How to Start Losing Weight the Right Way
You’ve decided that you want to lose some weight and get fitter and healthier? That’s great! However, with so much information out there about how to lose weight you might be confused with how and where to start.
Over the years working as a coach, I understand that starting any new health and fitness regime could be a daunting process. To make things easier, I have set up some ultimate weight loss tips, ensuring that you start and stay on the road to success. So, let’s get you on your way to losing weight and achieving long-lasting and maintainable results.
How to get started with losing weight
1. Establish your reasons
Establishing your reasons for starting this process might seem like an obvious one. However, a lot of people who want to lose weight will quickly forget why this journey is important to them. This results in demotivation and thus the inability to reach your goals.
Writing down your reasons and sticking them somewhere that you see every day serves as powerful motivation. It also serves as a constant reminder of why this journey is important to you and why you should keep going. You might want to lose weight to have more energy, to fit into those jeans, or to look fabulous for a wedding. Being reminded of why you started this journey on a daily basis will help give you that fire and energy that you need to succeed.
2. Plan and prep
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Planning and preparation are essential when you start losing weight. Knowing what you are doing and when you are doing it is one of the main ingredients for success.
If you have chosen to follow the 8fit meal plan, great! My advice would be to know what recipes you are having though the week, get your shopping list together and prep your food. As you develop new habits, having the right foods available to you at the right time is going to be key.
3. Banish temptation
Losing weight is about establishing sustainable, healthy habits. A healthy lifestyle is a happy one and you need to realize that no food is out of bounds. It’s about learning how to enjoy food in moderation (or controlled) way. However, to make it easier, it’s important that you get rid of all food-related temptations at the start. You know what they say, “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Clean out your pantry and fridge at home and work, replacing them with healthier alternatives. This will help you stay on track.
4. Track your emotions
Losing weight is not only about exercising and eating well. For a lot of people, emotional eating is the primary reason they can’t reach their weight loss goals. A great place to begin is to start a diary tracking what you eat, how you feel and when you are tempted to eat. Recognizing, accepting, and working through emotions that trigger emotional eating will help you stay on track. If you need support to practice more mindful eating, reach out to a loved one, friend, nutritionist or health coach.
My best advice? Try and occupy yourself with other things. Do something productive like going for a walk, doing an 8fit workout or reading a book. Establishing new and healthy habits will help banish old ones.
5. Swap your drinks for water
A simple yet super effective way to get you started on your weight loss journey is swapping all your drinks for water. People often fail to lose weight because they are drinking their calories.
Soda and juice are all loaded with sugar and calories and will not give your brain the signal that you are consuming them. Simply swapping all your drinks with water will make a huge difference to your waistline. Moreover, the benefits of upping your water intake are endless.
6. Get Active in Your Daily Life
Move as much as you can. Instead of taking the elevator – walk up the stairs. Whenever you can – cycle to work instead of taking your car. Getting more active in your daily life will help you reach your goals without you even realizing.
7. Enjoy the process and treat your body well
I can’t stress how important this point is to losing weight and establishing a healthy lifestyle. Many of us will try to lose weight, taking extreme measures which will be detrimental to our health and our bodies. As a motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, once said, “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
If you suffer from restriction and boredom, think of this as a new health and fitness journey benefiting your body. By thinking positive, you will be more likely to enjoy it and be in it for the long run. When we restrict ourselves with either food and/or calories our bodies and natural mindset is to think about the things we can’t have and then we end up binge eating. This sets up a horrible cycle of binging and restriction as we go around in circles. Instead, think of food as a way of nourishing your body and exercise to get it stronger and fitter.
Remember, nothing is off limits. Just enjoy your favorite foods in a controlled way and get back on track. Ultimately, this is what makes the difference to a short-term fad diet to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
Bottom line
Getting started on your weight loss journey doesn’t have to be complicated. Simply follow the seven steps above. Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to and what you do today can change your tomorrow. So what are you waiting for? I’m challenging you to start making new and healthy habits today, focussing on losing weight the right way. Your health and fitness journey starts now.
