Weight Loss Strategies: 6 Strategies for Success
Diets and weight-loss programs that promise rapid results can make it seem like losing weight is easy. While these programs might be successful in the short term, they don’t always provide sustainable solutions to help you lose weight long-term. These diets can be restrictive and difficult to maintain. Rapid weight loss can also lead to nutritional deficiencies, muscle loss and other health problems, all of which can affect overall well-being.
Adopting a healthy, long-term lifestyle is the best way to lose and keep off weight. It involves gradual, manageable changes that will last a lifetime. Eating well is a key part of a healthy lifestyle. This means eating a varied diet of nutrient-dense whole foods. Include plenty of vegetables, fruits, lean protein, whole grains and healthy fats.
Regular physical activity is important for weight control, along with eating healthy. Exercise is not only good for weight loss, but it also helps build muscle, increases metabolism and improves overall health. The CDC recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise, along with muscle-strengthening exercises at least twice per week. Exercise can improve your mood, energy, sleep quality, cardiovascular health and overall well-being.
These healthy lifestyle changes go beyond diet and exercise. This involves developing positive habits to support your overall health, like managing stress, getting adequate sleep and staying hydrated. All of these factors play an important role in maintaining a healthy body weight and living a balanced lifestyle. It is easier to maintain weight loss by making gradual and realistic changes in your daily routine, rather than resorting to extreme dieting that can be difficult to maintain and often results in weight gain.
The key to a successful weight loss that lasts is not to find a quick solution but to commit to healthy habits. You can maintain and achieve a healthy weight by focusing on manageable, long-term changes that improve your overall health and well-being.
Six tips to get you started on your weight loss journey
1. Be prepared
Weight loss that lasts requires time and effort. Be sure you are ready to eat healthier foods and be more active. You can ask yourself these questions:
- Do I want to change my habits to lose weight?
- Am I distracted by other pressures in my life?
- Can I use food as a stress reliever?
- Are you ready to learn how to manage stress in a new way?
- Do I need additional support to manage my stress, such as from family members or health care professionals?
- Will I change my eating habits if necessary?
- Will I change my exercise and physical activity habits?
- Can I devote the time necessary to make these changes?
Speak to your doctor if you want to help to manage stress. Reduced stress can lead to long-term lifestyle changes.
2. Find Your Inner Drive
You cannot lose weight by someone else’s force. To help yourself, you need to change your diet and increase your physical activity. What will make you want to stick with your weight loss plan?
List the reasons you want to lose weight. This list will help you to stay motivated and focused. You may want to improve your health, or you might be preparing for a trip. When you’re not feeling like moving or eating healthily, think about your goals. You can also find other ways to keep on track. You could, for example, post a positive note to yourself in the fridge or on the pantry door.
You are responsible for making the necessary changes to achieve long-term weight reduction. It helps to have others’ support. Choose people who inspire you. Never let anyone shame you or hinder your progress.
Find people who:
- Listen to what you feel and your concerns.
- Share your desire to live a healthy life.
- You can help your child with active hobbies or healthy meals.
Support groups can help you to stick with your healthy lifestyle changes.
Take some steps to remain on track if you want to keep your weight loss efforts private. Keep track of your diet and workouts in a journal, or with an app. Track your weight. Make any necessary changes to your plan.
3. Make sure you set goals that you can achieve
Weight loss is sustainable and healthy if you aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. You’ll have to create a deficit of 500-750 calories per day. You can achieve this by combining a lower calorie intake with increased physical activity.
Start by losing 5% of your body weight. If you weigh 180 pounds, this means losing approximately 9 pounds (4 kilograms). A small weight loss can be beneficial to your health, reducing the risk of certain chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes type 2, and cancer. Losing 5% of body weight is enough to improve your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. This will lead to improved health over the long term.
Setting two different types of goals will help you to guide your journey. First, you should set an action goal that focuses on behaviours or activities to achieve your weight-loss target. Positive steps towards healthier habits are the focus of action goals. An action goal might be “Walk 30 minutes every single day” or “Prepare healthy meals at home three times per week.” These goals focus on developing consistency in healthy activities and are completely within your control.
A second type of goal you can set is an outcome goal. This is focused on a specific goal that you are trying to achieve. A good example of an outcome is “Lose ten pounds” or “Drop four kilograms.” Although outcome goals are motivating, they do not specify how to achieve the desired result. While they provide a goal to strive for, focusing on specific action goals will help you to break down the steps necessary to reach that target.
