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People often ask me how I find the time to workout as a mother, a wife, an active part of my community, and as the founder and owner of Philosophie Superfoods. The truth is that taking care of my body by eating fresh, whole foods, including lots of nutrient-dense superfoods, and prioritizing regular workouts provides me with the strength and energy to keep up with a schedule that is packed with activities about which I am deeply passionate.

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To lose weight in a healthy manner and keep it off for life, you need to work hard and work smart. I want to share Livestrong.com's advice for weightloss. Four lifestyle modifications are useful -- the meal replacement strategy, meal timing, aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. Your weight loss program will not work over the long term if it is a one-shot project. It must be a permanent lifestyle change.

The Weight Loss Equation

There is no magic to weight loss, asserts Vanderbilt University. Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you take in by eating. Your body burns calories in three ways -- by exercise, by heat generation and by performing basic metabolic functions, such as breathing. You can directly control how much you eat and how much you exercise. You can indirectly control how many calories your body uses to perform basic metabolic functions by building muscle mass.

The Meal Replacement Strategy

Pay attention to the content of the food you eat more so than the volume of food that you eat, advises Penn State Strength Fitness. This is because nutritious food usually contains fewer calories per unit of volume than unhealthy food, because a nutritious diet will ensure that the weight you lose is fat instead of muscle, and because a low-volume diet will leave you constantly hungry. Focus on gradually replacing entire categories of food with more nutritious categories. Replace sweets with fruits, for example, red meat with chicken, and french fries with rice. A great TOOL for managing your food/caloric intake is myplate on the Livestrong website.

Weight Training

Weight training is anaerobic, because it relies on short, intense bursts of energy that do not consistently raise your heart rate into the aerobics zone. Weight training can support a weight loss program by permanently raising your resting metabolic rate, according to the Valley Medical Center of Renton, Wash. A high resting metabolic rate causes your body to burn more calories 24 hours a day, simply to keep you alive. Furthermore, since many of the calories you consume will be used to repair muscle tissue that you break down during a weight training workout, fewer calories are available to be stored as fat. If you control your calorie intake and eat nutritiously, any weight gain caused by new muscle mass will be more than outweighed by the fat that you will lose. 

Meal Timing

Eating six small meals a day instead of three supports a weight training program by supplying your body with just the right amount of nutrients when it needs them, according to the American Dietetic Association. Eat slowly, so that your brain will tell your stomach it's not hungry anymore in time for you to stop eating. Eat a low-fat meal high in protein immediately after a weight-training workout.

Aerobics

Aerobic exercise helps you lose weight because you increase your calorie expenditure while you exercise. Select an enjoyable activity (walking, jogging, biking, yoga, dancing, swimming) that raises your heart rate to between 60 and 80 percent of its maximum, advises the Cleveland Clinic, and perform it for 30 to 60 minutes per workout, three to seven days a week. To find your approximate maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.

To lose weight in a healthy manner and keep it off for life, you need to work hard and work smart. I want to share Livestrong.com's advice for weightloss. Four lifestyle modifications are useful -- the meal replacement strategy, meal timing, aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. Your weight loss program will not work over the long term if it is a one-shot project. It must be a permanent lifestyle change.

The Weight Loss Equation

There is no magic to weight loss, asserts Vanderbilt University. Weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you take in by eating. Your body burns calories in three ways -- by exercise, by heat generation and by performing basic metabolic functions, such as breathing. You can directly control how much you eat and how much you exercise. You can indirectly control how many calories your body uses to perform basic metabolic functions by building muscle mass.

The Meal Replacement Strategy

Pay attention to the content of the food you eat more so than the volume of food that you eat, advises Penn State Strength Fitness. This is because nutritious food usually contains fewer calories per unit of volume than unhealthy food, because a nutritious diet will ensure that the weight you lose is fat instead of muscle, and because a low-volume diet will leave you constantly hungry. Focus on gradually replacing entire categories of food with more nutritious categories. Replace sweets with fruits, for example, red meat with chicken, and french fries with rice. A great TOOL for managing your food/caloric intake is myplate on the Livestrong website.

