Are you here to finally start a new journey to losing weight and healthy living? You’re in luck because we have here 5 proven tips to jump start weight loss toward success. Let’s get started.
Start with small changes.
Rather than attempting to completely change your food and workout regimen (it’s harder to stick to a completely new routine), start small with manageable changes that you can sustain over time.
- Limit packaged and processed foods
You can start small by reducing your intake of these. Attempt to limit packaged foods from your diet as much as possible because they frequently contain high amounts of sodium, fat, and sugar. Choose your top five processed foods (cookies, crackers, chips, or candy) and gradually reduce your intake. Say, you ate 6 cookies per week before, now you can try to limit up to 5 cookies a week and eat only 4 next week until you’re down to one or two cookies.
At the same time, replace them with healthier snacks such as apples, berries, or Greek yogurt.
- Go on more walks
If your errand is less than a mile away, you can walk instead of driving. You can also take your leisure time walking in the park, admiring the scenery.
- Take the stairs
Jump start weight loss by making sure you find and take every opportunity to move more. This is related to the bullet point above, but let’s elaborate. Climbing up the stairs of three to five stories for an additional two to three minutes daily can burn enough calories to reverse the average American’s annual weight gain of one to two pounds. Enjoy the additional benefits of working your glutes and quads, which could work as strength training as well.
- Select your drink wisely
Instead of drinking packed fruit juice that’s loaded with sugar, you can make your own smoothie instead, where you can select your own healthy ingredients. You can add your protein powder, greek yogurt, use low-fat or unsweetened nut milk, or oatmeal. Ensure your smoothie has a good balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats.
Set realistic goals.
Another great way to jumpstart weight loss journey is by setting realistic goals. This will help you stay motivated and focused in continuing your progress.
Tips for setting realistic fitness goals:
- Make it measurable, specific, and time-bound.
- Set the bar low at first.
- Weight loss jump start does not mean you rush it, play the long game.
- Understand what’s driving your goal.
Keep track of your progress.
Use a health and fitness journal or app to track your meals, exercise, and progress. This will help you know what part of your routine works or not and where you need to make improvements.
Here are some benefits of using a nutrition and fitness app:
- Monitoring your fitness progress allows you to be more efficient in your time and workouts.
- Logging your meals makes it easier to track your daily caloric goal. Some apps also let you see the breakdown of your total protein, carbs, and fat intake to know how much macronutrients and total calories you have left for the day.
- Effective for additional accountability to yourself and your goals.
- Helps you stay focused and committed to the plan.
- Can serve as a motivation and a reminder of why you started in the first place.
- Makes it easy for you to see what’s working or not, thus, also making it easy to modify your routine and see what needs to go or stay.
Stay hydrated.
Drinking a lot of water can help reduce your appetite and make you feel full. Water can also help with digestion and can rev up metabolism.
Sometimes you may think you’re hungry but you’re really just thirsty, which might encourage you to consume more calories than what you actually need. This is why it’s crucial to keep hydrated and drink enough water (at least eight glasses of water) throughout the day.
The simplest way to ensure you’re well hydrated is to sip on water pre-, during, and post-exercise, as well as whenever you’re feeling thirsty. Consuming more water-rich fruits and vegetables is also another way to keep hydrated.
Get enough sleep.
You can immediately notice a difference in your energy levels and mood when you get enough sleep every day.
Your weight loss jump start won’t be successful if you’re always tired and stressed from not having enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can mess with your hormones and metabolism, which makes it more difficult to lose weight. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night to support your weight loss efforts is recommended.
