Realistic Weight Loss Tips and Techniques To Keep You on Track
Whether you want to shed pounds to boost your confidence or take control of your health, finding weight loss tips that work is difficult for many patients.
Furthermore, finding the inspiration to lose weight can feel like an uphill battle, as inspiration typically comes and goes. If you wake up one morning gung-ho about your goals, only to find yourself at the drive-thru by day two, you aren’t alone.
True weight loss motivation has to come from within yourself, but there are external sources that can get you moving in the right direction. Take these weight loss tips to help inspire you through your journey to better health.
Get Motivated: Take Inspiration from Real-Life Weight loss Success Stories
Do you know someone who has personally lost a lot of weight? If you’ve watched someone transform their life from couch potato to health nut, ask them how they got started. Hearing stories from real people with who you can relate can help spark the weight loss motivation that you need.
Even if you don’t know of anyone who has lost weight, try going online to weight loss groups where you can connect with real people. Finding people who have been where you are now can help you over hurdles and meet your weight loss goals.
Buddy Up: Find a Weight loss Partner
Sometimes you just need someone to lean on while you’re going through the transition of losing weight. Find a friend who is in a similar position and make a plan. Eat similar meals, go to the gym together and share your ups and downs. People who are losing weight need a support system.
You can use each other for extra weight loss motivation, cheering each other on and even engaging in some friendly competition. If you decide to take the competitive route, remember that the competition is ultimately about your health. No sabotaging!
Stay on Track With Fitness Goals
If all you focus is on is your diet and what you can and can’t eat, it’s helpful to refocus your concentration on fitness. Set a fitness goal to get your mind in another direction without completely derailing your progress.
If you aren’t already doing some form of cardio, it’s time to start with clearance from your doctor. Next to a sensible diet, cardio is a surefire way to melt off pounds.
How Much Cardio do You Need?
Depending on your fitness level, your cardio session can run anywhere from 20-90 minutes. Be mindful of your current capabilities and do not push yourself to injury. Burning yourself out or getting hurt will only set you back and delay your weight loss goals.
One popular option as a fitness goal is to sign up for a 5k race. You can choose a race that’s about three months out from your starting point. Many healthy people can train for and finish a 5k in three months. There are plenty of online programs that can get you there, including the app entitled Couch to 5k.
You can also set muscle gain or fat loss goals, taking measurements every few weeks instead of weighing yourself. Sometimes the scale can be misleading, and your pants or tape measure tells a different story.
Remember that not all fitness goals have to involve intense cardio or running. A walk around the block each morning can do wonders for weight loss and even improve your mental health.
Weight Loss Tips: Take a Close Look at Your Calories and Diet
We’re refraining from the word “diet” here to eliminate the confusion of being on an actual diet. Your diet is simply a pattern of your current eating habits, which dictates your weight depending on how many calories your body uses.
As far as your eating habits, one of the best weight loss programs you can count on is eating food in the most natural state possible. Also known as clean eating, eliminating processed foods from your grocery list will escalate weight loss results.
Unfortunately, extremely low calorie plans are some of the popular weight loss tips that you’ll find online.
A low calorie approach to eating generally isn’t sustainable. If you ultimately reach your goal weight using this method, there is a large risk of gaining it back. Keep your calorie intake below the amount required for your body to maintain its current weight. The idea is to burn more calories than you consume.
If you aren’t sure of the correct calorie intake for your weight loss, this calorie calculator can provide guidance. You may also consult a physician or nutritionist for advice.
The Key to Counting Calories
Counting calories can work as a very effective weight loss program that will have you shedding pounds while watching what you eat.
With 3500 calories equaling one pound, you’d be surprised at how many calories are in your favorite foods. Making simple swaps, such as yogurt for breakfast in place of a donut, will easily save you 200-300 calories.
How do you stay on track while counting calories? Rely on convenient apps to do the work for you. Some popular apps include Lose it!, My Fitness Pal, and Noom.
Reducing Carbohydrate Intake
Cutting carbs is another one of the popular weight loss tips. This applies particularly to refined carbohydrates like the kind that are in white bread and baked goods.
When low carb foods come to mind, many people often think of vegetables. While it’s true that vegetables are generally low carb, starchy vegetables such as potatoes are not included on that list.
The best low carb vegetables are the standard green and leafy kind, such as lettuce, broccoli, and spinach. The low carb vegetable list is much more extensive than that, though.
When you’re focusing on eating low carb, you can enjoy a seemingly endless amount of cauliflower, carrots, celery, mushrooms, avocado, asparagus, and bell peppers.
Do Extreme Low Carb Diets Work?
If your diet typically consists of a lot of refined carbs, eliminating those food sources will result in weight loss fairly quickly.
Following a very low carb diet plan, such as Atkins or Keto, will put your body into a state of ketosis. This means that your body is burning fat instead of carbs while simultaneously dropping water weight. Ketosis is only meant to be a temporary weight loss method that lasts for a short period of time.
You don’t necessarily need to eat an extremely low-carb diet like Atkins to see results. Cutting out 50% of your carb intake will also provide results, although they may not be as dramatic. Either way, reducing carbohydrate intake will put most people on the path to weight loss.
Following these tips for weight loss can provide results, but the level of those results depends on your current diet, fitness level, and any medical conditions that you may have.
Keep in mind that those who already eat sensibly and are at a healthy weight will have a more difficult time dropping weight. However, if you are just starting out and have a fair amount of weight to lose, these weight loss tips can get you on track.
Weight Loss Tips: Healthy Snacks
It’s relatively easy to whip up a hearty low carb meal, but what about snacks? Since chips, cookies, and candy are out of the question, there are still a variety of foods that are perfect for munching.
Keep these snacks on day to keep your blood sugar stable and your belly feeling full:
- Hard boiled eggs
- Vegetables and hummus
- Pickles (watch for sodium content)
- Vegetables and ranch dressing (full fat dressing is lower in carbs than “light” versions)
- Cheese
- Nuts
- Peanut butter and celery sticks
- Turkey and cheese rollups
What is the Best Program for Weight Loss?
The best weight loss programs consist of a healthy diet and regular exercise, there are still several routes you can take to meet your weight loss goals. These routes don’t require surgery, aren’t fads, and you won’t see a commercial for them on TV.
If you’re having trouble losing weight, a primary physician can help you find the root of the cause. Some medications make weight loss difficult. There are also health conditions, such as thyroid, that may make it difficult to lose weight as well.
The bottom line is that a large portion of fat loss is contributed to your diet, and it’s important to start consuming the right kinds of foods for optimal results. Eat lean meats, vegetables, and whole grains. By keeping consistent and holding yourself accountable, results will follow.
Are you wondering if you have a medical condition that is preventing you from losing weight? Please contact us today to schedule an appointment.
