Best Advice to Remember on Your Weight Loss Journey

Taking that first step towards losing weight and improving your health is a huge one. And it’s so important to remember that everybody’s weight loss journey is different. All too often we set out with the best intentions, only to become disillusioned, disappointed and even depressed.

The reason for this?

Usually bad advice, or unrealistic expectations. The fact that you have even started on your weight loss journey is commendable, so the first thing you should do is congratulate yourself. And then try and maintain that mindset throughout your journey.

Avoid The ‘G’ Word

Sadly, when it comes to dieting and weight loss, too many people buy into the ‘G’ word – guilt! And whilst any sort of major body transformation requires determination, beating yourself up isn’t going to help.

It’s a proven fact that feelings of guilt and depression will simply cause us to eat more.Your weight loss journey is exactly that – YOUR journey. It doesn’t matter what your friend is doing, or how much weight your cousin lost – this is about you.

We are all different: our body types, our genetics, our metabolism, everything. You could put two people on an identical diet and the results would be different.

Seek Professional Advice

So the best advice of all is to seek professional advice and follow the diet plan and exercise regime that is recommended for you. By personalizing your journey, you will feel more motivated, and it will be more fun and more rewarding.

When it comes to dieting, everybody has helpful tips, right? Do this, don’t do that, only eat green food or orange food, and so on. There are some crazy diets out there!

And one of the worst – in fact, one of the most dangerous – is to starve yourself. You’ve probably got a friend who reckons she lost weight because she didn’t eat for a week. But did you get the full story?

Don’t Starve Yourself

Not only is starving yourself incredibly unhealthy, it could lead to all sorts of medical problems. And, in the long run, you’ll probably gain more weight than you lost.

Have you noticed that dietitians always recommend at least 3 small meals a day? That’s because if you don’t eat, your body will go into starvation mode.

Your body will literally start to eat itself, breaking down muscle to access amino acids. What’s more, you need the energy you get from carbohydrates to burn fat effectively.

Choose Your Carbs Carefully

But that doesn’t mean eat every carb you can get your hands on, either! Generally a higher protein, lower carb diet is recommended for steady weight loss, while helping to keep the hunger pangs at bay.

There are some great ‘diet’ foods to try to keep your hunger satisfied. Greek yogurt – with no added sugar – is a good one, as it’s loaded with protein and calcium. Oatmeal is another, as there’s plenty of fiber to fill you up and keep you healthy.

If you start to feel run down and tired during your weight loss journey, you could be low in vitamins. It’s really important to ensure you are getting enough vitamin B12. This is found in red meat, of course, but also in yogurt, almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Or you could try a vitamin B12 supplement.

Ditch The Bathroom Scales

Another great piece of advice is to ignore the bathroom scales. True! The temptation is to jump on the scales every five minutes to see if you’ve lost weight. If the number hasn’t changed – or has gone up – it’s easy to lose that motivation.

The thing is, if you are supporting your weight loss journey with a personalized exercise regime, you will be building more lean muscle. And while it is a myth that muscle weighs more than fat, muscle could see your weight increase.

Lean Meat For Lean Muscle

But, before you panic, take note. What you are doing is transforming your body and, whatever the scales say, you will see and feel the change. Your body will become leaner, your clothes loser.

Eating lean meat can help you build that lean muscle mass. A common mistake dieters make is to only eat salad and vegetables, thinking they will speed up results. What they actually speed up is how soon they will feel hungry again!

Add lean protein, like chicken breast, and a little fat, like good olive oil, and you’ll stay fuller for longer.

Learning To Change Behaviors

Sometimes your weight loss journey is as much about changing behaviors. For example, instead of sitting at your desk to eat your lunch, go for a walk. You’ll be burning calories and getting some healthy fresh air.

Or maybe, if having a coffee always makes you want a biscuit, try switching to herbal tea or water. We humans are creatures of habit, and making a change can have very positive results. But changing can be hard.

The solution is to set smaller, attainable goals. For example, instead of saying, I’ll never eat chocolate again, limit it to one piece, once a week. Rather than saying you’ll exercise more, set a specific, like I’ll walk 15 minutes a day.

Set Yourself Up For Success

Smaller goals are far easier to achieve and this will motivate you to keep going. Setting unattainable goals is basically setting yourself up to fail.

Another great piece of advice is ‘never compare yourself to others‘. Instead, compare yourself this week to who you were last week. Remember, this is your personal weight loss journey.

And we can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have support on your journey. Sure, you can pick a diet and join a gym, but where’s the motivation? Who will kick your butt when you decide to give the gym a miss?

Enjoy Your Weight Loss Journey

Professional support will ensure you are eating the right foods, and doing the right exercises, safely. If you overdo it and injure yourself, you could set your journey back by weeks.

Our bodies are designed to move and adapt. And, given the right fuel and exercise, they will continue to do so long into the future. Get on the right track now and you can look forward to a much happier and healthier future.