3 Challenges to Help You Get Leaner Without Dieting
Sick of dieting? Tired of counting calories? I sure am! I've spent the last 9 months experimenting on myself with the help of a Precision Nutrition Coach. So I wanna share THREE of the things that have really worked for me:
•LEVEL UP YOUR COFFEE GAME
Coffee is delicious. And connoisseurs have been refining it (and adding crap to it) for centuries! In a single cup of coffee, you can travel to South America, Africa, or Asia. If you have coffee every day like I do, the things you're adding to your coffee may be adding to your waistline. Why not experiment with leaving it out? But instead of framing this goal as "stop putting milk and sugar in my coffee," why not think of it as an experiment to "find and enjoy the perfect cup of black coffee"? Words matter, and I often find myself resisting when I'm told to STOP doing something. But I love a challenge!
Some Sample Numbers:
2 T Half & Half = 52cals
2 tsp sugar = 30cals
82 cals x 2 coffees x 7 days
=1148 cals/week
=59,696 cals/year
Now calorie math isn't an exact science, and our bodies are curious entities, but to oversimplify, cutting 59,696 calories could equal about 17 lbs of fat.
LEVEL ONE: Find a locally owned coffee shop that takes pride in roasting their own beans or sourcing them locally. If you're in NYC, check out the Coffee Map. (When I started this habit, I let myself use cream in my coffee on the weekends, and eventually gave that up as well.)
LEVEL TWO: Buy your own beans and make coffee in the morning. Get a thermos to carry it with you for the day. I bought a Stanley thermos that reminds me of the thermos my Grandpa Koepke used to take with him every day. (My favorite beans are La Colombe and Counter Culture.)
LEVEL THREE: Become a total coffee nerd and create your own pour-over coffee ritual. (I haven't gotten there yet!)
•TRADE UP YOUR CARDIO FOR WALKING
I don't know about you, but when I do a bunch of cardio, I feel like I'm hungry ALL the time! This sure does make "dieting" or trying to live in a caloric deficit harder. For a 160 lb person, walking 4.0 mph for 60 min (160lb person) may burn about 360 calories. For the same person, running 7.0 mph for 30 min may burn about 420 calories. While 30 min of running leaves me tired and hungry, and generally less able to perform in the gym when I go to lift, an hour of walking (which I split up throughout the day) leaves me feeling energized without much change to my appetite. Check out these other benefits.
LEVEL ONE: Check your iPhone steps (in the Health app) What's your daily average? Can you raise that by 20%?
LEVEL TWO: Change your morning commute. Get in the habit of getting off one or two subway stops before your usual stop and add 10-20 minutes of walking to your morning. Repeat in the evening!
LEVEL THREE: Go to the gym on your "rest" days just for a treadmill date. Download a podcast or audiobook or TV series that you use only for this time, making it special. Set the treadmill to 3.5-4.0 and walk it out for 45-60 minutes. Do it outside when the weather is good! (I've even met a friend at the gym to walk and talk for an hour on the treadmill!)
•QUIT THE CLEAN PLATE CLUB
Most of us know that restaurant portion sizes are larger than we need. Yet I still find it incredibly hard not to eat everything I'm served. We had a "Clean Plate Club" in my family. We sat at the table until we finished the food we'd put on our plate. "Starving children in Ethiopia would love to have these vegetables, Dad would say, as many dads do. "Send them to Ethiopia, then," we'd cry! As an adult now, responsible for my own finances, and if I don't have a way to store leftovers (like if I'm on the go for the day) I find it hard to waste food I've just spent my hard-earned cash on! My Chipotle salad bowl might cost $12, so to throw away 25% of it seems like throwing $3 in the trash! But how many thousands of dollars do we spend on health and fitness, only to slow our progress by eating more than we need?!
LEVEL ONE: Eat slowly and listen to your body signaling satisfaction. Try an app like Eat Slowly.
LEVEL TWO: Put your phone away for meals. Focus only on eating slowly and listening to your body. If you're eating with other people, set your fork down between bites and stay focused on the conversation. When you feel full, remove the food from sight (put it in the fridge, toss it, or have a waiter box it up for you.)
LEVEL THREE: As you start to learn the portion sizes that help you feel satisfied, modify your meals. Put less on the plate to start with, order a smaller item, or split an entree with a friend! I'm a Precision Nutrition Certified Coach. If you'd like a free consultation on how Nutrition Coaching could help you reach your goals (fat loss, muscle gain, reversing the aging process, playing basketball at the Olympics), drop me a line at davidjosephbaldwin@gmail.com!
