Are you one of those people who want to lose weight but don’t know how to start a weight loss journey ? If yes, then this blog is for you. How to lose weight naturally is a very common question among all the people these days. But starting with the weight loss journey for beginners is itself a very big challenge. People often start over judging themselves and their potential. Huge self- expectations with no visible weight loss always start demotivating the individuals leading to quit the weight loss planner. But this is quite normal as starting is always the hardest part for you, me and everyone. I hope that this blog will make the readers meet up with the right knowledge and courage to restart their left journey of weight loss. This blog will definitely help you to guide how to lose weight safely.
Why Most Weight Loss Attempts Fail ?
Losing weight is not something that can be done overnight. It requires a lot of patience and consistency. Sometimes which look like failure to self can actually be due to biological and hormonal reasons. Due to the less intake of food while dieting for weight loss can lead to slower metabolism and intense hunger desires. This is because everyone’s body is different and so is the way to deal with starvation. The weight loss journey should not be too strict and harsh on self. One can’t change his/her eating habits all of a sudden. It is a like a voyage which is to be carried out by slowly and steadily limiting the food intakes. This is an effective way for long term effective results. Don’t set initially high expectations. Start with small goals. Focus on your will power and self-control. Beware of binging and overeating. These are key factors which can help your weight loss attempts become successful.
Simple Steps To Follow In Healthy Weight Loss
Step 1: Set Realistic Weight Loss Goals
The best way to optimize your weight loss journey is by opting for SMART approach. Here each letter in ‘SMART’ stand for 5 different goals. SMART actually means Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time- bound. Applying this technique can be very useful. You should have a clear and specific goal in mind that how much weight you actually want to lose. This goal can be measurable by using a weighing machine to check weight weekly or regularly. The goal should be realistic and relevant to be achieved that can happen for real. Also, the goal should have a specific time boundation. This is important because human minds tend to focus better when the limit or ending period is pre-decided.
During this weight losing period you can also set weekly targets. Such as 49,000-70,000 steps per week.
Step 2: Understand Your Current Lifestyle
You should have a close eye on your normal lifestyle. Look for how you spend your entire day. Determine your sleeping pattern, eating habits, frequency of hunger & thirst, activity levels, stress management etc of a day. This helps in understanding your daily life pattern. Analyse and draw out points where you need to improve and how you can control your sudden eating urges. This is important for creating your personalized weight loss planner.
Step 3: Create a Simple Nutrition Plan
Prepare a smart diet plan for yourself which is nutritional and healthy. Avoid eating fast- processed food and sugary drinks. Focus on the consumption of whole foods which are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber such as fruits, vegetables, meat and nuts. Make sure to eat enough protein based food as per daily body requirement to avoid loss of muscles. You can boiled eggs and yogurt to your diet. Try to limit your portion sizes by avoiding overeating. Eat your food by chewing properly and don’t drink water just after eating as it slow downs the digestion and causes bloating. Following these healthy ways to lose weight naturally and without extreme dieting.
Step 4: Start Exercising Gradually
Physical activities are must to be included in your daily healthy habits. As for beginners, make sure to start with beginner friendly exercises. Start walking everyday at a normal pace for about 15 to 20 minutes. Perform simple workouts like squats, push-ups, plank etc. Eventually add more exercises and when used to it on a daily basis, you can slowly increase the walking and workout time. These activities will promote your overall body fitness and these are easy to be carried out in home. Start will small targets and stay positive with consistency in the progress.
Step 5: Stay Hydrated and Prioritize Sleep
Water requirement is comparatively even more than food. A healthy body needs at least 2 to 3 liters of water daily. It helps in effective metabolism and bodily functions, removal of toxins etc. Try to replacing your cold drink habit with water consumption.
Sleep is often overlooked but it is actually very important for resting and recovery of body. The recommended sleeping hours is 7 to 9 hours in night. Try replacing caffeine with warm milk consumption before sleeping as it improves the sleeping.
