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How Did Carrie Underwood Lose Weight
Weight loss is something that seems to be on all our minds. We know that not only is a healthy weight good for our hearts and bodies, but it’s also good for our overall mental health as well. Being at a good weight keeps us mentally and physically healthy.
But losing those extra pounds is not always easy. Many of us try all sorts of things to get to a weight that makes us feel and look good. Whether it’s taking in fewer calories, putting in more hours at the gym, or changing the amount of protein versus fat versus carbs we consume, it’s hard to find the right formula that will result in losing excess weight. So when someone else hits on a solution, we are anxious for the details of how they did it.
Carrie Underwood’s success story is one we could all get excited about and make work for us.
1. She Eats Frequent but Smaller Meals
Carrie Underwood has talked candidly about her weight loss story. Having struggled in the past with her weight, the star now takes a more well-balanced approach to how she cares for and fuels her body, and it has resulted in her not only feeling healthier but looking healthier as well.
Carrie’s a big fan of eating smaller meals, more frequently throughout the day. Many doctors and nutritionists support this idea, as it is believed to keep your metabolism actively engaged. When you keep your metabolism engaged, your body stays in a fat-burning mode and allows you to burn calories consistently.
Many dieters are uncomfortable with this idea, thinking that the real solution to weight loss is to limit their calories. But Carrie Underwood’s leaner physique is proof that people who are trying to lose weight should try and eat more frequently, but just be cognizant of the number of calories they are consuming.
By limiting how often you eat, your body will react by going into “starvation” mode, and will actually hold on to fat. When this happens, you will begin to burn muscle as a source of fuel, and those extra pounds will linger.
Most weight-loss experts think that eating every 3 hours and not taking in more than 400 calories is ideal.
2. She’s Added Weight Training to Her Exercise Routine
Just like eating more frequently, many of us think that lifting weights is going to be counter-intuitive to trying to take off pounds.
The concept of “bulking up” doesn’t sound ideal when we want to see the numbers on the scale going down.
But Carrie Underwood is proof that is not the case.
Underwood has talked openly about the fact that, in her twenties, she was a fan of only doing cardio when it came to exercise. She shied away from weights, for fear they’d make her look bigger but now understands they are an important part of losing weight and keeping it off.
Women struggle with this idea more than men. Muscle weighs more than fat, so the idea of adding muscle when you’re trying to take off pounds is a hard concept to wrap our heads around.
But, remember this. If you are adding weight training to your exercise routine, you are giving your body a chance to burn calories longer, because muscles are more efficient at keeping the burn rate going long after your workout is over.
Carrie Underwood is proof that – though cardio will burn more calories than lifting weights will while you’re doing it – weight training will keep your body in burn mode long after your workout is over.
3. She Is Almost 100% Vegan
Carrie Underwood chose a vegetarian diet decades ago, but in recent years has also adopted an almost completely vegan lifestyle as well. Certainly, this has helped contribute to her substantial weight loss in recent years.
Underwood does eat eggs, but only from her own chickens. Eggs allow her to still get the necessary protein that is oftentimes challenging for vegans or vegetarians to consume.
She also eats tofu and beans, other great sources of protein, and is quick to whip up a smoothie as one of her multiple mid-day meals when she feels hunger starting to set in.
Being vegan is not as difficult as it used to be. There are lots of products on grocery store shelves that are dairy-free but still have the taste and consistency of a dairy product, like vegan cheeses, nut-based milk, and burgers that are made from plants and not animal products.
Many people claim that a vegan diet is too limiting. Getting enough protein is a challenge for vegetarians, so when you then cut out milk, cheeses, and eggs, it’s even more difficult to find foods that will give you the necessary amount of protein your body needs each day.
But Underwood has found ways to make sure her diet has the protein she needs to survive and thrive. Her physique is proof of that.
Tips for Weight Loss Like Carrie Underwood
If losing weight is a goal of yours and you want to follow the path that Carrie Underwood did, here are some tips to help you begin your journey and keep the weight off once you’ve accomplished your goal.
Less Is More
If you want to follow Underwood’s steps, try her tactic of eating more meals, but consuming fewer calories during each one. This will keep hunger at bay and allow your body to feel confident that the fuel is there to burn and it doesn’t have to store unnecessary calories out of fear that more may not be coming.
Know Your Window
Underwood is also a proponent of not only eating more frequently but knowing when to quit. Most nutritionists would agree with her plan of quitting eating a few hours before bedtime. This gives your body time to digest and process your last meal before it transitions into sleep mode.
Not eating before bed also promotes better sleep, as you don’t have to worry about indigestion or heartburn being a problem and messing with your sleep pattern.
Pump It Up!
Don’t be afraid to lift those weights! Carrie Underwood’s sleek and lean physique is a testament to the idea that you can lose fat pounds while building muscle. For women particularly, light weight lifting is not just good for your body mass, but it’s also been proven to help stave off osteoporosis and encourage strong posture, which will also help in tightening up problem areas and keeping everything in line.
And Walk It off
Though Underwood has built time into her day to lift weights, she still manages to make sure that cardio exercise is part of her routine. Whether you enjoy walking, running, biking, swimming, or some other form of cardio, getting your heart rate up will keep those calories from collecting as fat. Cardio exercise has also been proven to help with our mental health, as it helps release serotonin, an important element in our mood. And when our moods are lifted, we tend to make healthier choices when it comes to what we feed our bodies.
Eat With Intention
Finally, you don’t have to adopt a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle like Underwood in order to lose weight. That said, thinking carefully about what you are putting into your body is important not only for weight loss but your overall health. When you understand the nutrients (or lack of) in the food choices you are making, you are much more likely to pick foods that are full of the things your body needs to function and maintain a weight that is healthy for you.
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