Hallvar Sigmundstad @LAVeganViking shares some tips to start the school year right.
Summer is coming to an end, and as Suzy herself can tell you, it’s time to get back in the race and kick it into high gear and start the new season with a full on, pedal to the metal fitness routine
Here are five essential tips to help YOU to start your own routine.
# 1 Hydrate with H20!
Did you know your body mainly runs on water? It’s the major component for most body parts, allows body cells to grow and helps your brain manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters.
A human body is made up from as much as 60 % water, and your body can only survive for 4 days without it. Food on the other hand, you can actually go without it for as long as 30 days!
We want to make sure we get enough water, and what is even better is that it contains 0 calories! So keep all other drinks to a minimum, remove those unnecessary calories that are only adding to the number on the scale, start feeling better and see the number on the scale drop.
# 2 No simple grains!
There are two types of grains, the good ones (whole grains) and `the bad one (the simple grains, stripped of fiber).
Simple grains are those empty calories that you can just eat and eat without feeling full. It’s the bread that is put on your table before they serve the food at the restaurant. You sit there and wait for your meal to be served, and just like that, you finished it all, and you just added 2000 calories to your daily intake. Not only did it add a you chunk of calories to your diet, but it also can make you feel puffy and tired. That’s because simple grains, found it white bread, white rice, white pasta etc. contain simple carbohydrates that are easy for your body to break down. It gives your blood sugar a quick and short lasting boost, that might feel good as you are eating it, but that blood sugar spike goes away as quickly as it rose, and leaves you feeling tired and bloated shortly after you ingest it.
Then you have the good part of the grain family, the whole grains. These are high in protein, which we know is good for you, and they also have a lot of fiber. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that are hard for your body to break down. Thus, it takes a long time to digest and therefore will give you long lasting energy, that keeps your blood sugar at the right level. And you have still not heard the best part of this. When your body feels it doesn’t need more of these complex carbs, fiber, it gets rid of it by just running it through your digestive system. So it is actually like free calories!
# 3 Gotta have those greens! 
Most parents will tell their kids to eat their greens, but then forget to eat them themselves. Greens are as important for adults as they are for kids. We constantly renew our body cells, in fact we have renewed every single cell in our body over a seven year span. If you want this to be a healthy “new” body, you need those micronutrients, and where do you think almost all those vitamins comes from? You guessed It – they’re all in those fruits and vegetables.
On top of it all, these things are very calorie dense, meaning that you can eat tons of it without having too much calories! Actually I will dare you to eat a salad with 2000 calories in less than an hour! If that’s not enough to convince you, guess what kind of carbs are in most greens? Our good friend fiber! So that means even more free calories!
#4 Control your hunger!
One of the most common mistakes made when on a diet is too push your feeling of hunger too far.
When one of my clients messes up their diet by going for something they were not supposed to have, my first question is always: how hungry were you when you made that decision? Or how long since you last ate when you made the poor decision to go for the pizza? Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like you can never have a cheat meal. But if you are trying to move the number on the scale, there are no free meals. And you are going to work hard for a few days, both in the gym and with your diet to get rid of those extra calories you decided to go for. So this should be kept to an absolute minimum, and saved for special occasions only.
A rule of thumb is to never feel full or hungry. Feeling full probably means you had more calories then you needed, and when you start getting hungry is when we are at our weakest and it’s easy to fall into temptations for those fast unhealthy calories. We have all been there though. The blood sugar is dropping and you are craving the pizza or the chocolate, or whatever your cheat meal is. I solve this by always telling my clients to keep some healthy snacks at hand, for those times when you are starting to feel that will power weakening hunger starting to sneak up on you.
# 5 Cut the dairy!
If you are able to cut this completely out of your diet, this would make a huge difference. If you can’t let it go completely, keep it at a minimum.
Why do we give our infants milk, and why does the cow give their calf milk? To help the calf grow a 1000 lbs in its first year. If this is what you are going for, then milk might be the thing for you.
If not, then stop eating dairy products. They are some of the most nutrient dense foods out there, and like I said they are made to make babies grow. Not what you should be consuming if you want that lean body.
To add to this, research also shows that dairy is connected to a lot of health issues.
Go for some of the healthier alternatives like soy, flax or almond. It’s not going to make you feel better, but look better as well!
#6 Bonus tip!
As a thank you for looking through my article, I have included a #6. A bonus tip for those of you who want and even quicker transformation.
Try adding one or two all liquid days to your week. On these days there are no chewing, and your diet should be only green juices and/or smoothies.
4-5 juices and plenty of water to kick-start everything is a great way to cut some weight, clear out your system and make sure you are getting all those vital micro nutrients!
Thanks for reading, and good luck to you all on your journey to a healthier you!
If you have any questions regarding this article or other inquiry’s, you can contact me at Hallvar.Sigmundstad@gmail.com. Also, if you need any tips on what to make for lunch/dinner or need some workout inspiration follow me on Instagram @LAVeganViking
