7 Things to keep in Mind as You’re on Your Weight Loss Journey

We all just try to find shortcuts to everything. Whatever it be, we want it quick. And weight loss is not any different. Often we get tempted by seeing those flashy, appealing ads on the internet promising us a quick and easy weight loss. But is it really that easy? Santa Ana medical clinic experts have a very different opinion on this.

It’s very easy to get enticed by those words. However, the reality is very different. In reality, you need to change your whole lifestyle in order to lose weight. You’ll have to work, and you’ll have to adapt. Weight loss doesn’t happen in a week or a month. It requires patience. There’s a lot that goes into it. It’s not about just eating healthy and lifting weights. You need a holistic approach in order to succeed in your weight loss journey. And in the end, you need to feel better, physically and emotionally.

Here are the seven very important things to keep in mind while you are on this very thrilling and exciting weight loss journey.

Your Goals Should be Realistic

You wanna lose weight? You gotta stay honest with yourself. No one can achieve anything by setting an unrealistic goal. Your goals should be achievable. And they should match with your current lifestyle. For example, Planning on cooking something healthy every day isn’t gonna work if you don’t like cooking much. Instead, you should cook for yourself only for two or three days a week. Leave the rest for ordering from a restaurant. But it doesn’t mean you order just anything. Stick to something healthy.

You must also not force yourself into eating something healthy that you actually don’t like. You gotta be honest with yourself with your food choices too. If you don’t like something, just skip it. Instead, choose some healthy foods that you actually enjoy.

Find your Motivation

It’s important to know why exactly you want to do this. There will be times when you’ll feel like quitting. It’s totally inevitable. But if you have a clear idea of why you are on this weight loss journey, you’ll be able to fuel yourself in times like these. Your ultimate motivation will keep you going for a long time.

Here are a few questions you may ask yourself:

• Why do I want to lose weight?
• Why is it so important for me?
• What impact will it have on my life?
• What impact will it have on the lives of my loved ones?
• How bad will I feel if you lost?
• How good will I feel if I won?

Just try to answer these questions honestly. And once you have clear answers to these questions, you will not stop. These answers will keep the fire inside you burning. They will remind you of why it matters. And once you have this motivation, it won’t be much difficult to stay on the track.

Keep it Slow

It’s not like you can’t lose weight quickly. But it seldom sustains. And therefore, it’s better to keep it slow and steady. If you keep your weight loss efforts at a nice and easy pace, it will be much easier to maintain that weight in the long run.

As per the experts, a typical healthy weight loss rate usually falls anywhere between 0.5 and 2 pounds a week. But you should not rely totally on these numbers. Rather, try to be as consistent as possible with your workout schedule and eating habits. Furthermore, you should not abruptly change your lifestyle when you are starting on this journey. Instead, try to adapt to a healthy regime slowly and consistently.

Choose the Right Way to Exercise

Exercising helps you burn that extra fat and calories that your body is carrying. Plus, it boosts your metabolism too. However, a lot of newbies just focus on cardio so that they burn more calories. Unfortunately, our body works here on Newton’s third law, i.e. every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, when our body senses the extra calories burning, in response, it ramps up the hunger signals. And this usually leads to us eating anything that comes our way.

To tackle this problem, experts recommend you focus on strength training also. It will help you make your muscles lean, which further will improve your body’s metabolism and the ability to burn extra calories. But it doesn’t mean you just stop doing cardio. Instead, try mixing these both up.

Avoid Unnecessary Eating

Some people find it very difficult to lose weight. And the credit all goes to hunger anxiety. For some people, hunger is a very bad thing. A thing that they must avoid at any cost. And thus, they carry something to eat with them all the time. Some people even start eating just because they are feeling stressed, or are simply bored. While hunger should not be suppressed, obviously, these instances usually cause unnecessary eating, which should be avoided if you wanna lose weight.

But many times, we are not sure if it’s hunger anxiety or we are really hungry. In a situation like this, you may turn to the HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) approach. Ask yourself if you are really hungry or are just angry, lonely or tired. A real hunger often comes with growling in the stomach. So, if the answer to the above question is not “hungry”, eating is never the right choice. Instead, do something else, like walking, chatting or browsing social media etc.

Hitting a Plateau is Normal

There might come a time when your weight loss automatically slows down. But you don’t need to panic here. It’s called hitting a plateau, and it’s quite normal. Losing weight can be very stressful for your body. And this plateau is the time when your body takes a break and ensures that all your body systems are in perfect health before it loses any more weight.

A slight change in your diet may help you pass this phase. However, it generally varies from person to person. For one, a diet change may work. But for others, something else might be required. For example, getting better sleep or changes in physical activities etc. 

Keep the Hard Work Going

Finishing what you had started can be a really amazing and exciting feeling. All the effort and hard work are finally paying off. You’ve achieved what you were looking for.  And you’re all happy and thrilled. 

But this finish line can sometimes push you off the journey too. Once you have what you were thriving for, you may lose the motivation to go any further. But actually, this is not the time to stop. Instead, this is the time to start a new, more exciting journey. 

You must keep up what you did to achieve this weight loss. You must maintain that healthy routine you started. And you must not forego this new amazing lifestyle only because you’ve achieved your weight goal. Rather set a new goal for yourself. And keep feeding your motivation to achieve more and more.