If you want to lose weight, you may feel as if you face an almost insurmountable challenge. You can shed the pounds by making simple choices to strengthen your health and to improve your lifestyle. The best strategies for weight loss often entail making basic changes to your everyday routine.
Set Goals
Establish both clear and realistic goals for your weight loss. Jorge Cruise, in "8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss," explains that "this goal will help to ignite your motivation to lose weight [and] eat right." Goals should identify the specific amount of weight that you want to lose by a specific date.
Seek Support
Set up a weight-loss support team of five to seven family, friends and coworkers. Cruise suggests that you "...choose people who allow you to feel comfortable communicating your feelings." Connect with your support team daily or weekly by email, over the phone and in person.
Go Public
Join a weight-loss group in your community, such as a weekly exercise group or online book club. Cruise explains that "the more people you bring on to your team, the more strings you weave into your [safety] net." This weight-loss group will be able to add additional support as you move toward your weight loss goals.
Start Exercising
Begin to exercise in simple ways, such as by taking a walk in the morning or evening. Shaun Brodison, in "Secrets to Effective Weight Loss," recommends establishing a weekly exercise routine, such as walking through your neighborhood three days a week. Pace yourself so you can gradually build endurance.
Increase Diversity
Increase the diversity of your exercise regimen over time so that you challenge your body with a variety of exercises. Brodison explains that effective weight-loss programs consist of both cardiovascular training and weight training. You may, for example, lift light weights on days in which you do not engage in cardiovascular exercise.
Eat Well
Choose to eat healthy, high-quality foods as part of your daily diet and meal plans. Jordan Rubin and Joseph Brasco, in "The Great Physician's RX for Weight Loss," explain that one of the most essential keys to losing weight is "choosing something to eat that will be better for your body in the long term rather than a quick fix to squelch hunger pangs."
Eat Moderately
Learn how much food you really need daily and for each meal. Linda Spangle, in "100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan," explains that learning about portion sizes will help you to avoid consuming more food than you need, whether you are counting fat grams, calories or carbohydrates.
Sleep Well
Make sure you get adequate sleep every night. Spangle recommends establishing a relaxing evening routine, such as listening to "quiet instrumental music at night before you drift off to sleep." Most adults need seven or eight hours of sleep per night, on average, to maintain overall physical, emotional and mental health.
Celebrate Success
Celebrate even the smallest successes on your journey to weight loss and greater health. Spangle suggests keeping a notebook and recording the milestones you reach as well as the positive effects of your new lifestyle choices. Celebrating with family and friends regularly will help you to stay motivated.
Choose Health
Focus on making healthy lifestyle choices instead of merely on losing weight. Spangle encourages reconsidering your short-term diet goals and instead creating life-long goals that focus on sustaining a healthy, balanced and active lifestyle. Share these goals with those close to you and incorporate them into your family's everyday routine.
References
- "8 Minutes in the Morning for Extra-Easy Weight Loss"; Jorge Cruise; 2004
- "Secrets to Effective Weight Loss"; Shaun Brodison; 2010
- "The Great Physician's RX for Weight Loss"; Jordan Rubin, Joseph Brasco; 2006
- "100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan"; Linda Spangle; 2007
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