Different things provoke us to want to get into shape, lose weight, and be healthy. It may be a doctor visit, a celebrity we admire that got into fantastic shape, or just someone we haven’t seen in a while that was once overweight has somehow transformed into an Olympic athlete.
These things may be representations of what you want in your life. So, you get pumped up; you’re ready to go; you can move the world. You look up how to lose weight, diets, meal prep containers, and maybe even renew your gym membership. Still, when the day comes to follow through, you hit a wall of raw broccoli, and you decide that this isn’t for you after all. So, you run back to the safety of your old habits and continue the same path that you are used to because it is easier.
This is just your lazy button being pressed, but don’t take it personally; we all have our lazy button. But if you aren’t willing to stop break the lazy button, and drop bad habits to learn new ones, then you will never accomplish the goals you set for yourself. Losing weight is not easy, but you don’t have to give up everything you love. In the process, you will find an entirely new level to yourself that you never knew existed.
We tend to overcomplicate weight loss; there is always a new diet that comes out that guarantees you will lose thirty pounds in thirty days. You can eat whatever you want and still lose weight, or you have to eat this number of calories.
The truth is that there are no shortcuts to losing weight and being healthy. We all lose weight differently. Your body, your metabolism, and your lifestyle are not the same as the next person. You are who you are, and don’t ever get caught in the trap of comparing yourself to other people.
But weight loss can be simplified into three categories: your diet, exercise, and commitment.
Diet
Diet is what you eat. That’s it. It’s not about going on a diet; it’s about changing your diet. So, if you want to lose weight, you have to change your diet.
Changing your diet isn’t easy, and it can be a lot harder for some people than it is for others.
However, you don’t have to go cold turkey and stop all the bad things you eat. Instead, substitute meals here and there, and eventually, the good stuff will crowd out the bad stuff.
If you aren’t accustomed to cooking healthier meals, start learning at least one recipe a day. My preferred eating style, the Mediterranean diet, is excellent because it’s simple, fresh, easy, and healthy. Most of the Mediterranean meals I cook are made within 15 – 30 minutes, and it’s very affordable.
Many objections to eating a more balanced diet are centered around how much it costs to eat healthily, and it’s true because eating healthy isn’t cheap. Still, there are ways to make it more budget-friendly.
You have to get creative with what you want to cook and eat, expand your knowledge of food and cooking. Even if you aren’t confident in the kitchen, just learning one recipe a day and practice in the kitchen, your confidence will grow.
Try to stick to three rules when changing your diet:
- Commit to learning one new recipe each day. You don’t have to cook it the same day but take note of it.
- Only buy what you know you will eat, but don’t be afraid to try new things.
- Keep it all simple. Don’t overcomplicate your diet when you are trying to eat better and lose weight. Don’t look for the healthiest diet or the best diet. Just try to have a lot of variety in your diet. Learn new recipes and learn more about different foods. The simpler you eat, the better off you are.
Keep in mind that you need to eat enough calories so that you can function throughout your day. Changing your diet is simply changing your diet. It does not mean you deprive yourself of food or calories. Calories are an energy source, and without enough energy, you won’t make it through your day, and you will fall back to your old ways of eating. Plus, you need calories to keep up with exercising, and some days you may require more calories than others, but this all depends on what workout you choose to do that day. If you find that you can’t get through a full workout, then next time, throw in an extra small meal or snack to boost your energy levels.
Exercise
The benefits of exercise are no secret: it lowers your blood pressure, you have more energy, endorphins are released, it helps with depression, anxiety, it burns calories and countless other benefits. Exercise walks (get it?) hand in hand with weight loss.
Exercise is significant when it comes to weight loss, and if you want to speed up the process of weight loss and gain other benefits, you need to exercise.
But weight loss isn’t the only benefit of exercise: it helps keep you stronger, makes you more disciplined, and gives you sometime for yourself.
You don’t have to go to the gym for hours a day; you can take a brisk thirty-minute walk or an hour if you have the time. Try creating a repetitive thirty-minute routine for yourself, at least three days a week. You will see the fat melt off you.
Commitment/Consistency
The final part of weight loss is commitment. You have to commit to yourself that you will do the things you say you will do.
Weight loss, like anything, takes practice and time. Eventually, learning what works for you will become simpler and more manageable over time. Starting out will be hard, but be patient with yourself. Fail and learn. Weight loss is trial and error, and everyone is different.
Commitment is all about consistency. If discipline isn’t something that comes naturally to you or exercise and weight loss are new for you, try developing a plan for each day, week, or month.
Planning is essential when you are trying to reach a goal. As Benjamin Franklin said: “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” So come up with a plan.
The most important thing is to just get started with it. There is no perfect time to start; today’s good plan is better than tomorrow’s perfect plan. To paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt – do what you can, where you are, with what you have. Remember that it takes consistency and time, and there is nothing wrong with failing, but you have to keep going back.
It isn’t easy, but stick to it, and slowly, with the proper diet, exercise, and commitment, you will meet your weight loss goals.