These days, everyone understands the importance of maintaining a healthy weight. Everyone knows that being overweight invites a lot of health issues, like thyroid, type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammation, and other issues in your life. Therefore, everyone strives to lose weight and be under their BMI index. Remember, losing weight is not just about looking pretty. It is more about being healthy, so crash diets or doing cardio four hours a day is not the right way to lose weight. With proper nutrients, diet, and caring for your mind, body, and soul, losing weight is possible healthily. Wondering how? Well, this Weight Loss 101 guide is helpful for anyone looking to shed the extra pounds and be their healthier self.
A weight loss guide for beginners
Make a sustainable weight-loss goal.
It is nice to think, ‘ I will lose weight for that school reunion or my friend’s marriage.’ However, that is not a sustainable weight-loss goal. It may boost you, but you might not feel motivated to lose weight as soon as you go to that reunion or marriage. Instead, create sustainable goals like ‘I have to be healthy’ or ‘I have a family history of diabetes; I have to work on controlling that.’ If you follow a life goal, you can maintain your weight loss goal better.
Don’t focus on diet; focus on lifestyle changes.
Fad diets do not! Keto or going low carb and high protein may work for some time, but things will not work in your favor unless you make lifestyle changes to your diet. Again, your body and surroundings matter a lot in helping you make lifestyle changes you feel good about and can follow without giving up. So, work with a dietitian who knows your dietary preferences, health history, and budget. That way, she will come up with the best changes to your lifestyle and get results.
Try therapies
A few therapies, too, can help you lose weight. For instance, you can try these therapies:
- Peptide therapy: The initial use of peptides, which are small chains of amino acids, was to help people treat their chronic health conditions like type 2 diabetes, HIV, and IBS. However, recently, peptide therapy for weight loss has become popular too. One of the most popular is semaglutide, injected into your body to help you lose weight.
- Behavioral therapy: Counseling and behavioral therapy for weight loss are real. These counselors work with you to set realistic goals, nutrition goals, and more. They also help you understand your mental and physical health and their relationship with each other. All this helps you be accountable and focus on your goals.
Have a food diary
Once you focus on nutrition, you will realize that not every food is good for your body or suits you. You might also find underlying gut health issues, which you can treat by maintaining a food diary. In this, you write each day what you eat and how your stomach feels after it. Or how your body reacts to it. It can help you lose weight and determine if you are allergic or intolerant to foods. Here is how to maintain a food guide.
Workout
Yes, to lose weight, you have to work out. But it does not have to be 5 days of cardio. Do a mix of exercises like strength training, cycling, dancing, walking, yoga, and more. Anything you find interesting helps you lose weight. But ensure you lift weights, too, to build strength and stamina. Moreover, you should get proper rest to give your body time to rest and recover.
Reduce intake of liquid calories.
Consuming a lot of liquid calories is never a good idea, as they are full of sugar. Sugar-filled drinks like soda or whipped cream coffee only increase your calorie intake and inflammation levels, which can hinder your weight loss goals.
Conclusion
Working out or following crash diets will not help you lose weight if you don’t understand your body type or what you need. If you understand your body’s requirements, how it manages stress, and how to improve your sleep cycle and quality, you will have more success losing weight and keeping it off. Moreover, you can also try peptide therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and more to aid in weight loss if you suffer from inflammation or mental health issues. Sometimes, these are the the root causes of weight gain, so working on them is beneficial.
