One of the most popular New Year resolutions is “To Lose Weight”. However, in most cases, just after day one we tend to become a bit laid back in our approach to stick to our weight loss plan. And the result is that even after a month of kick-starting our weight loss regimen, we are not on track to lose weight. If this is what your weight loss journey is all about, then this article is a must read.
Kickstart your weight loss goal with just 5 tips
There are many reasons that might be sabotaging our weight loss goal right from not eating as per the set schedule or failing to workout out daily. But the key to lose weight is to overcome every hurdle that comes your way. This doesn’t mean you have to work out day-in and day-out or eat foods that you do not like but be slow and steady to achieve your desired weight.
So to help you stick to your weight loss plan, here are a few simple tips and tricks you can follow to be on track from day one. Get started!
1. Maintain A Daily Journal
It is not easy to keep a track of your diet, fitness, sleep and stress level on a day to day basis, which is one of the reasons why you fail to stick to your weight loss regimen. However, maintaining a weight loss journal can give you an idea of what is working for you and what’s not. You can either write it down in a diary every day or use an online app or tracker to know about your caloric intake and calories burned and help you to stick to your weight loss goal.
You can list down the foods and its portion sizes and also measure your exercise progress, which gives you a quick recap of your diet control and exercise routine. For example, if you are maintaining a diet diary, then you can divide it into four parts — breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. And against each subhead, you can write down the list of foods and its quantity. A simple scroll through your journal can help you to know about your weight changes such as weight loss or weight gain.
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2. Set Realistic Goals
In simple terms, it means you have to go slow and steady to reach your weight loss goal. From leading a sedentary lifestyle to becoming a fitness enthusiast is a long journey and cannot be achieved overnight. This is why you have to set realistic goals such as working out for 30 minutes on day one to slowly progressing to 45 minutes by the end of the week. Setting unrealistic goals only lead to failure and frustration and thus sabotage your weight loss goals. Set short but achievable targets and always aim for long-term benefits for healthy weight loss.
3. Choose A Fitness Buddy
Who said weight loss is not fun? Ticking off those healthy eating plans and exercise routine as a part of a daily chore can be quite boring. Moreover, it can be difficult to stay motivated on your own when it comes to weight loss. So to keep your motivation strong and inspire you to eat healthily and workout regularly, having a diet or exercise buddy can be of great help. Having a person who shares the same set of goals as yours can help you to be on track with your fitness plan. It will be good if your partner, spouse, dad or friends becomes your fitness buddy as they can not only be a part of a healthy weight loss competition but also lower your chances of bunking/cheating your exercise sessions or diet plans.
4. Make It Personal
When it comes to weight loss, always keep in mind that what worked for others may not work for you. So it is important to know what is that exercise or a diet plan that can work for you and help you to lose weight. You can either decide for yourself based on your routine and diet plan or take help from professionals such as gym trainers and nutritionists to help you out. However, do not forget to consider few factors while deciding your final weight loss plan such as your likes and dislikes, lifestyle, time constraints, budget, the amount of weight you want to lose and physical condition.
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5. Practice Mindful Eating
In the current busy schedule, most often than we tend to eat our food either in a jiffy or just grab a meal as we chat on the phone or scroll through our mobile. And this is one of the reasons which can hinder your weight loss goal as you do not enjoy food but stuff your mouth with whatever is present. Moreover, when we sit down to have a meal, we are surrounded by a lot of disturbances such as watching TV, surfing on a mobile, listening to music or chatting with friends and family. But it is believed that eating in silence and enjoying every bite of what you eat can go a long way in aiding in weight loss and also help you to live healthily. It is important to chew your food and taste it which not only helps you to eat to the fullest but also avoid unhealthy cravings and aid in weight loss.
Sticking to a weight loss plan is not a cakewalk but requires a lot of dedication and motivation to reach the goal. There are times when you feel low or times when you are physically drained to workout. Remember that no one is perfect but the true spirit lies in giving your best and ensuring that you stick to your plan till the end. So if you give in your urge to eat dessert at a party, remember to burn more calories by working out than overindulging in unhealthy foods. You need to have a well-planned weight loss regimen and a lot of patience to follow the set schedule to lose weight as they say “Try, try till you succeed”.
(The article is reviewed by Dr. Swati Mishra, Medical Editor and Dr. Lalit Kanodia, General Physician)
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