That title sounds like a load of clickbaity crap, but it is true. And the beautiful thing is I’m not trying to sell you on ANYTHING. No BS detox’s that are straight-up trash. No gimmicks. The truth is losing weight is way less dramatic than people think. And it isn’t as complicated as those who profit off of the confusion would like you to believe.
I’m going to warn you though, I’m about to make you roll your eyes. Do you want to know how to lose weight in only 5 to 10 minutes a day? You need to be in a, as James Smith likes to put it, “a calorie fucking deficit”. I’m going to explain the 5 to 10 minute part below – I promise.
What does calorie deficit mean?
You eat fewer calories than you need to maintain your body weight. I am NOT a doctor or nutrition expert, so please consult your doctor before starting any new food lifestyle change so you can make sure you are consuming the right amount of calories for your body weight and height. You want to be in a deficit, but if you take it to an extreme and don’t eat enough calories that is also unhealthy and potentially dangerous.
If you want to understand more about how this works I recommend you follow a few personal trainers on Instagram who share evidence-based research on the subject.
- Sohee Lee (@soheefit)
- James Smith (@jamessmithpt)
- Dr. Nadolsky (@drnadolsky)
Calorie mindfulness.
I say this because the words counting calories still make me cringe for some reason. It sounds so boring and constrictive. But seriously, we have all become so unaware of the amounts of calories in our food that we don’t know what we are putting in our bodies. I had no idea that an entire 6oz box of blackberries is only about 70 calories and a tiny bag of my favorite chips, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, is 595 calories.
How do I lose weight in only 5 to 10 minutes a day?
Download the FREE My Fitness Pal app and start logging what you are eating every day. The beauty of this free app a lot of people have already done the work for you – that is why this only takes 5 to 10 minutes a day in the very beginning. Now since I’ve been doing this for a few months it only takes me 2 to 5 minutes a day.
Perspective
Think about that for a second. When you really break down the actual time it takes to be mindful and more aware of the calories you are putting into your body – it really only takes 10 minutes max a day. That is it. You don’t even have to work out.
My Fitness Pal Tips
There is an awesome search feature where food has already been entered in the system by others.
It also saves food you have eaten on previous days, making it easy to pull up when you start entering it in the search bar.
If you are eating packaged food, you can scan the barcode and it logs the nutrition info for you automatically.
Sometimes I copy an entire meal from my husbands daily log onto mine. This is also a time saver.
You can add your friends and family on the app to help keep you on track and encourage each other.
You don’t need to buy special food.
Seriously, just track what you are normally eating. I didn’t change much when going to the grocery store.
I still eat homemade simple sandwiches for lunch. I don’t make fancy kale crisps or any trendy superfood meals that take three days to prep.
Nothing against people who do that sort of thing – I’m just too lazy for that and I’m all about ROI (return on investment).
We aren’t labeling food as bad or good. Tonight for an after-dinner dessert I toasted marshmallows for my husband and I. I also had mac and cheese and a burger this weekend, because nobody is taking away my mac and cheese. We do things like that and we are still losing weight – we just track and account for it using a simple and free tool.
Results
Since I started using My Fitness Pal to bring more awareness about what I was actually putting into my body I have lost 11 pounds. My husband has lost over 20 pounds. And my father-in-law has lost 22 pounds.
You gotta start somewhere.
I’m not worrying about macros. And while my husband and I are working out fairly regularly, my father-in-law despises working out so he doesn’t. In fact, before I started working out I was using My Fitness Pal only. While I encourage working out just to feel good and strong, the key to losing weight is being in a calorie deficit, and you don’t need to work out to have that, you just need to eat less calories. It is the simplest place to start.
What did we learn?
“Calorie fucking deficit” – James Smith.
Download My Fitness Pal (I’m not kidding, it really is free), and be more mindful of the calories you are eating.
You don’t need to buy a bunch of “special” food.
Talk to your doctor or a reputable physical fitness professional to determine what a healthy calorie deficit would be for you.
Did you find this useful? Don’t keep it a secret. I would love it if you would share it with a friend, colleague or loved one. It is the biggest compliment you can give me.
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