Weight Training

Weight training is anaerobic, because it relies on short, intense bursts of energy that do not consistently raise your heart rate into the aerobics zone. Weight training can support a weight loss program by permanently raising your resting metabolic rate, according to the Valley Medical Center of Renton, Wash. A high resting metabolic rate causes your body to burn more calories 24 hours a day, simply to keep you alive. Furthermore, since many of the calories you consume will be used to repair muscle tissue that you break down during a weight training workout, fewer calories are available to be stored as fat. If you control your calorie intake and eat nutritiously, any weight gain caused by new muscle mass will be more than outweighed by the fat that you will lose.

Meal Timing

Eating six small meals a day instead of three supports a weight training program by supplying your body with just the right amount of nutrients when it needs them, according to the American Dietetic Association. Eat slowly, so that your brain will tell your stomach it's not hungry anymore in time for you to stop eating. Eat a low-fat meal high in protein immediately after a weight-training workout.

Aerobics

Aerobic exercise helps you lose weight because you increase your calorie expenditure while you exercise. Select an enjoyable activity (walking, jogging, biking, yoga, dancing, swimming) that raises your heart rate to between 60 and 80 percent of its maximum, advises the Cleveland Clinic, and perform it for 30 to 60 minutes per workout, three to seven days a week. To find your approximate maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.

#1: Sticking to Cardio Only

Women especially tend to camp out in the cardio section for their whole workout.  It may the fear of bulk (which we all know now is crazy talk) or it may just be because you prefer cardio, but cardio is only half the picture. It is true that if you are trying to lose weight, cardio should be your number one focus, but without building muscles, you will still be flabby- you’ll just weigh less. (trainers call these girls "skinny fat") Muscle also boosts metabolism, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn through out the day, even at rest. You should strength train a minimum of 2-3 times per week, allowing at least 24 hours of rest in between workouts so your muscles can repair themselves.

#2 Always Using Machines

Machines serve their purpose: they’re pretty self-explanatory, and, well, that’s about it! If you are trying to learn the form of an exercise, machines are a great way to get used to the proper feeling. However, they only work one muscle group at a time, and since they keep you in proper form, your stabilizing muscles don’t get a chance to work along with the primary muscle.  The problem with that is when you go to use that muscle in real life, the other muscles that help it out aren’t as strong, therefore hindering your performance.  Free weights allow you to multitask, making for a shorter workout (squats with bicep curls) allows you to burn more calories. Training your body in the way it is designed to move, through free space, as with dumbbells and cable machines, is going to use more muscles, and produce greater results.

#3 Not Having a Plan

Time is very important to everyone and I’m always overhearing people talking about the lack of time they have. An easy way to avoid wasting time and energy during workouts is to come with plan. Write it down or mentally come prepared so you can quickly move from one exercise to the next without meandering and make sure you hit every muscle group instead of winging it. This also helps if you’re at the gym during busy hours, you can easily move on to your next exercise without hovering.  A personal trainer is a great tool to jump-start your program. They’ll create a customized & progressive plan for you based on your goals and may show you exercises you haven’t thought of.

#4 Doing the Same Routine Over and Over Again

A plan is important, but switching it up is paramount. Your body is smart, but also lazy! If it can figure out what you are going to have it do, because you’ve had it do the same routine for the past 3 months, its going to figure out how to do it with the least amount of energy possible: this is called a plateau and can be very frustrating.  I’m sure you or someone you know has experienced this, “I’ve been going to the gym 6x a week now for 3 months now and my body hasn’t changed!” Switching up your routine every 3-4 weeks will keep your body guessing and keep the results rolling. Changes can be in the actual exercises or equipment or as simple as weight, sets or reps. It’s best to change 1 or 2 variables!

Hope this helps :)