Do you feel like you’ve tried everything to lose weight?
Maybe you’ve even had some success, but struggled to stick to a diet or exercise plan in the long term?
Don’t panic.
Many of the weight loss plans advertised online, in books, and on the covers of magazines simply aren’t sustainable. It’s not you that’s the problem – it’s the diets.
So, what is the best way to lose weight? By removing unhealthy foods, one step at a time.
No more feeling overwhelmed or trapped by a difficult diet or exercise regime – you’ll make real, long-term changes in a way that feels easy and natural.
Don’t try these techniques to lose weight
There is so much information on how to lose weight, particularly online, that’s it hard to know where to begin. Lots of the weight loss advice you see on the internet simply isn’t helpful – it’s not sustainable, and it won’t help you stay healthy in the long term.
Here’s what to avoid.
Going on fad diets: these harm your body.
It’s tempting to jump on the bandwagon with fad diets, but try and resist. Fads like the baby food diet, the alkaline diet, and diets which focus on avoiding fats have all been slammed by nutritionists. It’s also been shown that counting calories doesn’t work well.
Trying every trendy workout routine
Getting caught up in trying every new workout routine you hear about can feel just as overwhelming as hopping from diet to diet. Should you focus on HIIT workouts? Or is yoga the best? How many hours a week should you spend exercising? What if you’re working out wrong?
It’s enough to make you want to quit exercising altogether.
Eating new superfoods
‘Amazing New Superfood Doubles Weight Loss’
We’ve all clicked on headlines like this, hoping for a miracle cure to our weight problems. While some so-called ‘superfoods’ can be good for you, they won’t substitute a well-rounded healthy diet and lifestyle.
Losing motivation again? Here’s why.
You are too harsh on yourself.
“I’ll run for an hour each morning, swim for an hour after work, and avoid all desserts and fizzy drinks.”
It’s great to be enthusiastic about your weight loss, but plans like the one above rarely last long. You need to be realistic when planning your weight loss journey, instead of setting loads of difficult goals you know you’ll struggle to achieve. Instead of trying to quit everything at once, focus on making small changes to your diet.
You expect to see overnight results.
Losing weight is a process. If you expect to drop two sizes after a week of dieting, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Set realistic goals so you don’t get disheartened.
You focus on one-off actions, instead of building habits.
Ever been to the gym for a single class, then wondered why you weren’t seeing a change on the scales? Or quit chocolate for a week, and been disappointed when you didn’t lose weight? Losing weight isn’t about one-off actions – you need to build habits which will last the rest of your life.
Building good habits is the one way to lose weight effectively.
So, how do you start to build the habits that will help you lose weight?
Well, it’s been shown that building a habit takes only 7 days, as long as you do it right.
Here’s what to do:
- Start with baby steps. Make your new habit super-easy – something like, ‘Stop drinking fizzy drinks at work.’
- Change your environment. Set yourself up for success by filling your fridge with healthy food, sticking up motivational post-it notes and not buying junk food.
- Stick your habits together. Try combining habits to make them stick. For example, you could make it a habit write a weekly meal plan while relaxing after your Sunday jog.
- Break your large goals down into smaller ones. Your large goal could be to lose weight, while your small goal could be to cut out one unhealthy food this week.
- Reward yourself. When you reward yourself for completing a habit, you strengthen it. Try jumping in the air, giving yourself a big smile in the mirror, or reciting positive affirmations each time you make a good food choice.
- Avoid too much choice. Create your habits, make them specific, and stick to them. Too much choice overwhelms us, hence the need to avoid fad diets and workout routines.
Cut one unhealthy food out of your diet today.
Follow the steps above, and try eliminating just one of your least favourite junk foods from your diet. Do this each day for 7 days. Once you’ve managed that, you can gradually start to avoid other ‘bad’ foods, replacing them with new, healthy snacks and meals.
Here are some great replacement ideas to get you started:
- Fizzy drinks: fruit smoothies or herbal teas.
- Cheeseburger and fries: veggie burger and sweet potato fries.
- Sweets: nuts, seeds, and dried fruit.
- Potato chips: vegetable crisps, flavoured nuts.
Cutting out one food at a time much easier than giving up all your favourite treats cold turkey, so you’ll be much more likely to succeed.
Weight loss is a journey.
Start by eliminating just one bad food, and you’ll be one step closer to where you want to be.
Stop jumping from diet to diet, desperate to reach your ultimate end goal. Instead, take it one step at a time to build healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.
The post See How You Don’t Have To Start Your Weight Loss Journey Sweaty! appeared first on Lifehack.
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