Preparing and Motivating Yourself
Visit your general practitioner before you start a weight loss regimen. It’s always important to discuss any major lifestyle changes with your doctor before you begin. They can check to make sure you don't have systemic problems, like diabetes or arthritis, that may affect your weight loss goals. You may also want to consider signing up for physical therapy or personal trainer sessions. This is especially important to help you create realistic goals and get the kind of professional support you need to make healthy, effective changes in your life.
Keep a fitness journal. Consider including three sections in your journal: one for recording how you feel, one for what you eat each day, and one for daily activity. Start your journal by detailing the reasons that you want to lose weight. You can return to this page to refresh your motivation during the weight loss process. For food entries, try to include each item that you consume, the quantity of each item, and any health stats that you are aware of (calories, grams of fat, carbohydrates, or others). For activity entries, include the type of activity, the duration, and the intensity. For example, if you walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes, write that down along with how fast you were going – either the intensity number on the machine, or a more descriptive term like “medium intensity” if you broke a sweat.
Make a schedule for no more than 11 weeks of weight loss. Studies have shown that it is hard to stay motivated for major weight loss for longer than 11 weeks. Set a date to end your weight loss period and begin a maintenance period. The maintenance period can help give your body a break and recover/stabilize after a period of significant weight loss. Think about where you really need to make a change—maybe there are certain days you tend to overeat or meals where you often eat too much. That can help you come up with a plan of action for how to move forward more intentionally.
Establish a strong support system. Consider asking a friend to join you in a weight loss plan. Moral support will increase the likelihood that you will lose 20 lb (9.1 kg). Joining with a partner in your family may further help you change your diet and create more active habits. Consider joining a weight loss network. It is easier to stay motivated if you have a group of people encouraging you. Programs like Weight Watchers have meetings where people can share information and remain committed.
Improving Your Diet
Reduce your total calorie intake by about 700 calories. You will need to create a deficit of 1167 calories each day to meet your goal. This goal can be met through dieting and exercise. If you are burning an average of 500 calories per day, then you'll need to eat 700 calories less than you usually need to maintain your current weight. Record your caloric intake in your weight loss journal each day. Never plan to eat less than 1500 calories per day if you're a male or 1200 calories a day if you're a female. You can use online calorie calculators to plan ahead or review your past meals.
Create your plate according to recommended diet rules at each meal. Fill your plate 1/2 full of fruits and vegetables. Split the remaining space between lean protein and whole grains. Do this for every meal you eat. An example of a well-created plate would be one serving of a whole grain (like brown rice or quinoa) with one serving of grilled chicken breast, which should make up half of your plate. For the other half, include one serving of broccoli and one serving of carrots. Try to avoid things that have refined carbohydrates and sugars. Instead, replace them with produce and whole grains. If possible, remove most processed foods from your diet. These are usually filled with hidden sugar, fat, and calories. Studies show cooking fresh meals can help with weight loss. While eating healthier overall is a great goal, avoid overly restrictive diet plans. Those aren't great for your body in the long-term, and they're really hard to sustain.
Consider eating small meals more frequently. Timing your meals so that your blood sugar doesn't drop significantly – such as morning meals, a morning snack, and a post-workout meal or snack – can help you stick to your calorie restriction. Try eating smaller portions at more frequent intervals throughout the day. In between meals, try snacking on an apple with a handful of almonds, a half cup of cottage cheese with sliced fruit or vegetables, celery sticks with peanut butter, or carrot sticks with hummus. Try planning your meals ahead to make snacking throughout the day easier. Schedule what you will make every Sunday, including snacks and drinks.
Remove liquid calories. Alcohol, high-fat dairy or cream, coffee drinks, and soda add significant amounts of empty calories to your diet. Restrict them as you would other processed foods. Instead, drink mostly water whenever you need a refreshing beverage. Cutting back on these excess calories should help you lose weight more quickly. Be careful with fat-free and sugar-free drink options that contain artificial sweeteners. These additives may lead to weight gain. If you want to lose the weight quickly, it’s best to just stick to drinking water.
