Being overweight is definitely not good, not only for your appearance but also for your health. Losing those extra kilos requires a lot of planning, determination, and commitment. It is not an easy journey and will have many ups and downs. But the most important thing is your desire to lose weight and rest everything falls into place eventually.
Let’s explore how you can effectively start and continue your weight loss journey with the help of some of the tips below.
Get Into the Right Mindset
Many people think that weight loss requires a strict diet and regular exercise to see results on the scale. Though it is true, the other factor that plays a vital role is your mindset. It is important to believe in yourself and your goals to enjoy a successful weight loss journey. In fact,several studies have time and again proved that self-efficacy pushes a person to perform better in every field.
Determine Your Why
Even though you have made your mind and want to lose weight,it is not enough to push you daily towards your goal. A valid reason as to why do you actually want to lose your weight is important to set a target and excel. Here are a few meaningful reasons that can put your mind in the right perspective to lose weight:
- To be able to wearthose old jeans again
- To be moreenergetic and active
- To be healthy anddisease-free for as long as possible
- To be a role modelfor your kids
- To boost your confidence and enjoy in your own skin
- To manage or evenreverse lifestyle disorders such as diabetes and hypertension
Whatever the reason is, recognize it and stay determined to achieve it.
Develop a Plan and Go Ahead
You have crossed half the hurdle by knowing your reason to lose weight and by finding your motivation to reach the goal. Now just make a plan,follow it religiously and do not let any excuse come into the way. Excuses are the worst ways to divert from the goal and fail your plan. Your excuses can range from the following:
- I just can’t follow it today
- I don’t have healthy food stock for today
- I’m late and have no time to cook
- I’m very busy and have no time for a workout
Just stay motivated, follow the plan, and do not let any excuse block your way.
Food is Fuel
Food provides nutrition to the body and is very important to maintain energy levels, burn fat, and also build muscles. But it does not mean that you need to plan meticulously about your meals. Here are a few quick ways to make healthy meals:
- Includefruits in your diet every day
- Saladsare quick and easy to make
- Indulge into fat-free yogurts and dips
- Keep a well-stocked kitchen full of healthy options
- Always keep an eye on healthy and easy to make recipes
Apart from healthy meals, it is crucial to make the right exercise plan for weight loss. So make a plan that includes alot of physical activity (like jogging, swimming, cycling, running etc.) and help your body to burn fat and calories while maintaining muscle mass. Also, beconsistent with your plan and follow it without a miss.
Make It Enjoyable
Whatever diet or exercise plan you make, try to make it as enjoyable as possible. Don’t let boredom affect your goals. You can listen to your favorite music while exercising or can dance to your favorite song. Also do not always be a counting baby and count every calorie that goes into your mouth. You can have a bar of chocolate or a scoop of ice cream once in a week as part of your cheat day. This will keep you both boosted and content at the same time.
Find Out What Motivated You
As already said, weight loss is not going to be an easy journey and there will be many days when you will feel exhausted to do a workout. Also, you may want to indulge in not-so-healthy or junk food on a few occasions. But it is most important to stay determined and motivated. Your motivation can be anything that remembers you about your goal and also pushes you to achieve it. Here are a few motivational things that you can try out:
- An inspirational lecture
- A look at those old jeans you want to fit in again
- A fitness quote
- A poster of your favorite personality
- List of associated problems or complications that you are facing
So just recognize your source of motivation and take advantage of it on those unwilling days.
Don’t Lose Hope, Even If You See No Results
It can take some time for the result to show up on the weighing scale. Everybody is different and have different metabolism rate. Some people may lose weight very easily while others may need to do a lot of effort even to lose few kilos. So don’t lose hope even if you see no results in the initial days.
Even if you have tried long and have not lost much, there are other ways too that can help you in getting back to shape. Sleeve gastrectomy is one such minimally invasive bariatric procedure in which a major part of the stomach is removed to limit the intake of food. The smaller stomach after surgery fills early and the person consumes much less food than before. This reduces the number of calories and in turn, helps in weight loss. So even if diet and exercise are not showing you desired results, you can opt for sleeve gastrectomy and get in shape.
Conclusion
So to conclude, it may look that weight loss journey is rigid and difficult. But in reality, it is quite simple if you make strong but reachable goals and follow a plan to achieve them. A little bit of pre-preparation and planning is all that is required to be on the right track of your weight loss journey. Also, even if you see no results, there are alternate ways such as sleeve gastrectomyand other types of bariatric procedures that will reshape your stomach and help you lose those extra kilos. So don’t lose hope and identify your ray in darkness.
