If you are trying to lose weight and get in better shape the best thing that you can do is to set realistic weight loss goals. We live in a society today where everyone wants things now, and when it comes to weight loss this is a problem. The most important thing to remember is that it takes time, patience, and consistency. It’s probably taken you several months or years to gain the weight you now want to lose, so you need to give your body time to shed it in a healthy way. Starving yourself or resorting to a fad diet may help you to lose some weight quickly, but it will almost always end up coming back. Not only is gaining the weight back a problem, with this approach, but your overall health can suffer. So, how can you lose weight in a healthy manner, and what kind of weight loss goals are realistic?
Diet And Exercise Are The Foundation Of Healthy Weight Loss
If you want to lose weight it’s all a numbers game. Losing weight is all about consuming fewer calories than you use each day. How do you create that all-important calorie deficit? By eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and getting regular exercise. Many people make the mistake of thinking that creating as large of a calorie deficit as possible is the best way to lose weight. It’s not. The best way to lose weight is to slowly create that calorie deficit by eating right and including exercise. This will lead to a gradual, healthy weight loss that is sustainable. On the other hand, if you starve yourself, once you quit starving yourself you’ll end up gaining more weight than you lost.
What kind of diet should you eat? The best diet for losing weight is a diet that avoids highly processed foods and instead focuses on whole foods. You don’t need to avoid all carbohydrates or eat a diet loaded with fat and protein to lose weight. What you should do instead is eat a mixture of slow-digesting carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. What about exercise? You should focus on doing both resistance training and aerobic exercise. Resistance training will help you to build muscle, which will raise your metabolism, helping you to lose weight. Aerobic exercise will help you to shed more weight while also helping to strengthen your heart and lungs.
What Should Your Goals Be?
Setting smart goals for weight loss will help you to stay focused and avoid feeling disappointed. What are some weight loss goals examples you could look at? If you must have a number, aim for something small like 2 lbs. a month. That may seem like a small number, but over the course of a year that adds up to 24 lbs., a significant amount of weight to lose. It’s a good idea to take a picture in the mirror on day one of your new weight loss program. In many cases, you won’t see a difference in the scale right away because you are building muscle while burning fat. Having a photo to look at will help you to see that you are getting results, which will help to keep you motivated.