Making the decision to lose weight means that you commit to making some fundamental changes to your lifestyle. It won’t necessarily be easy, but it’ll be worth it, because being overweight is an unhealthy lifestyle and making the decision to live healthily will improve not only your physical well-being but your mental and emotional state as well. Personal relationships will improve, you will find yourself more confident about your self-image and it can even play a big role in furthering your career.
I know what you’re thinking – “Intense exercise is great and all but it’s easier said than done.” The truth is- it’s easier done than said.
So in order to get you started on that path towards a better, brighter and happier you, we’ve laid out the hard facts and simple truths about weight loss.
Set Your Goals
Without setting realistic goals, you will find yourself quickly discouraged and back on the couch. Everybody wants to lose weight quickly – as marketers well know with their promises to make you “Lose 100 pounds in a week!” strategies- but the truth is that our bodies aren’t wired to make such drastic changes in a short amount of time.
That’s why the first step is being realistic about your weight loss – to lose weight you will need to approach it with the same dedication and focus that you would use to approach a large project. Set your goals, allocate time and track your progress. Scheduling time is particularly important as we’re hardwired from birth to get to school on time, tune in for our favorite TV shows on time and live according to the clock. So if you wake up every morning with the time already scheduled for taking a run or lifting weights, you’re much more likely to stay on track and make progress. This is one of the reasons that joining a regularly scheduled weight-loss clinic can be a very good idea.
Plus, by setting realistic goals you feel much more rewarded when you accomplish those goals, and that sense of accomplishment will only encourage you to continue with your plan.
Real Exercise Yields Real Results
Everybody knows that exercise is essential to weight loss. The fact is it’s extremely difficult to lose weight without exercising. But what some people don’t realize is that there’s a difference between doing a few sit-ups before breakfast and seriously dedicating time to do some hardcore workout. That’s because there is a good amount of truth in the saying “No pain, no gain.” If you’re not sweating and breathing heavily, you’re not losing weight -and there are several things you can do to make sure you’re getting the most out of your workout.
For starters, don’t take breaks. Taking breaks in between workouts slows your heart-rate and makes it harder to keep up a fast pace. Think of the gym like you think of the workplace – you have to do your best and work hard to succeed in your career and it’s no different with your exercise.
Another effective strategy is to get a workout partner or personal trainer who’s more fit and experienced with exercise than you are. This will motivate you to work harder and hopefully get you up to par with your partner.
And of course the most obvious way to ensure you’re getting a thorough workout is to join a gym. Treadmills and Thighmasters are great for home workout, but it can be difficult to fit all the equipment necessary to ensure a comprehensive workout in your home.
Motivation is Key
Now I know what you’re thinking – “Intense exercise is great and all but it’s easier said than done.” The truth is- it’s easier done than said. You can procrastinate your weight loss until the day you die – or you can take a few simple steps that will provide you with the motivation to work your butt off (literally).
Some popular motivational techniques include taking before and after pictures, hiring a personal trainer, joining a weight loss clinic or even signing up to an online weight loss forum. Reshape your life so that every aspect of it reminds you of your goal – getting fit. With enough motivating factors, it becomes easier to work out than to skip it.
The reason that weight-loss clinics and personal trainers work so well for encouraging weight loss is because of the social and competitive nature of human beings. If we see our friend losing weight at a faster rate than us, we will want to best them. If you are logging on to a weight-loss forum every night and bragging about the amount of reps you accomplished, you will feel pressured into living up to your accomplishments.
Also, tell your family, friends and co-workers about your latest endeavor to lose weight and keep them regularly updated. Surround yourself with positive people and make them proud of your progress.
You Are What You Eat
In your quest to lose weight there are two enemies – laziness and temptation. The laziness is defeated with exercise but then there’s one more foe left to fight – the temptation of certain tasty foods. And while both are formidable opponents, temptation might just be more dangerous than laziness as an entire day of exercise can be cancelled out by a single pizza dinner.
This is why eating healthy and avoiding bad foods is the other golden pillar of weight loss. It’s the yin to the exercising yang and it requires some drastic changes to your way of living and your outlook on food.
To eat right, you must start by reading labels and restocking your fridge and there are plenty of simple changes you can make off the bat – such as buying whole wheat bread and pasta, low-fat mayonnaise and reduced fat milk. But also invest in a weight loss book that doesn’t promote easy solutions to big weight problems and research what kind of foods affect what areas of your body. For instance, high-fat cheeses and milk will increase your tummy fat more than anywhere else on your body.
Another technique is to start checking the caloric content in your food and compare it with the calorie loss displayed on modern treadmill machines. When you realize that one chocolate chip cookie could undo a half hour on the treadmill, it becomes a lot less appetizing.
But more than anything – you have to control your portions. Everybody may slip up and indulge in a cheeseburger every now and then, but the trick is eating only half of it. Additionally, you can take simple steps that reduce the amount of food you eat on a daily basis.
One effective technique for reducing portions involves tricking your body into thinking that you’ve eaten more than you have. To do this you can try eating slower and chewing your food for longer. Another way to do this is to eat more fiber, which studies have shown makes you feel fuller, longer. You can also try using smaller forks and plates or even throw your silverware and a dirty napkin onto your remaining food to make it appear unappetizing and signify the end of the meal. These techniques highlight the importance that psychology plays in losing weight and staying fit.
Don’t Lose Hope!
Finally, remember to never lose hope. Just like in anything we do, there will be setbacks and the results won’t be immediate. Try to remember that good wholesome feeling that we all experience after a long workout. Remind yourself of that nasty, depressed feeling after a fatty meal and focus on long-term goals rather than short-term pleasures. After all, life is too short to go through it feeling self-conscious about your appearance and avoiding fun physical activities such as hiking, biking and sports. Everybody deserves a healthy body and it’s up to you to exercise your right to exercise.
Do you have any weight-loss tips you’d like to share? Contribute to this article by leaving them in a comment below! Thanks for reading and be sure to check out the sister article Top 5 Bizarre Weight Loss Techniques People Actually Try!
