Head of teacher training department and senior trainer of the LEVITA network of ballet and stretching studios
“Many people dream of having a fit, beautiful and healthy body. But not everyone is ready to go a long way to the goal. However, it is only through regular efforts that you can achieve a result that will last for a long time and not disappear after a few weeks. A healthy lifestyle can also become a habit that you don’t want to give up.
Focus on the quality of the process, not the amount of time spent
Let’s start with the most important thing: fast doesn’t mean quality. It is important to remember that any rapid weight loss is also rapidly reversed. You should immediately abandon all diets that require a sharp reduction in calories and promise you minus 8 kg in a week by switching to a radically new food system. Abrupt changes are stressful, which is fraught with negative consequences for the body.
Losing weight can be considered only from the point of view of a progressively built system. Small steps you move forward and gradually come to a result that you can keep and not lose.
“Eat the elephant in pieces.”
Don’t tackle everything at once: a record of 10 workouts a week, drastic changes in diet and the habit of drinking 3 liters of water a day. Choose a few items to introduce into your routine gradually.
For example, you monitor your water balance for a week and then start drinking a little more water on a regular basis if you notice that there are problems with it. Determine and set a guideline for yourself, let’s say 1.5 liters, and make sure that you drink a one and a half liter bottle of water every day for the next week.
When you have managed to consolidate the first habit, move on. For example, incorporate a 10-minute morning exercise into your daily routine. Keep track of the new habit without losing the old one.
After another week, add a third habit, and so on. Yes, it may seem like a long process, but in the long run, healthy practices will become part of your routine without stress and will last for a long time.
Choose what you like
Whether it’s your approach to nutrition or your workout routine, it doesn’t matter. The key is to always go with your preferences. If you don’t like working out with dumbbells or working out at the gym, you don’t have to force yourself to go there to lose weight. Find the direction that will be more to your liking and allow you to enjoy the process even without focusing on a specific goal.
For example, if you love to dance and would love to dedicate a weekend to it, sign up for a dance studio to achieve your goal. This way you won’t have to constantly overcome resistance and force yourself to work out.
Pay attention to your body and exercise daily
You can do exercises either in bed or on a gymnastics mat on the floor. Morning exercise looks like a calm warm-up without sharp movements. It is important to perform a simple complex for each part of the body and stretch the joints with rotational movements.
One of the exercises for a great awakening and keeping the body in tone is stretching the leg muscles. It can be done while still lying in bed. Extend your legs, feet, knees with all your might and tense them strongly. Then relax sharply. You can do from 20 to 50 repetitions, focus on your comfort.
The second exercise is performed standing – it is small jumps to disperse the lymph. Please note: if you have any contraindications (hernia, problems with knee joints and so on), it is not recommended to do jumps. If there are no contraindications, then you can use them as part of your morning warm-up.
Perform simple jumps on the spot, without jumping up high and without touching the floor with your heels. Move at a fairly fast pace for 30 seconds or a minute. Similarly with the previous exercise, focus on how comfortable you feel.
Such simple actions will help you perfectly cheer up in the morning, disperse lymph and generally tone your body.
Finish the day in a beautiful and healthy way – evening stretching will help with that
A little stretching can be part of your routine in the evening. Firstly, it is good for calming the nervous system. Secondly, it helps to relieve muscle clamps and spasms that accumulated during the day. Thirdly, this type of physical activity helps to form a beautiful relief of the body and make the muscles more flexible and elastic. But all overly active sports are better left for the first half of the day.
Watch your water balance
Usually ballet dancers carry a bottle of water in their bag so that at any moment they can take a few sips and restore the water balance in the body. The main thing is to find your fluid norm and not to force “extra” water into yourself.
Remember that the amount of liquid to drink per day does not include tea, coffee, soup and other drinks and dishes. Only pure water should be taken into account.
Include physical activity in your daily schedule
Morning exercises and evening stretching help to start and end the day with benefits, but the rest of the day should not fall out of the active rhythm either. In addition to going to the studio or gym, try to take more walks on your lunch break or weekends. Even a simple walk to the store for groceries or to a cafe for your favorite drink will keep both your energy level and your body condition up.
Don’t neglect quality sleep
Getting a full night’s sleep – it is considered to be at least seven to eight hours – should not be neglected, as it is very important for the recovery of the body and the smooth functioning of all organs.
For better sleep, you can ventilate the room in advance, take a warm shower, do some gentle stretching or a few minutes of yoga. And the phone and other gadgets are better to put aside 30 minutes before bedtime and do not use until morning.
If you can not fall asleep in bed for 10 or 15 minutes, it is recommended to leave the bedroom. Go to the living room, for example, sit there and read a book. When after a while you feel that you want to sleep, go straight back to bed. This method works on the principle of a trigger.
A short afternoon nap is also very helpful. The main thing is to fall asleep for literally 20 minutes, because a long afternoon nap can have a negative effect on your body and you will feel worse after waking up than before the nap.
If you often have insomnia and poor health after waking up, do not delay in contacting specialists to restore a comfortable mode and do not exhaust the body.
Take a contrast shower in the morning
Ballet dancers often use this method, because it perfectly helps to cheer up and get in the mood for a new day. A nice bonus is that it strengthens the immune system and relieves muscle tension. Surprisingly, it’s a fact that cold water helps our muscles feel better.
Eat with pleasure and with benefits
If you want to adjust your diet a bit, try to stick to the basics. Try to eat healthy foods: more fruits, vegetables, drink clean water. Do not overeat and do not overload the body: from the table should leave with a slight feeling of hunger. By the way, ballet dancers also often use this flyhack to maintain balance in their diet.
If you believe that you need a fully prescribed diet plan, then you can contact a professional nutritionist or nutritionist to take all the necessary tests and get a suitable personalized diet.
Methods of weight loss, which you will find on the Internet, in any case, do not need to follow, because you do not know what substances in your body is enough, and what is not enough. Uncontrolled dieting can have a detrimental effect on your body. Do not risk your health and seek a competent and effective diet plan from a specialist.