Step 6: Track Your Progress
Keeping a track of your progress is actually very important for maintain the motivation and analyzing yourself. Use a weighing machine to weight your body weight on a regular base. I would suggest to check your weight every once a week. Make sure to weight yourself in early morning after using toilet and before eating anything else the correct weight will get altered. Try to click your picture every week wearing same clothing to notice visible changes over time. Suggested camera angles are front, back and side pose.
With measuring tape you can also check your body parts like chest, waist, hips etc. This helps to keep a check on any loss of fat more precisely.
Step 7: Stay Motivated During Your Journey
Self-belief and motivation are must to maintain the weight loss journey. Because these help you to prevent giving up. Don’t lose hope even if you don’t see any changes for weeks because every body is different and so is the way to lose weight. Results may be slow but worth it if consistency is maintained. Enjoy the progress and celebrate even if changes are small because a win is a win, big or small doesn’t matter. These small changes eventually lead to drastic differences at a certain point as compared to the starting date.
For motivation try to connect with positive people, read the success weight loss podcasts of people, listen to energy boosting motivational speeches. These things will definitely boost your confidence and remove self doubts. Make your healthy habits as sustainable habits because they help in the prevention of weight regain and healthy balance of life.
Common Weight Loss Mistakes to Avoid
There are certain overly hyped myths which prevail online and within the minds of people. Following them cause some common mistakes hence, should be avoided.
Never skip your meals. Skipping meals increases the hunger craving which often leads to overeating and binge-eating. Hence, fueling the weight gain.
Don’t fall for strict or fad dieting. Such harsh dieting doesn’t lasts long and causes severe nutritional deficiencies if continued for long. A balance diet is must for a person either normal or overweighted.
Don’t make yourself feel small. Comparing self with others often causes demotivation, depression and overeating. Try to understand that every body is different based on metabolism, genetics and lifestyle.
Set goals that are suitable and achievable for you. Don’t over-expect from yourself. Unrealistic hopes and goals often hurts deeply when not fulfilled. So instead of being harsh on yourself, try to become the support system for yourself.
Sample Beginner Weight Loss Plan
Try to wake up early morning by 6 to 6:30 am at max. Make sure that proper sleep is achieved within this waling up time. Hydrate yourself with at least 1 glass of water. Before starting any bodily activity, start with some stretches as this prevents sudden injury and activate your neuromuscular system. You can include walking/ jogging, home workout or gym workout. Make sure to eat your breakfast by 8 am. Include healthy items and fruits in your breakfast. After proper breakfast, you can carry out your daily activities or job. You can use a step counter and calorie intake processor to your daily life.
Meal Ideas
Include healthy meals for your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some of the suggestions for you are-
Breakfast
You can eat oats which contains nutritional dried fruits and nuts. If not a sweet mouth than try eating masala oats. If you eat eggs then you can add boiled eggs or with wheat based toasts in your breakfast. Yogurt is very rich in protein. You can have yogurt with fiber based fruits.
Never skip your breakfast because a healthy day requires healthy meal. Keep your breakfast light but nutritionally high.
Lunch
For lunch you can eat protein based pulses like chickpea, lentils, black beans, kidney beans etc with brown rice or chapati. If you are non-vegetarian then chicken, fish etc are good options for you. For vegetarians, paneer/ tofu, mixed vegetables and soyabean are efficient for protein intake.
Healthy snacks
In between lunch and dinner time if you crave for something to eat, trying eating an apple or banana or even a carrot. You can also have a handful of dry fruits like almonds, walnuts etc. Make sure to drink water time to time in order to stay hydrated.
Dinner
At night, dinner choices can be grilled fish with brown rice or chapati. Vegetable stew, lentil soup, curd, green salad etc. Don’t overeat as it will cause discomfort in sleep.
Conclusion
Every big change needs a first step. Weight losing journey can be a challenge for people dealing with it. But challenges are manageable and reversible. Weight loss challenge can be faced with courage and self-belief. Opt for the correct way of weight management with balanced diet and fitness activities. Promise to yourself that you’ll never give up. Remember that this is journey is not a rat-race but a self paced effort which takes time for better results. Kickstart your weight-loss journey now because a fit lifestyle is actually very important for healthy sustenance and longevity.