Hacks that help
Onedaywriter
Posts: 326 Member
I’m hoping to hear some hacks that make the health/fitness thing easier.
Sometimes something as simple looking for clean socks is enough of an excuse so I needed some structure. Please provide ideas!
Some small things have really helped me a lot:
- after chasing clean workout stuff all over, I cleared out an area in my laundry room and bought some cheapo plastic drawers. Now, I keep all the workout clothing, towels and running stuff like visibility vest, light, gloves etc there. I change there before and after a gym workout, bike or run/walk and the stuff never leaves the area so it is always handy. The sweaty stuff goes directly into the washing machine and waits for more. Sounds so simple but life changing for me!
- an extra set of measuring cups so now I don’t have to hand wash the one I need if it’s in the dishwasher. Often this would cause generous “eyeballing”
- I keep the healthy snacks in plain sight- always have a bowl of fruit on the counter etc and keep the “junk” behind closed doors.
- I keep my bike near the front of the garage with my helmet shoes and gloves hanging from it so I don’t have to rearrange the whole place every time I want to ride. Keep a floor pump there too.
- I keep a foam roller and a tennis ball in the spot I watch tv so I can massage out any workout soreness in the evenings while relaxing.
- I measure the food that goes on my plate near the stove and bring my plate to the table. The rest of the food goes on the table for everyone else but I fight off seconds as best I can.
- frozen chopped onions and peppers always on hand for omelettes and sides.
- egg whites in a package. Didn’t know these existed and was separating eggs but that takes time and effort.
Ideas?
Sometimes something as simple looking for clean socks is enough of an excuse so I needed some structure. Please provide ideas!
Some small things have really helped me a lot:
- after chasing clean workout stuff all over, I cleared out an area in my laundry room and bought some cheapo plastic drawers. Now, I keep all the workout clothing, towels and running stuff like visibility vest, light, gloves etc there. I change there before and after a gym workout, bike or run/walk and the stuff never leaves the area so it is always handy. The sweaty stuff goes directly into the washing machine and waits for more. Sounds so simple but life changing for me!
- an extra set of measuring cups so now I don’t have to hand wash the one I need if it’s in the dishwasher. Often this would cause generous “eyeballing”
- I keep the healthy snacks in plain sight- always have a bowl of fruit on the counter etc and keep the “junk” behind closed doors.
- I keep my bike near the front of the garage with my helmet shoes and gloves hanging from it so I don’t have to rearrange the whole place every time I want to ride. Keep a floor pump there too.
- I keep a foam roller and a tennis ball in the spot I watch tv so I can massage out any workout soreness in the evenings while relaxing.
- I measure the food that goes on my plate near the stove and bring my plate to the table. The rest of the food goes on the table for everyone else but I fight off seconds as best I can.
- frozen chopped onions and peppers always on hand for omelettes and sides.
- egg whites in a package. Didn’t know these existed and was separating eggs but that takes time and effort.
Ideas?
10
Replies
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Not a hack, but I strongly support the idea that no food is the enemy (apart from Marmite which definitely is) and a sensible amount of what you like but think you need to avoid is fine, factored in to your daily calorie allowance. Life is way too short to avoid chocolate (my personal opinion!).9
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My food scale is always on the counter, both my husband and I use it. My husband use to poopoo me regarding my use but now he is convinced. He’s lost 25 pounds since November. Woot woot.7
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Put away your 13" plates and use 9" plates instead. The visualization of a full plate being emptied subconsciously lets you think you're not wasting food. Larger plates hold more food obviously.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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trying to think of things I do that are just habit for me that might help others....
food scale in kitchen and always within reach. I only put it two places, either by the stove or on the opposite counter. plate gets put on and I dish up and tare out between items. notepad and pen by it.
small plates
preportioned bags of chips/ popcorn. you can buy them that way, I buy a big bag and portion out a few servings for me and write the weight on the baggie. my husband and son know not to take ANY baggie with a number written on it (at least, not without asking)
I go to the gym in the mornings after I turn the livestock out to pasture (right after daylight). time of day itself varies with the seasons, but once I open the barns, I know I have to go inside and get ready to go to the gym
I set a gym schedule I know I can adhere to. For me, its 3 times a week, for 30 minutes. I almost always do way more than that, but knowing I am only 'required' to do my 3x3.... helps. In that vein, find activities you ENJOY. I cant tell you how THRILLED I was when I found out the pool in the gym the next county over was open. I now have reservations for 2x a week in addition to my normal cardio. I enjoy the elliptical. so the pool and that are the things I do. Sometimes, if I am having a really bad day, I will simply walk on the treadmill for my 30 minutes until I am 'allowed' to get off it.
learn what food or macro combinations help satiate you. along the same lines, see if meal TIMING helps you any. for me, I don't usually eat breakfast (though sometimes I will), and almost always have the same thing for lunch (egg on avocado toast with EBTB seasoning). Keeps me full from my (early- 11am) lunch to supper (5ish)
if you like to snack in the evenings (or ummm in bed, like me), save calories for that and have whatever fits into your macros. Personally, I'm a fan of oreos in bed. but that's me. Whether its 2 or 6, depends on the day and how much room I have in my calories LMAO. Last night it was NONE. so I went to bed and pouted :P
I'm sure there are other things I do without thinking or realizing it, but those are the things off the top of my head.
