If you’ve been living with excess weight, you’re already well aware of how it can affect your well-being and quality of life; you’re already concerned about your future and health. But where to start? There are all kinds of information available out there trying to convince you to buy a weight loss supplement, commit to a fitness program, or completely overhaul your diet.
But losing weight fast isn’t the goal. The goal is to learn how to live in a way that treats your body well and provides it with the food, sleep, activity, and love it needs. So don’t be overwhelmed; we’ve put together some of the best manageable ways to make those first steps (even if it’s for the thousandth time) toward your weight loss goals and the lifestyle you want.
Tips To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals
Now, it’s important to remember that everyone is different; what works for one person may not work for someone else. It’s also important to know that you’ll probably be doing things that will take you outside of your comfort zone, but you need to power through because nothing will change unless you do. So, here are some steps you can take to not only lose weight but begin a healthy lifestyle that will keep that weight off.
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Clean Out Those Cupboards
The first step to tackle when it comes to losing weight is your diet. Depending on your current weight and diet, this could be a small change as swapping out soda for water or doing a complete kitchen re-haul. Stick to a diet that focuses on whole foods; lean proteins, loads of vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.
Stay Hydrated
Our bodies are made up of mostly water so it’s important to keep hydrated to keep it running smoothly. Replace any overly-processed beverages you might be drinking now with water, tea, or fresh pressed fruit or vegetable juice. Things like pop, conventional fruit juices, and even milk have a lot of sugar and empty calories.
Stay Prepared
One of the most common reasons people break their diets is cravings. They can come out of nowhere and if we aren’t ready for them we could soon find ourselves at the bottom of a bag of potato chips. Keep things like fresh-cut fruit, vegetables with hummus, or even homemade popcorn on hand so you can make the right call when the mood strikes.
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Give Yourself A Break
Cutting anything out cold turkey is hard and often finds us going back to our old habits. We’ve all heard about cheat days, but if you’re serious about your weight loss goals try only having a cheat meal. One day out of the week, for one meal, eat something that you would have had before you started your weight loss journey.
Get Moving
Besides diet, exercise is the second vital pillar that your weight loss goals are supported by. Exercise can range anywhere from going for walks to high-intensity interval training. What’s important is that you do more and you do it often. By do more, we mean do more than you are doing right now. If your level of experience with exercise is 0, start with something low impact to get your body used to it, and then as your body progresses, your training should get more and more vigorous. It’s also important to be consistent, working out 4-5 days a week so that you keep making progress and don’t backslide.
Keep Moving Forward
The third pillar holding up your weight loss goals is motivation. This is something that almost everyone has struggled with. When people first start their journey, they are usually filled with excitement and pride because they are taking control of their life and they are excited for what’s to come. But after a while, they begin to lose speed; they aren’t seeing the results they want, or their schedule changes throwing their new health routine out of whack and then they find themselves back where they started.
Remember that nothing changes overnight and the more you commit, the better you’ll feel and the happier you will be when you finally reach your goals. These are just a few tips to help you get started, but if you’re looking for some more motivation, here are some more articles to help you get started:
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