Creating an Effective Exercise Routine
Talk to your doctor to find out if you are healthy enough for exercise. You should always discuss exercise changes with your doctor, but this is especially important if you haven't been very active in the past. Increasing your exercise levels too fast can lead to injury or medical complications. Not only is this dangerous, but it will also delay the results you want. Tell your doctor that you plan to workout 5 to 6 days a week, including both cardio and resistance training.
Do at least 30 minutes of cardio 5 to 6 days per week. Cardio is one of the best ways to lose weight, though you will need to combine it with dietary changes. For increased weight loss, do 45 minutes to 1 hour of cardio 5 times per week. Good cardio exercises include walking, running, swimming, cycling, rowing, and jumping rope. Start with something low-impact (like walking or swimming), then work your way up to more high-intensity cardio activities (like running or rowing). Allow your body time to adapt to a cardio fitness plan. Workout every other day for the first 1 to 2 weeks, if you were previously inactive. Add extra time and days to your plan until you reach a 6 day fitness goal. Use interval training methods. Work out at a moderate intensity and do bursts of high-intensity or resistance movement. You will burn more fat in the same period of time if you do intervals. Remember that calorie burns through exercise should be coupled with calorie deficits in your diet to see the results you want.
Do strength training for 30 minutes 2 days a week. Use free weights, weight machines, resistance bands or a combination to kick start your metabolism and lose extra weight. Strengthening your muscles will help you lose fat from a wider variety of muscles. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. So, strength training will help you get leaner and lose fat even if the scale doesn’t show much weight loss. Continue doing strength training for 2 days a week for the first 2 to 4 weeks. Once your body gets used to the workout, you can increase to 3 days per week. This usually takes about a month.
Stretch to avoid injury. A weight loss period should be treated like training for a sports event. Failure to drink water, stretch, and give your body a rest can result in injury and it will be more difficult to lose weight with good nutrition alone. Take 5-10 minutes before each workout session to warm up your body. For your warm up, try dynamic stretches (those that involve performing controlled movements that gradually increase your range-of-motion). Dynamic stretches are best for warming up because they get the blood flowing throughout your body. Do not do static stretches when your muscles are cold, as this can lead to injury and reduce your performance.
Take fitness classes. Signing up for fitness classes with a friend is a wonderful way to stay motivated. Meeting hour-long fitness goals is easier if you have scheduled the class in advance and are participating in a structured workout class. Signing up for classes means that other people will expect to see you there, especially after you’ve been going for a while. This will also help motivate you to keep going to the classes.
Switch up your workouts. Once you get to the second month, try some new workouts. Using different muscles for strength training and cardio exercise will increase your metabolism and help you lose weight. As you grow accustomed to certain cardio exercises, consider alternating machines/activities. For example, spend one day on the elliptical machine, then go for a swim the next day. During strength training, make sure that each muscle group has time to recover before your next session. Muscle confusion, or targeting different muscle groups once your body grows accustomed to a specific workout routine, can help increase your weight loss.
Schedule regular sessions with your personal trainer if you have one. Ask your trainer to do fitness tests at 1 month and 2 months to help you meet weight loss and inch reduction goals. Your personal trainer will be able to recommend certain activities that will help you with your weight loss goals, tailored specifically for your body.
Test yourself to stay on track for your goals. If you don’t have access to a personal trainer, spend some time checking in with your body and analyzing your own progress. Every couple of weeks, you should weigh yourself, measure your hips and waist, and take note of the increases in repetitions and weights you’re making. Analyzing these milestones will help you maintain the right direction for your weight loss goals and make sure that you aren’t pushing yourself too hard. Set clear goals for yourself – like losing 2.5 lb (1.1 kg) per week. Check in with yourself each week to see if you are meeting your goals. If you realize that you have a trouble area, consider focusing your energies on targeting that specific area.
Do a cool down after your workout. Cooling down will help your heart rate return to normal after your workout and will allow you to condition your muscles. Try practicing lunges to stretch out your thigh and calf muscles. Sit on the ground with your legs spread apart out in front of you and lean your arms toward one foot to stretch out your arms and back. Hold the stretch for a few moments, then lean back out toward the other foot.
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