Now, if you are anything like me, you LOVE to complicate things and spend an inordinate amount of time in your head.
I have been known to make MULTIPLE lists for packing for vacation. I make a list for me, for my son, for the beach stuff, for the food stuff…I make to-do lists…SO MANY LISTS!
I mean, it really doesn’t have to be that complicated. You CAN just throw some things in a bag and call it a day and just pick up whatever you need, right?
Not too surprisingly, I used to take a very similar approach to weight loss. I mean, if I was going to do weight loss, I was going to DO weight loss.
Count the carbs, count the calories, ride the bike, strength train, drink the water, get the sleep, etc. etc. etc.
The problem here is that vacation is temporary. You drive yourself into a tizzy packing and planning but then you DO THE THING and it’s over.
There is no over with weight loss. It’s not like you lose weight and are DONE. You can’t make temporary changes and expect permanent results.
So, for the sake of this article, and for jumpstarting our summer weight loss, I am going to keep it super simple. Intrigued? Read on for 3 easy ways that you can jumpstart your weight loss on the bike today.
#1: Make a Super Simple Daily Plan for Food
We have all heard the term “calories in/calories out” when it comes to weight loss. I mean, that’s easy and simple right?
Simple, maybe. Easy? Hell freaking no.
I got tripped up with this for literally years. Anyone remember “My Food Diary”? I do. I spent a whole summer trying and failing to track literally everything I ate on that website and hanging out in forums. “My Fitness Pal”? Sure! Been there, done that. I am a freaking PRO at My Fitness Pal…for like 2 days until it gets to be too much.
I mean, let’s face it. If you think it’s easy to track your food then you probably are not reading this article. For most of us, tracking food is a royal pain in the rear end. No one has time for that.
Instead of tracking your food, just make a simple plan each day. Every morning when I wake up I take five minutes to write down what I am going to eat for the day. I don’t even write out the word breakfast…I just put a B.
One of the best ways to jumpstart your summer biking weight loss is to plan what you are going to eat each day and stick to the plan.
This way, each day you can check in with yourself and ask how you did the day before. Were there challenges? Did you stick to the plan? Did you have enough to eat? Are there things in there you ate out of habit or just because it was on your plan that you weren’t really hungry for?
This super simple and easy method is the best way to lose weight. Counting calories just sucks, and it’s not sustainable for most of us. But making intentional choices about what we are going to eat in advance absolutely is.
#2: Stop Telling Yourself Sleep and Hydration Aren’t That Important
I remember once upon a time thinking that dieting and exercise were the be-all/end-all to losing weight.
Water and sleep NEVER even entered into the equation in my mind.
I could not have possibly been more wrong. Trying to lose weight when you are tired and aren’t getting the hydration you need is like being on a steady climb on your bike with no freaking end in sight.
We make weight loss SO much harder on ourselves when we haven’t given our body the basic things that it needs to lose weight.
Don’t take my word for it. Literally all you have to do is google “weight loss and hydration” or “weight loss and sleep” and a bazillion articles will come up telling you the eleventy million reasons why these two things are so freaking important.
But, when you really think about it, it makes so much sense. We are a lot more likely to be cranky and say eff it and eat all of the things when we haven’t had enough sleep.
And because so often we think we are hungry when what our body actually needs is water, we are also likely to overeat.
By getting enough water and sleep we are setting ourselves up to make good decisions and jumpstart our summer weight loss.
#3: Accept that you ARE going to screw up and don’t use it as an excuse to quit.
Ok, I know, you are probably thinking that this isn’t really a tangible thing to do to jumpstart your weight loss. Maybe it’s not. BUT it is so freaking simple and essential that I had to make it one of the three super simple ways to jumpstart biking weight loss.
No one is perfect, my friend. I am sure as hell not. I screw up all of the damn time. I overeat. I skip bike rides. I put off strength workouts like it’s my freaking job. I forget to meal plan, wing it, and make craptastic decisions.
But, I never give up. I absolutely know I can do this. I lost 50 lbs in 2020 and kept it off because I decided once and for all that I wasn’t going to quit.
This time was going to be different because I would allow myself to screw up and be OK with it. And keep trying.
Now we are all special and unique, but in this particular way there is literally nothing at all that is unique about me. I have just about zero willpower and an unable to stick with just about anything.
THAT is what traditional diets never worked. We need to fundamentally change the way we think about what we eat and what we think about food and our bodies. THIS is how we create lasting change.
And we don’t give up. When we make a mistake and mess up we forgive ourselves and move on. We always have an opportunity to make a different choice.
A Final Note
Let’s recap here, shall we?
If you want to jumpstart your biking weight loss this summer you can do it in three super simple ways.
1. Make a reasonable and doable plan for what you are going to eat each day. Stick with the plan as best you can, and next day ask yourself how it went…then make another!
2. Be sure to continually make water and sleep a priority. They keep you from feeling like your weight loss journey is this never-ending climb on your bike.
3. Accept that you are a wonderful, beautiful human who makes mistakes. You aren’t perfect. You will eff this up on the regular….BUT you will NOT give up.
Seriously. Repeat after me. “I will NOT give up. I am STRONG. I absolutely CAN lose weight for the last time.”
Say it out loud. Whisper it. Yell it. I don’t care. But SAY it. It’s ok if you don’t quite believe it yet. I am here believing it for you. Now, go on and start today.
Ride on!
xoxo
Stacy
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