Majority of people get stuck or overwhelmed when it comes to weight loss. With the large growing list of fad diets, it can get downright confusing. This overwhelming confusion causes many to quit before they even started.
The Problem with Fad Diets
One of the main problems with fad diets are they’re not typically sustainable over the long term. Most will follow a given diet and will lose weight and meet their goal. Once the goal is reached they will return to their old ways and will put the weight they lost right back on. This, in turn, causes frustration and that’s when people settle and give up.
Another problem is when the weight is lost too fast. This usually happens when people follow a “crash” diet that allows a very low daily calorie intake. This can cause loss of muscle and nutritional deficiencies.
This day in age, everyone is looking for the shortest path of least resistance to lose weight.
There are NO Shortcuts
That’s right, there are no shortcuts. The formula for weight loss is simple, but the journey is not. The simple formula is calories burned must be greater than calories consumed per day. That’s it, that’s all there is to it. Oh, but that journey….
Time for that Mindset Change
The change to a healthier lifestyle takes a mindset change, the mindset to have the discipline necessary to make healthier choices. Along with mindset comes consistency. Consistency is necessary to make progress. Discipline and consistency go hand in hand. Without discipline and consistency, you will be spinning your wheels and wasting your time.
Diet Changes
There is no need to over complicate your diet. When I started my weight loss journey I made adjustments to the portion size of my meals. I was able to do this by using a calorie tracker such as MyFitnessPal. This app allows you to input your current weight and your goal weight which I’ll cover below. It will give you a daily calorie intake in order to maintain a healthy weight loss. You can then enter what you eat for your meals and it will give you how many calories you’re eating.
It’s that simple, if you’re in a daily caloric deficit, you will lose weight. Of course there’s more to what you’re eating for overall nutrition, but the formula for weight loss is the same. This is how I started and coupled with daily workouts, my weight started to drop.
Every body is different. I played around with my caloric intake to determine what worked for me. I did not want a large daily caloric deficit.
Make it a Daily Habit
This is where discipline and consistency come into play. You must have the discipline to meet your daily caloric intake consistently. This is the only way to make your weight loss sustainable in the long term. I guarantee once you start noticing the weight loss, you will be even more motivated to keep going.
Make Goals
It’s very beneficial to start with an ultimate weight loss goal and smaller progress goals. I started my journey at 285 pounds. My ultimate goal at the time was to get to 230 pounds. I set smaller goals along the way at 10 pound intervals. This helped me see the progress I was making along the way.
It is also beneficial to take pictures of yourself along the way. I really enjoyed seeing all of the changes. It was amazing to see all of the places on my body I lost weight; waste, legs, face, neck, and even fingers.
Not Linear
Weight loss is not linear. There will be many times where you will see a jump in weight. This happens and it’s part of the process. Just stay the course and it will drop, I promise. You must have the discipline to keep going regardless what the scale shows. It is when you reach these speed bumps that you learn the most about yourself. You teach yourself to push through difficult times. This in turn makes you a stronger person.
Diet and Weight Training – Match made in Heaven
Weight training or resistance training along with dieting is extremely effective. It is highly recommended and will make you all around healthier. I will cover weight training in depth in another blog post.