Setting both outcome and action goals creates a balanced approach to achieving healthy lifestyle changes, while still allowing you to measure your results. While action goals help you to plan your daily activities, outcome goals provide a clear picture of what you want to achieve. You’ll see that as you meet your daily action goals, your ultimate goal will become more achievable. The habits you create will also help you achieve your weight loss goal.
4. Healthy Foods
You need to reduce the calories that you consume from both food and beverages. You can still make tasty, easy-to-prepare meals.
Eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains to lower your calorie intake. You will still feel satisfied. They are called plant-based foods because they come directly from plants and offer many health benefits. Plant-based foods are low in calories and can be helpful for weight management. They are a good choice for those who want to reduce their caloric intake without feeling deprived.
Plant-based foods, in addition to being low-calorie, are also rich in fibre. Fibre is a carbohydrate the body can’t digest. It plays a key role in feeling full. You are more satisfied when you consume foods high in fibre like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. This can prevent overeating, as well as reduce your overall caloric intake.
You can also follow these tips for a healthy diet.
- At least three fruits and four vegetables should be consumed each day. If you are hungry in between meals, snack on fruits and vegetables.
- Whole grains such as brown or whole wheat bread, pasta, and barley are good for you. Reduce your intake of refined grains such as white bread and rice.
- Healthy fats are avocados, olive oil, vegetable oil, nuts, nut butter, and nut oils. Remember that even healthy fats contain a lot of calories.
- Limit sugar-sweetened foods and beverages. Desserts, jelly and sodas are all examples. Fruits with natural sugar are fine.
- Select dairy products that are low in fat or fat-free.
- Fresh foods are the best. These foods are more nutritious than processed food. They are often packaged in boxes or cans. They tend to be higher in fat, sugar or sodium.
You should be mindful when you are eating. Concentrate on every bite. You will enjoy the food more. You will also be more aware when you are full. Avoid watching TV or staring at your phone while eating. You might be eating too much food without realizing it.
5. Stay active and get active
It’s possible to lose weight without exercising, but it is harder. Regular physical activity can help burn extra calories.
Other benefits of exercise are numerous. Exercise can improve your mood, lower your blood pressure and make you sleep better. Exercise can help you maintain the weight you have lost. Regular physical activity is associated with people who can maintain weight loss for a long time.
The amount of calories you burn is determined by how much, how often and how hard you work out. Walking briskly is a great way to burn body fat. At least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise should be performed most days. Some people will need to do more than 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day in order to lose weight.
Strength training should be done at least twice per week. You can lift weights or use exercise bands, or you can do pushups.
Any extra movement helps you burn calories. Consider ways to move around more throughout the day. You can:
- Instead of using an elevator, use the stairs.
- When you go shopping, park at the end of the lot.
- Standing instead of sitting while on the phone, or checking email.
- While watching TV, you can walk around the room in circles or march.
6. Change your mindset
It’s not realistic to expect lasting weight loss if you only exercise and eat healthy for a few weeks or months. Weight loss that is sustainable comes from long-term healthy lifestyle changes. You need to commit to healthy habits you can keep up with over your lifetime. Start by taking a closer look at your routine and eating habits. Find areas where you can improve, such as making healthier food selections, increasing your physical activity or managing stress better.
Making lifestyle changes requires that you identify any bad habits or obstacles that may have prevented your weight loss in the past. This could include emotional eating or relying heavily on processed food, skipping meals or not having time to exercise. You can create a plan for addressing these issues by recognizing them. You could, for example, prepare healthy meals in advance to avoid the temptation to eat fast food. Or you might schedule a certain time every day to do physical activity so that you remain consistent. Knowing what held you back in the past will help you to approach your goals with more strategic thinking and overcome any potential obstacles.
Setbacks are part of every weight loss journey. You will face obstacles along the way. It could be a missed exercise, a sweet treat or a relapse into old habits. But don’t let a temporary failure derail your entire journey. It’s important to keep going. Acknowledge setbacks, learn from them and move on. Every day offers a new chance to work towards your goals. It takes time for change to happen, so it is important to remain patient.
You are likely to make significant positive changes in your life. It won’t happen overnight. Maintaining a healthy life is an ongoing commitment. The road to weight loss that lasts is gradual. You will see results from your efforts if you are consistent in your healthy eating habits and regular exercise. Focus on the big picture and believe that your hard work will be rewarded in the end.
