When it comes to losing body fat, there is no question that you really have to eat a healthy balanced diet and exercise on a regular basis. Our lifestyles have become more and more sedentary over the past 10 years. Technology has made our lives easier. The problem with our lives getting easier is that we are just not moving anymore. We have also moved in a direction where processed, fast foods dominate over simple whole, healthy foods. Think about the last time you went through the drive thru, did you get something healthy? On top of that, wouldn’t it have been better to park and walk into the place to get your food. We do not think that little changes in our habits add up, but they do. The little things add up to a larger waist size and an expensive health care plan. So here are 10 little changes that you can make to help you not fall victim to our new way of life.

1. Park your car at the end of the parking lot and walk. Let someone else have the space right at the front. You are going to burn more calories than they will.

2. Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Those who do not sleep deeply for a minimum of 7 hours, wake up with cravings. When you are not rested, you start to crave simple sugars. This begins your roller coaster of up and down energy due to insulin being elevated. Sleep well and you will find it easier to stick to your healthy eating plan.

3. Drink water, those who are dehydrated also crave sugar. When you start craving sugar try a big glass of water. More than likely the craving will go away. Remember to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces daily to avoid these cravings.

4. Eat whole foods as often as possible. Processed foods lack a lot of the micro nutrients that whole foods carry. Our brains are hardwired to become satisfied with real food. Once you start eating processed food, your brain never feels satisfied. This sends out a signal to continue eating. This always ends in over eating or late night binging.

5. Eat more Fat, this is not a typo. Good fats make you thin and healthy. The old low fat dogma has been debunked. Unfortunately a lot of people over the past 20 or more years have become fatter by avoiding good fats. Over the past 20 years food companies have crammed “low fat” foods down our throats with claims that you will be thinner. These companies have made a ton of money and the country has become the fattest in the world. I am not saying that our obesity epidemic is just because of low fat foods. I do believe it is a big part of the problem. You need to avoid bad fats, Bad fats are man made. So if you stick to a natural whole food diet it will make it easier. Good fats are, Omega 3 from fatty fish or fish oil. Avocado’s, olive oil, coconut oil and nuts and seeds all carry good fats.

6. Eat at home. When you eat out you have little control of that food. Almost every restaurant in our city starts off with poor quality highly processed foods. This means high sodium, bad fats and quick digesting carbs. You are almost always eating too many calories at one sitting. The worst part about eating out is that you usually leave hungry because of the quality of the food being deficient in real nutrients.

7. Exercise at least 4 days a week. I actually like to see our clients working out at least 6 days a week. If 4 of the days are intense the other 2 can be moderate like biking, yoga, hiking, or interval cardio training on a cardio machine. 20 years ago people would go work out to look better. We are in a different era. Like I said earlier, we do almost nothing all day. This has changed the perscription for how often we work out.

8. Eat protein. Most people think that grabbing a piece of fruit would be a good choice for a snack. It is if you add protein to it. By simply adding an ounce of good cheese, you will stay satisfied for a couple of hours. The fruit alone digests too quickly resulting in a blood sugar drop. Again, when blood sugar drops you crave it. Make it a rule that you have protein at every meal including snacks.

9. Take essential supplements. Most of us find it difficult to be able to eat wild salmon, grass fed beef and all organic fruits and veggies all the time. This is why I recommend essential supplements. Fish oil, high quality protein powder, flax seed meal and a good whole food multi vitamin all fall into this category. I rarely recommend non essential supplements like fat burners because most of us just need to meet our basic needs to be healthy and lean.

10. Use common sense. If you are about to eat something, ask yourself this. Was this food available to humans a couple hundred years ago. If not, do not eat it. Think about this. We ate meat directly from an animal, not from the back of a gas station like subway sandwich meat. We ate potatoes, rice and whole grains from the earth, not from a box or a microwavable bag. We ate fruits that were grown from the earth without someone spraying it with poisons. We drank milk directly from cows. We did not drink low fat, 1 percent, 2 percent, soy, fat free, etc. Just milk, butter and cheese.

Tim Gojich