Hi Thomas! Congrats on embarking on your new health journey! Some things that have helped me tremendously are:
1. Cutting out all processed foods - they really are empty calories. You want to be fueling your body with good whole foods that are going to support your system, help you to gain lean muscle and lose fat.
2. Drinking at least 2 Litres of water a day and more on days when you're exercising. Water is essential for good digestion, it boosts your metabolism and it helps to support every system in the body. Good digestion is also essential for nutrient absorption.
3. Cutting out all refined and natural sugars except for fruit. It looks like you're already doing that which is great! Make sure that you check the labels of the food you're buying as well. You would be surprised by how much sugar is found in different foods. I used to drink lots of milk because I thought it was really good for me and then I found out that there is 5 grams of sugar per 100mls of milk (even low fat and skim), so I was drinking over 10grams of sugar just in my morning coffee even though I wasn't adding sugar. I switched to soy milk which has 1.6grams sugar per 100mls and is also higher in protein. I've also since found out that cows milk is really bad for you for a bunch of other reasons. As soon as I cut out dairy I lost significantly more weight.
4. Cutting out all simple carbs. No wheat, white rice or white potatoes. They really don't do anything for us and there are so many much healthier options out there. As soon as I switched to 100% rye bread, quinoa and brown rice I started losing more weight. I also eat corn pasta and buckwheat noodles on occasion.
5. Cardio and resistance training. I do 2-3 resistance training sessions a week for about 1 hour and I do 2 45-60 min spin classes a week, or 60 minute interval training walk/run sessions. I find this the easiest way to lose fat and build lean muscle. I think that you might be training a little too much. It's great that you're so enthusiastic but 2 hrs every day is a lot and if you overtrain then you will end up getting the opposite result of what you want. At the end of the day you need to find a routine that is sustainable.
General tips:
- Eat within 1 hour of waking: it wakes up your metabolism and gets your digestive system moving
- Start the day with lemon water: this has been shown to improve digestion, boost metabolism, clear skin and detoxify the system
- Take up activities that are fun and active: rockclimbing, swimming, hiking etc. If I meet up with a friend, I usually do an activity instead of just going for coffee or lunch/dinner. It's easier to make sure I eat well and it's also a great way to sneak in some exercise.
- Plan meals in advance. I like to make a big pot of food and portion it out for the week as my staple meal that I can take to work. Soups, stews and stir-frys work great.
- Don't let a bad day turn into a bad week, or a treat meal turn into a treat day. It's ok to treat yourself every now and then. The goal is sustainability.
- Weight loss is 80-90% diet and only 10-20% exercise. You can't out-exercise a poor diet, so if you can only focus on one thing, then focus on diet.
That's it really. These healthy habits have helped me to lose 20 kilos and keep the weight off for 2 years. It's hard at first but you get used to it and then you really enjoy it. Keep up the good work, try to stay motivated and remember that health is the goal and you're worth good health.
