I started lifting weights when I was a freshman in highschool and have been playing sports my whole life, with a little bit of dance before that. Little did I know back that I would have a hard time figuring out how to lose weight as a former athlete.
During highschool I was a 3 sport athlete, volleyball, basketball and then my star sport track and field. I was a short sprinter and I was FAST. This led me to running in college. Freshman year I was a walk on and then go offered a scholarship my sophomore year.
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Back then I ate whatever, I wanted. after practice in college I would go to Bearcat cafe and eat a whole fried shrimp basket. I wish I could still eat like that without the consequences.
This is my favorite picture of my entire athlete life. It was the start of the 200 at the Alabama relays.
Right after college, in 2006, I became a personal trainer. It wasn’t until after i started having kids that I needed to figure out for myself how to lose weight. And much like my race at the alabama relays, I got my ass handed to me. Wow it’s hard!
I have been teaching clients how to get in shape and lose weight my whole career but I now had to figure out how to lose the weight myself. Let me tell you, I am not a good client 😉
As a former athlete you need to find a different way to lose weight. After being coached your whole life you have to find a way to be coached like you are used to. Below are the ways that have helped me succeed in losing weight after kids.
How to lose weight as a former athlete
Work Out With a Friend
Since athletes are accustomed to exercising with a team, suddenly working out alone can be challenging. You really do miss the fact that you had those strong bonds on a team. The relationship between teammates is complex – a teammate can be an ally and a competitor. They also provide a source of motivation and camaraderie that’s hard to replace.
Instead of training alone, ask a friend or former teammate to join. Find a workout buddy who can help hold you accountable to your goals and create that social connection in your exercise experiences. Partner sports such as racquetball and one-on-one basketball can also help make exercise sociable.
Make Workouts Fun
Having fun is a great way to stay motivated during a workout. It may sound cliche, but the most important thing is to find activities you enjoy. Those who enjoy what they’re doing are more likely to stick with it over time. And there are plenty of ways to spice up those 150 minutes of activity each week.
Start by cranking up the tunes – research suggests music can improve performance and trick the body into thinking a workout is easier than it actually is. The best way to maximize music during a workout is by matching the tempo to the exercise – slower beats for warm up and cool down, then higher tempos during aerobic activity.
Still pining for those days on the field, underneath the bright lights? Coaching a school or intramural team is a great way to stay involved in the sports community – plus, an hour of coaching softball, baseball or basketball burns 300 calories, according to the Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide.
I prefer to switch up workouts to keep things interesting. . Pick your exercise based on your mood and what you’re feeling that day. Don’t put yourself in a box. Below is a weekly example of my workout routine. I have picked things that I enjoy doing. As it turns out, I like being coached. I’ll touch on that in second.
Find a way to be coached
Like I stated above, I like to be coached, weird I know. I found an app that coaches me for a few of my workouts on the spin bike and treadmill workouts. The peloton app, its a amazing. See my full review of it here
Some weeks I feel so burnt out coaching other peoples workouts that I just didn’t want to think for my own. So it’s nice to have workouts where I am coached.
You can also find a nutrition coach, if you need more help in that area.
Not only do you get a coach but you will also get praised and encouraged like you were as an athlete. I miss someone telling me good job or what to do better. It was amazing!
Back in college or high school, you trained a lot, and you trained hard.
You had a deadline to be in shape before your first game. However, this mindset may not work now with your new lifestyle. You need to set new goals, which can include cardiovascular training like running or biking. Or your goal could be to lose weight or fat. Your goal can even simply be to maintain a certain overall fitness level.
Train better, not harder.
During athletic training you were told to run more, lift more, and practice more in order to be the best and win. This mindset and form of training may have worked then, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it works now. You need to train better and more efficiently. Training better is easier to maintain and accomplish than trying to train as hard as you did before. But how do you know you are training better, when all you have known is how to train hard?
Fix your diet
This is absolutely the most important. You can not eat what you once did. Which is how most of us gained the weight anyways.
First, track your calories. If you don’t own a fitbit yet run to get one! You need to know how many calories you burn a day. I can tell you it’s a lot less than when you were an athlete. Then, find a diet plan that will help you lose weight. I have a few options in my shop you can check out here
Author: Monica Perry
I’m a metabolic magician, nutrition nerd, exercise expert, and motivation master. I help women get fit quickly with the most food and least exercise.
♥ Holistic Nutritionist
♥ Sports Nutrition Specialist
♥ Personal Trainer
♥ Health and Weight Loss Coach
♥ Behavior Modification Specialist
I’m always researching, looking for loopholes that make losing fat easy… because I believe life is hard enough and getting fit shouldn’t be, ya feel me?
Check out all my diet plans for you 🙂 www.notanotherdietmethod.com/shop
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