•LEVEL UP YOUR COFFEE GAME
Coffee is delicious. And connoisseurs have been refining it (and adding crap to it) for centuries! In a single cup of coffee, you can travel to South America, Africa, or Asia. If you have coffee every day like I do, the things you're adding to your coffee may be adding to your waistline. Why not experiment with leaving it out? But instead of framing this goal as "stop putting milk and sugar in my coffee," why not think of it as an experiment to "find and enjoy the perfect cup of black coffee"? Words matter, and I often find myself resisting when I'm told to STOP doing something. But I love a challenge!
Some Sample Numbers:
2 T Half & Half = 52cals
2 tsp sugar = 30cals
82 cals x 2 coffees x 7 days
=1148 cals/week
=59,696 cals/year
Now calorie math isn't an exact science, and our bodies are curious entities, but to oversimplify, cutting 59,696 calories could equal about 17 lbs of fat.
LEVEL ONE: Find a locally owned coffee shop that takes pride in roasting their own beans or sourcing them locally. If you're in NYC, check out the Coffee Map. (When I started this habit, I let myself use cream in my coffee on the weekends, and eventually gave that up as well.)
LEVEL TWO: Buy your own beans and make coffee in the morning. Get a thermos to carry it with you for the day. I bought a Stanley thermos that reminds me of the thermos my Grandpa Koepke used to take with him every day. (My favorite beans are La Colombe and Counter Culture.)
LEVEL THREE: Become a total coffee nerd and create your own pour-over coffee ritual. (I haven't gotten there yet!)
•TRADE UP YOUR CARDIO FOR WALKING
I don't know about you, but when I do a bunch of cardio, I feel like I'm hungry ALL the time! This sure does make "dieting" or trying to live in a caloric deficit harder. For a 160 lb person, walking 4.0 mph for 60 min (160lb person) may burn about 360 calories. For the same person, running 7.0 mph for 30 min may burn about 420 calories. While 30 min of running leaves me tired and hungry, and generally less able to perform in the gym when I go to lift, an hour of walking (which I split up throughout the day) leaves me feeling energized without much change to my appetite. Check out these other benefits.
LEVEL ONE: Check your iPhone steps (in the Health app) What's your daily average? Can you raise that by 20%?
LEVEL TWO: Change your morning commute. Get in the habit of getting off one or two subway stops before your usual stop and add 10-20 minutes of walking to your morning. Repeat in the evening!
LEVEL THREE: Go to the gym on your "rest" days just for a treadmill date. Download a podcast or audiobook or TV series that you use only for this time, making it special. Set the treadmill to 3.5-4.0 and walk it out for 45-60 minutes. Do it outside when the weather is good! (I've even met a friend at the gym to walk and talk for an hour on the treadmill!)
•QUIT THE CLEAN PLATE CLUB
Most of us know that restaurant portion sizes are larger than we need. Yet I still find it incredibly hard not to eat everything I'm served. We had a "Clean Plate Club" in my family. We sat at the table until we finished the food we'd put on our plate. "Starving children in Ethiopia would love to have these vegetables, Dad would say, as many dads do. "Send them to Ethiopia, then," we'd cry! As an adult now, responsible for my own finances, and if I don't have a way to store leftovers (like if I'm on the go for the day) I find it hard to waste food I've just spent my hard-earned cash on! My Chipotle salad bowl might cost $12, so to throw away 25% of it seems like throwing $3 in the trash! But how many thousands of dollars do we spend on health and fitness, only to slow our progress by eating more than we need?!
LEVEL ONE: Eat slowly and listen to your body signaling satisfaction. Try an app like Eat Slowly.
LEVEL TWO: Put your phone away for meals. Focus only on eating slowly and listening to your body. If you're eating with other people, set your fork down between bites and stay focused on the conversation. When you feel full, remove the food from sight (put it in the fridge, toss it, or have a waiter box it up for you.)
LEVEL THREE: As you start to learn the portion sizes that help you feel satisfied, modify your meals. Put less on the plate to start with, order a smaller item, or split an entree with a friend! I'm a Precision Nutrition Certified Coach. If you'd like a free consultation on how Nutrition Coaching could help you reach your goals (fat loss, muscle gain, reversing the aging process, playing basketball at the Olympics), drop me a line at davidjosephbaldwin@gmail.com!
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