, more toned self. Let’s get this beautiful butterfly ready to emerge from a Kigurumi onesie cocoon!
Create a calorie deficit
A calorie deficit means that your body uses more energy than it consumes with food and drink. Although regular exercise can help you use up more energy, most calories are burned to keep your body going – brain thinking, heart pumping, chemical reactions happening, so it’s more or less a steady expenditure. The best way to create a deficit is to reduce your daily caloric intake.
However, it’s vital to create a safe deficit that is large enough for you to see results but won’t shock your body. If you try to starve yourself, your body will go into energy-saving mode, conserving fat as a rainy-day fund and instead making you lazy and sleepy.
According to Mayo Clinic, you can safely cut 500 to 1,000 calories per day, which translates roughly to 1 to 2 pounds of fat shed per week. Use a calorie calculator to learn the most efficient safe amount of calorie deficit. Yet remember that the more gradual the weight loss, the more likely it is to keep the weight off in the long run, so keep it reasonable.
Ditch sweets and processed foods
Cutting down on calories doesn’t mean that you should eat much less. Yes, making your portions smaller will help, but most important is the quality of what stays on your plate, not the quantity. The most calorie-packed foods with poor nutrient value are usually the most addictive – and they should go first if you want to lose excess weight. Think cookies, chips, snack bars, chocolates, fries, sugary drinks like soda, thick condiments like mayonnaise and cheese sauce, and fast food like hot dogs and burgers. If you just look at the package, you will see how high in calories and low in nutrients they are. Avoid those if you can, and focus on filling your plate with low-calorie, nutrient-dense whole foods.
For example, substitute soda with sparkling water or tea, bake potatoes instead of frying them, go for lean meats like chicken breasts instead of fatty pork and beef, eat a salad with lots of leafy greens as a side dish, and skip breakfast cereal in favor of whole grains. Choose fruits and berries instead of fruit-flavored processed stuff when you crave something sweet. For example, plain Greek yogurt with a handful of fresh blueberries is way healthier and lower in calories than blueberry-flavored sweetened one.
Even without counting every calorie per portion, following these guidelines will drastically lower your daily caloric intake while leaving you feeling full and satisfied.
Eat more veggies
Apart from all the microelements and vitamins, whole vegetables and leafy greens have one more characteristic that’s key for losing excess weight: they are low in calories but high in fiber. That means they are more filling and less fattening, so you can eat a whole plate without exceeding your calorie limit. Plus, fiber is crucial for your gut health, and a healthy gut means less gas bloating and a flatter stomach. This has little to do with weight but makes you look and feel slimmer. A caveat: some healthy foods might be bloat-inducing, so you might skip them a couple of days before you go to the beach, especially if you are sensitive to particular foods in this way. The list might include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, apples, beans, lentils, carrots, prunes, apricots, dairy, and even mushrooms.
The good news? This reaction is usually temporary. When you switch to a healthier diet, the type of bacteria populating your gut might not be the best suited to help you process vegetables, and it takes some time to adjust and change the bacteria population.
Eat mindfully
One of the reasons why we tend to overeat is that we just stuff ourselves in a hurry and don’t listen to our body’s responses. Instead of eating more, slow down and appreciate what you have. Fill your plate and get everything you need, so you won’t have to leave the table and fetch anything in the middle of the meal. Switch off your phone, tablet, and music. Lay your book aside. Eat slowly and concentrate on colors, tastes, and textures. When your taste buds are numbed by artificial flavorings and intensely sweet, sour, salty, and tangy tastes of processed foods and condiments, healthy meals might feel bland, but that’s only at the beginning. There is so much to appreciate apart from salt, sugar, and vinegar!
Mindfulness also means gratitude. Appreciate the meal that nourishes you and gives you energy. Think of all the work that went into growing, cooking, and getting it to your table, and thank everyone involved. This will boost the satisfaction you get from each mouthful.
When you eat slowly, you also have time to feel full before you eat too much. If you already feel satiated, don’t feel pressure to finish what’s on your plate. Save it for later if you don’t want to waste food, but don’t force yourself to eat up every bite.
Get enough sleep
Reducing carbs from processed foods will likely lower your blood glucose, making you feel drowsy. This is not the same across the board, but some people are more sensitive to low-carb eating than others, so losing weight and feeling tired may go together for you.
