Reach your weight loss goals with a smart strategy
- Binjal Shah
- Aug 28, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: May 18, 2024
Discover the top scientifically-backed approaches to shedding those extra pounds and enhancing your well-being!
To lose weight successfully, focus on maintaining a healthy diet and increasing physical activity. Making long-term lifestyle changes is key. Consider these six strategies to achieve your weight loss goals.
1. Make sure you're ready.
Long-term weight loss takes time and effort — and a long-term commitment. While you don't want to put off weight loss indefinitely, you should make sure you're ready to make permanent changes to eating and activity habits. Ask yourself the following questions to help you determine your readiness:
Am I motivated to lose weight?
Am I too distracted by other pressures?
Do I use food as a means to cope with stress?
Am I ready to learn or use other strategies to cope with stress?
Do I need other support from friends or professionals to manage stress?
Am I willing to change my eating habits?
Am I willing to change activity habits?
Do I have the time to spend on making these changes?
Talk to your doctor if you need help addressing stressors or emotions that seem like obstacles to your readiness. When you're ready, you'll find it easier to set goals, stay committed and change habits.
2. Find your inner motivation.
No one else can make you lose weight. You must undertake diet and exercise changes to please yourself. What will give you the burning drive to stick to your weight-loss plan?
While you have to take responsibility for your behavior for successful weight loss, it helps to have support — of the right kind. Pick people to support you who will encourage you in positive ways without shame, embarrassment or sabotage.
Ideally, find people who will listen to your concerns and feelings, exercise with you, create healthy menus, and share your priority on developing a healthier lifestyle, which can strongly motivate you to stick to your weight-loss goals.
If you prefer to keep your weight-loss plans private, be accountable to yourself by having regular weigh-ins, recording your diet and exercise progress in a journal, or tracking your progress using digital tools.
3. Set realistic goals.
It may seem obvious to set realistic weight-loss goals. But do you know what's realistic? Over the long term, losing 0.5 to 1 kilogram weekly is smart. Generally, to lose this much, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day through a lower-calorie diet and regular physical activity.
Depending on your weight, 5% of your current weight may be a realistic goal, at least for an initial goal. If you weigh 82 kilograms, that's 4 kilograms. Even this level of weight loss can help lower your risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
4. Consult experts and enjoy healthier food.
Adopting a new eating style that promotes weight loss must include lowering your total calorie intake. But decreasing calories need not mean giving up taste, satisfaction or even ease of meal preparation.
Don't alter any essential macro/micronutrients required by your body, the deficiency of which may not be visible instantly with fad diets but can have harmful health effects in the long term. Thus, achieve weight management goals and feel a multi-fold increase in energy levels with diets that are healthy & nourishing. Research has shown that regular monitoring by a qualified dietitian increases compliance with the diet and helps people enjoy their wellness journey.
At Nutriotherapy, your elaborated and well-planned meal plan will:
Take care of your food dislike
Consists of traditional food
As per your daily schedule
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Healthy and tasty recipes
5. Get active, stay active.
While you can lose weight without exercise, regular physical activity plus calorie restriction can help give you the weight-loss edge. Exercise can help burn off the excess calories you can't cut through diet alone.
Exercise also offers numerous health benefits, including boosting your mood, strengthening your cardiovascular system and reducing your blood pressure. Exercise can also help in maintaining weight loss. Studies show that people who maintain their weight loss over the long term get regular physical activity.
How many calories you burn depends on your activities' frequency, duration and intensity. One of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise — such as brisk walking — for at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Some people may require more physical activity than this to lose weight and maintain that weight loss.
Any extra movement helps burn calories. Consider ways to increase your physical activity throughout the day if you can't fit in formal exercise on a given day. For example, make several trips up and down stairs instead of using the elevator or park at the far end of the lot when shopping.
6. Change your perspective
Eating healthy foods and exercising for only a few weeks or months is not enough if you want long-term, successful weight management. These habits must become a way of life. Lifestyle changes start with looking honestly at your eating patterns and daily routine.
After assessing your weight-loss challenges, try working out a strategy to gradually change habits and attitudes that have sabotaged your past efforts. Then, move beyond simply recognizing your challenges — plan for how you'll deal with them if you're going to succeed in losing weight once and for all.
You likely will have an occasional setback. But instead of giving up entirely after a setback, simply start fresh the next day. Remember that you're planning to change your life. It won't happen all at once. Please stick to your healthy lifestyle; the results will be worth it.
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