Most people who join our gym have goals as follows:

1. Lose Weight
2. Feel better and get in shape
3. Firm up those soft areas

These are great goals! There is nothing wrong with them at all.

However, simply joining the gym won’t get you there. Working out five days a week won’t get you there (trust me, I’ve tried).

You see, showing up to the gym will help increase your VO2 max, strengthen your cardiovascular system, and help you drop your first few pounds. If you stay with it long enough, you will notice an increase in strength and muscle mass.

But going back to our list of goals, simply showing up only helps you achieve goal #2.

There has to be an intentional change in thoughts, behaviors, and ultimately habits, when it comes to nutrition. Ninety percent of weight loss happens in the kitchen not in the gym. Old habits, especially ones having to do with eating, die hard.

Changing the way you eat is one of the hardest things to do. We are so ingrained in our eating habits (and addictions) that is impossible to do unless we change the way we think about food. For many of us, food is a source of comfort, a way to relax after a hard day and de-stress. For others, it just gives us something to do while we sit in front of the TV. It’s not that we are hungry, but we just need something to do. We must change our eating habits, and be consistent over the long haul.

At any rate, if this is you, I have some suggestions for you:

1. Eat as much green stuff as possible (leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts)
2. Eat a protein, a healthy carb (not processed carbs), and healthy fat (avocado, nuts, seeds) each meal
3. Limit your daily caloric intake. This will vary from person to person, however, to lose weight you need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories per pound you want to lose. So if your BMR is 1800 calories (to find your BMR Click Here), then you need to consume less that 1800 calories. From here, its easy math, if I consume 1500 calories and burn 1800 that creates a caloric deficit of 300 calories per day, therefore, in about 12 days I should lose one pound.
4. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint. Losing weight is hard so don’t do a crash diet and limit your calories to 1,000 a day and try to lose it all in two weeks. Shoot for 6 months or a year.
5. Be consistent. This is really the key. There will be good days and bad days, ups and downs, but if you are consistent in the kitchen and intentional with what you eat, you will get there!

If nutrition is something you need help with, just ask! We are here to help you achieve your goals!