Anyone who has tried will agree that it is easy to gain weight but hard to lose it. There are many myths about weight loss too, which only serve to complicate things further. The key is to know what to change. Here are five basic steps to help you get rid of those extra pounds.
Change how you view yourself
There is no such thing as a perfect figure. You could be striving for the impossible dream when the figure you have is right for you — even if the weight charts say you are a few pounds overweight. How you look and how you feel is a more accurate barometer than ideal weight measurements.
Be honest with yourself
If you’re not losing weight, you could be eating more than you think. Write down everything you eat and drink for a few days, and you’ll probably be shocked. Most people underestimate the amount of food they consume, and that’s why they don’t lose weight. If you’re eating too much, acknowledge the fact and resolve to cut down.
Be realistic
You didn’t become overweight overnight, and you won’t become slim in an instant. You need to monitor your food intake and exercise regularly to kick start your metabolism, improve muscle tone and firm up your body. It’s not going to happen in a few days or even a few weeks. Losing weight is a marathon, not a sprint, and you have to accept that.
Make healthy lifestyle choices
It’s not just what you eat that’s preventing you from losing weight. If you’re not getting enough exercise, your metabolism will be sluggish, and if you don’t get enough sleep, your body will not be able to repair and renew its cells overnight. For the metabolism to work efficiently and burn calories, the body needs to be well rested and healthy, so make sure you get enough sleep and exercise to keep your metabolism revved up and help you lose those excess pounds.
Eat to live, don’t live to eat
It might be easy to understand, but this advice is difficult to follow. Try not to focus your life around food, and don’t spend all day thinking about what you’re going to eat later. Choose filling, high-fiber but low-calorie foods that help you stay fuller for longer, so you’re not always thinking about your next meal.
Thinking about food will make you feel hungry, and then you’ll eat more than you should. Have a drink of water to take the edge off your appetite. If that doesn’t work, distract yourself with an activity that doesn’t involve food — call a friend or family member, or take the dog for a walk. In most cases, the food craving will go away. If it doesn’t, maybe you’re genuinely hungry and you need to eat!
There are many reasons why people fail to lose weight but most of them are not physical, so you can get around them. If you are realistic about your weight loss goals, and honest about the food you eat, you should be able to adjust your eating plans. You can eat well without getting hungry and still lose weight. It’s not rocket science, but it does require effort on your part.