They say old habits die hard.
That phrase was never more true than for a dieter trying to change lifestyle habits. I say changing lifestyle habits instead of focusing on just the kind of food you eat and when you eat it because losing weight, getting fit, and staying that way is not a short term gig. It requires a whole change in the way you view your health and how to live your life.
That may seem overwhelming when you think of it, but it’s really not. You just need to know which steps to take and then take them. The simplest way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a new habit that is healthy. When you think of it that way, it doesn’t feel like you’re giving up something you like because you’re filling that void with something else.
Eating Late in the Evening
If you’re one of the many people who love to feast on a bowl of popcorn while watching a midnight movie you need to seriously consider how that late-night snack is ruining your diet. Sure, popcorn has a high amount of fiber, something that is good when you’re on a diet. It’s not the actual food that is the problem, but the time of day. You should stop taking in calories no later than 7:00 PM and just continue to drink water to fill you up. By that time, most people have had their dinner and are beginning to wind down from their day.
That means that any calories you consume will not be burned off. They’ll be stored in your body as excess nutrition for your body to use later.
Stored calories are held in fat cells. Break this bad habit by replacing your sedentary lifestyle with exercise in the late afternoon or early evening. When you exercise, your body will continue to burn calories and fat for a few hours.
Another reason why exercising later in the day is good is because not everyone has the time during the morning before work or the day gets underway to do justice to a solid workout. Many times, when you miss a workout because of scheduling conflicts, you won’t make up the time later on if you haven’t planned for it.
That means that any calories you consume will not be burned off. They’ll be stored in your body as excess nutrition for your body to use later.
Stored calories are held in fat cells. Break this bad habit by replacing your sedentary lifestyle with exercise in the late afternoon or early evening. When you exercise, your body will continue to burn calories and fat for a few hours.
Another reason why exercising later in the day is good is because not everyone has the time during the morning before work or the day gets underway to do justice to a solid workout. Many times, when you miss a workout because of scheduling conflicts, you won’t make up the time later on if you haven’t planned for it.
Take this scenario. If you are a busy mom of two and need to get your kids off to school or to daycare before you head off to work, where is their time to get to the gym to workout? There isn’t. More times than not the workout gets bumped from the daily schedule and all the efforts at eating right and trying to lose weight are reduced significantly.
Get around this by scheduling your exercise at a time you know you won’t have any conflicts that will interrupt you. If your spouse is home in the evening, schedule your workout time then. If you have little ones, wait for the kids to go to bed and then workout. One word of caution though. Don’t exercise too late in the evening or it will prevent you from sleeping. Sleep deprivation can inhibit weight loss as the body sheds its weight while you sleep.
Get around this by scheduling your exercise at a time you know you won’t have any conflicts that will interrupt you. If your spouse is home in the evening, schedule your workout time then. If you have little ones, wait for the kids to go to bed and then workout. One word of caution though. Don’t exercise too late in the evening or it will prevent you from sleeping. Sleep deprivation can inhibit weight loss as the body sheds its weight while you sleep.
