This is the fifth installment in my ongoing blog entitled, “The 1000 Pound Journey”. If you’ve not seen or read my previous installments, please be sure to check them out under the articles that I have posted or by clicking here.
In this installment, I want to talk about two components or tools that I feel have helped me the most on my weight loss journey – My “Tools of The Trade”, if you will. As of writing this, I have lost 170 pounds and there are obviously more than three components that are needed to lose weight such as willpower and motivation, but I wanted to delve into possibly the lesser-known tools that have been absolute essentials on my own journey. By the way, this installment is aimed towards those early on their transformation journey specifically.
I have used all of these tools nearly every single day since I started my journey and they have become ingrained parts of my daily routine. The first tool is simply an app on your phone that tracks daily calories, nutrients, fiber, carbohydrates, and so much more. My app of choice is “Lose It” as the app allows me to track all of my macronutrients in depth, and I truly believe all of this is necessary if you want to take your weight loss journey to the next level. Lose It has a free option that is fine if you are just getting started; however, there is also a paid option (Premium) and I would strongly recommend the paid option, it’s well worth it.
Some people may believe that they know what they are putting in their body, but you would be shocked to know that it is incredibly difficult to estimate your calorie intake and even trained nutritionists underestimate intake by an average of 10% and people on average underestimate by up to 30% according to recent studies. Knowing the numbers behind what food I am putting in my body has truly changed my life and changed the way I look at food. Obviously, there are negative connotations out there related to calorie tracking and while I do understand how this could become a problem for some, it is simply a necessity if you are trying to lose a substantial amount of weight. This is something that I would tell anyone who is in a position similar to myself, you need to make a drastic change in your eating habits and knowing what you are putting in your body and the effects of what you are putting in your body is 100% mandatory. Also, worth noting that the Lose It app will integrate with most wearable devices such as the Apple Watch, Fitbit and Garmin. Perhaps the best feature is the ability to set goals across a myriad of markers, including but not limited to weight loss, protein, carbohydrate and fat goals, sodium or water intake, blood sugar levels and even blood pressure readings.
The next tool I would consider critical, especially to anyone trying to reverse insulin resistance is Resistance Bands. When dealing with losing a substantial amount of weight, it is important to make working out a part of your daily routine; however, being sedentary for hours at a time and then getting in a workout for 45 minutes is just not going to pass the muster. Obesity and insulin resistance must be combatted by an active lifestyle, not meandering through a workout for an hour and being inactive behind a desk or on the couch the rest of the time. The goal must be to constantly stimulate skeletal muscle to effectively move and process glucose through your body, as many times as possible throughout the day and daily. Theirs is no shortage of videos on YouTube to get good workout ideas and techniques.
Resistance Bands are an easy and effective way to maintain physical activity throughout any day in the middle of phone calls, video conferences, learning – heck even, while watching a movie with the family or listening to audiobooks or podcasts in your personal development time. I keep Resistance Bands in both of my offices, my bedroom, my personal gym and take them with me whenever I travel. From what I have learned, I believe it is a misconception that someone can sit in their office or desk job for eight hours a day, workout for one hour and they will see results. One hour of activity does not trump eight hours of sitting down and then sitting down the rest of the time at home. You need to start a true active lifestyle that sees constant activity throughout the day if you want to see real results. I would go as far as to say that for insulin resistant, obese people, constant activity throughout the day with workouts such as those with Resistance Bands are more effective than a one-hour vigorous workout. I am providing this link where you can purchase a set of these inexpensive tools for your fitness journey.
I know I’ve said this a few times already, but I really want to emphasize it again, when trying to lose a substantial amount of weight it is the little things such as tracking calories and using Resistance Bands sporadically throughout the day that will make all the difference. You are not going to be able to do the same workouts as most people when you are morbidly obese, or slightly obese with limited flexibility. When I was at my heaviest, there is no way in a million years I could do the workouts I do now but through a steady incline and implementation of resistance band workouts, I am now able to do so – by no means have I arrived, but there is real progress and results to be found in small daily consistent steps.
Lastly and before I close out, let me add that the Resistance Bands also help you greatly with injury prevention. The bands allow you to warm up properly before any intense workout and when used throughout the day, they serve to keep blood flowing to your joints, especially those problem areas for some of us on the other side of 40 – such as, shoulders, knees, or elbows. This should go without saying, but please keep your ego out of your workouts – “ego lifting” will lead to injuries and then you can’t do anything, it brings your journey to a dead stop. I have been injury free the past two years of working out diligently and aggressively, but always maintaining good form and guess what – I have gotten stronger and built muscle all along the way. It can be done. Remember, we’re doing this to get healthy and improve the quality of life – not “for the gram”.
So, there you have it, Daily Tracking via the Lose It app and Resistance Bands are easy and inexpensive tools that will go a long way in your battle. If you are dealing with Type 2 Diabetes and/or in the early stages of insulin resistance, you must add these weapons to your arsenal. Onward and upward folks.
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