For many people who want to lose weight, the hardest thing is knowing how to start. While every person will have a different weight loss plan that suits their body type and their goals, there are some steps to take that are true for everyone. The most important thing to remember is that you are not the first person to want to make a change in their life and there should be no shame or embarrassment about wondering how to start. So with all that in mind, here is a beginner’s guide to starting your weight loss journey.
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1. Identify Your Goals
The best way to start out on any journey is to have a clear destination in mind. Ask yourself what your reasons are for doing this and remind yourself of them every day. Are you worried about your health? Do you want to feel fitter? Do you want to improve your posture or lose a little unwanted fat? The most important thing to know is that everybody has their own goals and everyone’s goals are valid. Make your goals about you and no one else. How you perceive the journey is how you will experience it so try and flip any negative preconceptions you have about weight loss or fitness.
2. Get the Right Gear
There are so many great fitness products on the market that can make a real difference in achieving your goals. Many people these days have pedometers to track how many steps they are taking or even a treadmill in their living room to run a few kilometers in the morning. The folks on this website emphasize that the best thing to do after you identify your weight loss goals is to decide what you need, to help you achieve them. For some people, this may be a pedometer or a scale to check progress. For other people, it may be weight loss shakes or tablets. Just as with the goals, everybody’s needs are different and everybody’s needs are valid.
3. Walk Everywhere
Walking has fantastic health benefits and is particularly good for people who are just starting out on a weight-loss or fitness journey. Walking is low intensity and doesn’t put any strain on joints or muscles, but it is great for getting the blood flowing and breaking a sweat. Depending on your pace, you can burn 100 calories walking a single mile so it is a great way to start. Most importantly, walking whenever possible creates a mindset of health consciousness and lays solid foundations from which to build. You will be amazed at just how many extra steps you take when you walk to class or to the local store rather than driving your car.
When it is not practical to walk, find ways to add extra steps. For example, if you drive to the supermarket, park in the furthest of the car park. Likewise, if you take the bus, get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way home. Those steps add up and over the course of a day, a week, a month, you will burn off thousands of extra calories.
4. Start Thinking About Food
This may sound counterintuitive in a guide to losing weight, but healthy and safe weight loss is all about eating. Calories are a huge factor in weight gain and weight loss and tracking your calories is very important to work out if you are under or overeating. There are many charts online which will give you accurate data about the calorie and nutritional content of every food you eat.
First of all, use one of the many online fitness calculators to find out your current daily calorie intake and how many calories your body needs based on your height, weight, and age. Then devise a new diet plan to reduce your calorie intake by eating the right food.
When people first start out on a weight loss journey, there is often a misconception that the only way to get results is to half starve yourself. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You will find that when you are eating the right foods and start doing the right exercise, you will probably be eating more meals a day than before. The difference is the meals will be significantly lower in calories and significantly higher in all the things your body needs.
Starting out on a weight loss journey can be incredibly daunting, but you have already made the first step by reading this article. The main thing is to identify your goals and to make the right changes to help you achieve them. All the little things, extra walking, the right equipment, healthy food, and supplements combine to great effect and you will see that losing weight can actually be a lot of fun.
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