Every year, as the summer season approaches, we’re bombarded with diet gurus, weight loss supplements, and fad diets promising to transform our bodies as quickly and easily as possible. But is any of this stuff really worth it?
While there’s no denying that there are genuine health benefits to losing some weight, there are also many disadvantages to going on a fad diet or taking some useless nutritional supplement. After all, quick weight loss can often be more harmful than beneficial. And it’s not just about appearance: being overweight or obese increases your risks of diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
So how can you achieve healthy and easy weight loss?
Focus On What You Can Change
If you’re realistic about your current state of affairs, you’ll realize that there are several aspects of your life that you can change, but not everything. What you can change is a lot more practical and suitable for long-term weight loss. For example, you might be able to reduce your portion sizes or swap fried food for more natural fare. But there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to fix your genetic makeup or change the way your body functions. And while you can certainly try, it won’t be easy. Why? Because there’s a lot of inertia in life, and it’s hard to change something that you’ve consistently done for a long time. This is where many people fail when trying to lose weight. Instead of focusing on what they can control, they tend to be disheartened and give up quickly. By contrast, people who are realistic about their situation and commit themselves to a lifestyle change typically see remarkable results. After all, how you live your life has an effect on how you look. Eating healthy food and getting enough sleep are both crucial for weight loss.
Don’t Be Fooled By Hype
With so much conflicting information and exaggerated claims surrounding weight loss and nutrition, it’s no wonder that so many people are confused and misled. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of audience that big business loves, which is why you’ll always hear about the latest diet or weight loss supplement being featured on Facebook or Twitter. Even worse, there are scores of online directories, review sites, and blogs that are packed with sham reviews and bogus stats designed to get you to buy something – anything – just to make a sale. If you see something on the internet that seems too good to be true, it usually is. While there are certainly some genuinely useful product reviews out there, they’re the exception, not the rule. Take everything with a pinch of salt, eat healthy, and exercise regularly – the easy, normal route – and you’ll be on your way to a slimmer you in no time. Trust your instincts and be your own guru.
Set Goals
Setting goals is crucial for any fitness endeavor. Without them, you’ll never know if you’ve actually achieved your desired results. But setting too high of goals can sometimes backfire: when you hit a wall, it’s often because you’ve gone too far and lost motivation. One way to prevent this is by setting short-term and mid-term goals: reaching your goals will give you the boost you need to continue, while falling short of them can spark a fresh burst of motivation. Having a couple of smaller goals to work toward will also keep you from getting overwhelmed by a single gargantuan one.
Deciding what kind of goals you want to achieve is pretty easy. The next step is much more complicated: deciding how you’re going to go about achieving them. For example, you could decide that you want to lose weight and get in shape, or you could decide that you want to become a professional tennis player. Now, it’s not bad to have big dreams, but you have to have a plan to get there. Otherwise, you’ll just end up wasting your time and effort – and that’s what will defeat you.
Make A List Of All The Pros And Cons
Once you’ve decided on what you want to achieve, you need to make a list of all the pros and cons. Pros and cons are an unbeatable combination when it comes to critical thinking: they pull apart complex ideas and issue structures in an engaging and fun way. When applied to your fitness goals, making a pros and cons list can help you break down the advantages and disadvantages of going on a diet or taking a particular supplement. Remember: your cons can become your pros once you’ve acknowledged them. It’s all about perspective. Once you’ve made a pros and cons list, you can weigh the advantages against the disadvantages and make a more informed decision about the future of your waistline.
Take Into Account Your Body Type
Your body type is one of the most important factors in your weight loss journey. After all, how you respond to food and how you look are strongly intertwined. When you reduce your body fat, you’ll generally begin to resemble your old self more closely. One thing to consider though: going on a diet might cause you to retain a small amount of water, especially if you go too low in calories. This could potentially make you look a bit pudgy even if you’ve lost a lot of weight. It’s important to be realistic about how your body will respond to a diet and whether or not you’ll look the same as you do now. Take everything in moderation and you’ll be on your way to healthy and easy weight loss in no time.
Do Your Research
There are several online directories and resources that you can use to do your research. For example, the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living website is an excellent source of well-researched information about different diets and how they compare to one another. When it comes to losing weight, the main thing to keep in mind is that there is no ‘one diet fits all’. You have to find what works best for you individually.
As you might imagine, there are many different opinions and ideas surrounding weight loss and nutrition. But that’s the great thing about being human: we are able to adapt and change. For example, if you’ve tried numerous diets in your lifetime and have found none of them suited your needs, perhaps it’s time to try something new. Or, if you’ve achieved your desired weight loss results but would like to continue improving your health, fitness levels, and appearance, there are plenty of ways to do that as well. Adapting and changing to meet your needs and desires is a beautiful thing. It shows a level of adaptability that might otherwise be reserved for species with a higher brain function.