You’ve made the decision to go to the gym and lose weight. Congrats! You’re among the many who have decided that the healthier version of themselves is worth attaining. Whether you’ve been sedentary for years or have recently decided to get back in shape, there are a few strategies you can employ to help you along the way.
Prioritise Meal Frequency
One of the first things you should do is to increase your nutrient-dense meals. If you want to shed those extra pounds, you need to ensure that you’re providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function properly. More importantly, you need to be conscious of what nutrients you consume – the perfect meal replacement may be right next to you, but if you aren’t paying attention, you may end up consuming the ingredients that cause weight gain instead of weight loss.
Eating a nutrient-dense meal every two to three hours can help to regulate your metabolism and keep your body in a state of readiness to lose weight. If you want to improve your odds of achieving your weight loss goal, you need to ensure that you don’t skip meals – this will cause your body to enter a state of starvation, and you’ll discover that losing weight is far harder than you think it is.
Reduce Food Waste
A major cause of obesity is because people eat what they want without giving their bodies the nutrients it needs. To fix this, you should eliminate as much food waste as you can. There are a few easy ways to do this. For example, if you’re buying pre-made food, such as takeout or a meal delivery service, there’s no need to eat the food that you don’t need. Instead, you can buy only what you need and cook it yourself when fresh foods are available – this will help to increase your odds of losing weight.
If you’re buying food that was already cooked (such as a frozen meal or a stir-fry) or prepared food that was ordered from a restaurant (such as a lasagna or pizza), there’s no need to throw away any of it. This will help to eliminate food waste, as well as reduce your carbon footprint, as cooking food takes more energy than purchasing a ready meal.
Take Your Shoes Off
You must have experienced this before – when you go into a public restroom, there’s always a pair of shoes waiting for you. This is probably because people who go into the bathroom usually come out sporting a better walk – so they put their shoes on to walk better. Before you get too attached to those shoes, try taking them off and walking around the house in your socks. This will help to improve your odds of losing weight, as the friction created by the soles of your feet against the floor may increase your metabolic rate, helping you to burn calories more efficiently.
Join A Gym
A great way to shed off that extra weight is by joining a gym. There are a number of gyms in London that offer state-of-the-art equipment and professionally delivered personal training sessions. If you’re looking for a change of scene and want to step away from the hustle and bustle of the city, join a gym and get in shape. Plus, you’ll meet people who are also looking to lose weight, which may help you along the way.
Consult A Physician
There’s no denying that a lot of the diets fad diets out there don’t stand the test of time. The fact is, everyone’s body is different, and what may work for one person may not work for another. This is why it’s best to work with a physician who can prescribe you a diet tailored to your specific needs. A physician who specializes in obesity may be able to diagnose the root of your weight problem and provide you with the tools to solve it.
Depending on what diet combination they prescribe for you, you may see significant weight loss in as little as a week. However, it’s always preferable to work with a doctor if you want to lose weight, as they can help you to avoid any dangerous side effects that may occur from cutting out certain foods from your diet.
Track Your Weight Loss Daily
This is probably the most important thing you can do if you want to lose weight successfully. A lot of people who lose weight get into the habit of weighing themselves daily and comparing the results to previous weeks or months. This helps build your self-confidence and encourages you to keep going until you reach your goal weight. If you stop weighing yourself, you may lose track of how much you’ve actually dropped, which may cause you to gain back a few pounds before you know it.
To illustrate how important this is, let’s say you’ve lost 5 pounds in the last week and you decide to take a break from tracking. Over the next month, you may notice that your weight has gradually returned to its original level – if you don’t weigh yourself daily, you’ll never know that your weight has been fluctuating and you may conclude that the weight loss is a temporary phenomenon caused by starvation.
Monitor Your Eating Habits
Eating disorders are more prevalent amongst people who are overweight or obese. If you’re looking to lose weight, you may struggle with food cravings or find that certain foods make you feel better when you’re feeling low – it’s normal to experience this, but you mustn’t let it get out of control. In addition to this, you should also be mindful of what kinds of food products you’re putting into your body – if you’re not used to drinking alcohol, it might cause you to gain weight. Similarly, eating too much sugar can cause you to pack on the pounds too quickly.
Be Mindful Of What You’re Consuming
Whether you’re aware of it or not, your body is constantly absorbing nutrients, water, and oxygen – this means that whether you’re eating or not, your body is still functioning and depending on the food you consume, it may function in different ways. If you want to lose weight, it’s important to be mindful of what kinds of food you’re putting in your body and make healthier choices – for example, you may notice that juices contain a lot of sugar and you may decide to cut back on your consumption of juices and instead drink fresh fruit – this alone may help to improve your health and shed off some pounds. If you want to truly shrink your waistline, it’s not enough to simply cut out food that you don’t like, you must also be conscious of what you’re putting into your body and make healthy food choices – this may help to boost your metabolism, resulting in better overall health and increased energy levels.
Avoid Food Cravings
It’s important to avoid all food cravings, as they may cause you to eat more than you need which, in turn, may cause you to gain weight. If you experience sudden urges to eat a certain food, it’s a good idea to consult your physician or a nutritionist so that you can determine the root of the problem. Once this has been ascertained, you can work on eliminating these cravings by following the appropriate dietary regimen – if you’re not sure what this is, ask your physician or nutritionist for help to pinpoint the source of the problem so that you can solve it.
Take Advantage Of The Gym Equipment
This point may be a bit more difficult to implement, depending on where you live, but if you use the gym facilities at your disposal, you may improve your odds of losing weight – if you live in London, you may want to consider taking advantage of the equipment available at the gym, such as weight machines and treadmills. Working out without the proper equipment may prove very difficult, and you may give up before you even start – if you really want to lose weight, it’s better to get some equipment and use it than to walk around the house, hoping that a workout will happen by coincidence.
It may not be easy losing weight, but it’s definitely achievable – you just need to be determined to make the necessary changes to your lifestyle. If you want to lose weight and be healthier, it’s essential to follow a proper diet and work out regularly with the proper equipment so that you can maximize your efforts and avoid any setbacks.