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I don’t bring much junk food in the house. I have a low calorie snack that I really enjoy ( fudgesicle 80 cal). I have my workout area just across the hall from my bedroom and I workout in my pjs so all I have to do is stumble over there in the morning. I set up my laptop and water bottle the night before so I have no excuses. I have a partner who walks with me every night and bawks like a chicken at me if I try to skip.5
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I don’t bring much junk food in the house. I have a low calorie snack that I really enjoy ( fudgesicle 80 cal). I have my workout area just across the hall from my bedroom and I workout in my pjs so all I have to do is stumble over there in the morning. I set up my laptop and water bottle the night before so I have no excuses. I have a partner who walks with me every night and bawks like a chicken at me if I try to skip.
if my husband did that, hed be sleeping IN the chicken coop LOL (I know its meant as a funny and as a joke, that was just my immediate response to it LOL) we also live on a farm, so..... LOL2 -
Hacks that have worked for me:
Invest in good quality copper cookware. Its nonstick and therefore you dont need oil. Perfect oil-free eggs every time!
Start using measuring cups as serving spoons. Takes out the guesswork and adds extra awareness to quantities.
Lemon water. Period.
If adding high calorie condiments like mayo or cheese, START with the amount you want first and then add the other ingredients to match. For example, if you love tuna salad with mayo, start with a measured portion of mayo and add in the tuna, not the other way around. This avoids continuing to pile on the high-fat condiment to taste.
Use Instacart or other grocery service where you must plan out your purchases and order them ahead of time. Prevents impulse buying snacks in the store.
Make a big batch of homemade salsa with fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, vinegar and peppers. Season liberally with salt, pepper, and oregano. Keep the batch in your fridge and add it to all your meals for an instant kick of flavor and seasoning without adding lots of calories.
Learn how to store food so that it lasts as long as you need it to. This avoids over-eating just to "use up" something before it goes bad.
If you have kids- instead of eating what they leave on their plate, start packaging up their leftovers and saving for them later for packing in their lunches, etc. You will quickly see how much extra food you are munching by finishing their meal for them.
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Lots of great hacks above! I’d add to not underestimate the power of walking. Going for almost daily walks was instrumental in helping me shed the pounds and ease me into exercising regularly for the first time in my life.3
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If I have chips, it is the small bags. I only buy 1 piece of cake and bring home. If I buy cinnamon buns (my other favorite) they come in 6, I have 2, give husb 2 and feed the rest to the birds, never keep any around.
I go to the gym early morning and try to fit in a walk/run 3 times a week, sometimes more. I remind myself that all this overeating did so much damage to me that I dont want it, love me and eat the right amount!
I love coffee and hot tea which fills me up. Also water. A lot of times I am thirsty not hungry.2 -
I set out my workout clothes the night before - everything down to socks and underwear. I wake up and just put them on. Makes it easier to follow through with my workout1
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Pre-chop those veggies! I always have chopped onion, peppers, diced garlic and celery, grated carrots and home-canned salsa and pepperoncini in my fridge and ready for action. That way, I'm never too lazy to throw together a tasty wrap, omelet or frittata since half the work is already done.2
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Bagged lettuce mixes. Just rip one open and dump the whole thing in a bowl. Easy, lettuce stays fresher in unopened bags, don’t have to bother weighing, and filling.
Just add sliced cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrots, chopped chicken, bacon, leftover tacos, fajitas, or whatever else is crowding the fridge.
Rubbermaid’s vented storage containers keep strawberries fresh for a long time.
Practice yoga? I have three identical mats I can rotate to help keep down on the stink stink, or when one is freshly washed and drying.
Ditto earbuds. Two pair means one is always charged.
Professionally fitted running and walking shoes. Quality socks.
Taking a moment to put on “real” shoes before I do my exercise bike.
Like podcasts? Spotify is SO much better than the native Apple podcast app. No stopping at the end of the episode, pulling out the phone and choosing the next episode and then having to get back in the groove again. Spotify just does it automatically. Never even realized what a nuisance it was til I no longer had to do it.
Get in the habit of a regular workout schedule.
Don’t let sweaty workout clothes pile up.
Always keep a few grilled chicken breasts in the fridge for a quick breakfast lunch or snack. There’s 101 ways to use the.
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Put away your 13" plates and use 9" plates instead. The visualization of a full plate being emptied subconsciously lets you think you're not wasting food. Larger plates hold more food obviously.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutritionChickenKillerPuppy wrote: »I set out my workout clothes the night before - everything down to socks and underwear. I wake up and just put them on. Makes it easier to follow through with my workout
Ooooh ... I like these 👆🏻👍🏻1 -
I thought I responded to this thread a week ago, I guess it never went through.
Workout clothes: similar to laying out an entire outfit in advance, I bundle mine together - shirt, underwear, socks, all rolled up in a pair of leggings. I keep the bundles on top of my dresser in a basket, easy to grab first thing in the morning, no rooting around in drawers for my small clothes. I do my workouts in my living room these days, so sometimes I decide to just go with bare feet; it's easy to just put the socks in the basket so they're ready to go when I reform the bundle after I do laundry.
Meal prepping and pre-logging: this has honestly been the biggest game-changer for me this go-round. Prepping breakfast and lunches for the week and logging as much of my day in advance as possible has given me so much peace, it's unreal. I used to fall into the trap of, since I didn't know what dinner might be, trying to eat as little as possible during the day "just in case," which resulted in a lot of misery, less-than-ideal snacking, and binging. COVID also helped cut down on the number of spontaneous same-day invitations to restaurants and/or bars that happened in my life, but even when all this unpleasantness is behind us and we can once again decide to hit up the local beer hall on a whim, I feel like I'll be better prepared for it.1 -
Ditto the small plate idea. I use small plates too and they feel so much more full. I also use a small spoon for my yogurt, ice cream, etc.0
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I do this as well. No need to search for clothes, just put them on.ChickenKillerPuppy wrote: »I set out my workout clothes the night before - everything down to socks and underwear. I wake up and just put them on. Makes it easier to follow through with my workout
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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