As a free essays writer on a summer break, this luxury is more attainable for you now, so don’t skimp on sleep. A good night snooze will keep you refreshed and energized, and you won’t have as much cravings for coffee and sugary snacks. Moreover, metabolism never stops, so your body keeps burning calories while you sleep. A win-win, if you ask me!
If plenty of sleep still doesn’t help with feeling energized, try exercise to perk up. Moving just a little bit without overdoing it starts fat-burning and energy-producing processes in your body. So next time, just go for a walk instead of eating that donut.
Find an activity that brings you joy
If running on a treadmill fills you with existential dread and makes you contemplate the futility of life, don’t force yourself. Try being more active in a way that you find fun and enjoyable. Dancing, running around with your dog, playing basketball with friends or hide-and-seek with nephews and nieces, walking or cycling instead of taking a bus, climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator – anything that feels natural and appealing to you while getting your heart pumping faster is cardio.
Whatever you choose, consistency is key. Take it slow, and don’t try to run a half-marathon the first day you go for a jog. Your task is to build a habit and accumulate the result over time, so it has a good staying power. For reference, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends at least 150 minutes of cardio activity each week. That’s around 20 minutes of walking a day – start from here and gradually grow the intensity.
By the way, growing intensity is always better than prolonging your exercise. If you feel like you can do more than a 30-minute walk, try running for 15 minutes instead of walking another half an hour.
Take it easy
A slow start will set you up for a long and successful journey. I know that the title says “two weeks” – and indeed, two weeks are enough to build good habits and start seeing the results of your lifestyle changes on the waistline. However, don’t expect to hit your target weight by the time fortnight elapses. High expectations will only end in another disappointment.
Taking things to extremes rarely leads to good results. This includes both drastic calorie cuts and unrealistic exercise plans. If you starve yourself for two days, you will binge on junk food on the third one. If your run five miles the first day and end up coughing your lungs out, you will hurt the next day and won’t be able to move.
The secret to perseverance without burnout is staying realistic with your goals and taking it slowly. Increase the intensity of exercise and diet restrictions gradually.
Stick to a routine
It often happens when your habits aren’t fully established and you are just starting out to get into shape. You go on a four-day holiday, and all your healthy meals, light exercise, and mindfulness go out of the window because, hey, YOLO. Then, when you get back, you continue slacking out because you feel sad about the holiday being over, consoling yourself with ice cream and prolonging the holiday feel by skipping exercises. This is also true for any sudden schedule changes, for example, when you are busy revising for exams and have less time.
Try to avoid drastic changes and stay consistent for at least the first four weeks when you get into new healthier habits. If the changes cannot be avoided (exams, business trip, etc.), have a backup plan to keep you on track, schedule at least some light exercises (like a 10-minute warm-up in the morning), and opt for healthier options when you have to grab a takeaway to save time. Remember: a little goes a long way.
Concentrate on the process
This brings us to the next point. Your progress won’t be linear. There will always be some ups and downs. Even if you stick to all your new habits unwaveringly, there will come a time when your weight loss and muscle gain will plateau. Everyone has a homeostasis point where their body wants to remain. Facing your limitations is frustrating and discouraging, which might prompt you to give up.
To avoid this, try to take joy and satisfaction in the process. Healthier food and exercise still make you feel better, even if your weight loss slows down. Don’t obsess over the numbers on the scales. When your expectations and reality don’t clash, it’s easier to avoid dietary crashes.
Don’t take this too seriously
One final piece of advice before you are off to the organic farmer market: don’t take following a healthy lifestyle religiously. One problem with all the fad diets, clean living, and other fitness trends is that they are very restrictive and dictatorial – to the point where you feel guilty when you allow yourself to skip one day of exercise or have a slice of pizza at a party. Even the vocabulary used for food and exercise has strong undertones of morality: good for you, bad for you, cheat days, confessing to your coach, redeeming yourself, guilty pleasures, etc.
This mindset is harmful and only leads to a vicious circle of crash diets and binges. Don’t feel guilty about eating something supposedly “wrong.” This guilt makes you feel like you have annihilated all your progress with that “moment of weakness” and fell from grace forever, hence you give up because, obviously, mere mortals like you don’t deserve to be fit. Instead of concentrating on doing everything right, make little steps to do better, listen to your body, and enjoy your meals and activities. This way, the improvements will be slower but more sustainable. Good luck, and stay happy!
