Weight Loss- The Do’s and Don’ts .

So you want to lose weight

How many times have you shamed your body after you see an Instagram model flex their body down your timeline? I’m pretty sure many people will admit they have compared their bodies to people that they see on Instagram. Have you ever thought to yourself “ What am I doing wrong,“ or “what do I have to do to get my body to look like that ?” As sad as it sounds, a lot of people end up failing to reach their body goals.

DO: Research

Too often people do not have any knowledge about health and fitness,  as a result, a lot of people end up doing all the wrong things. If you want to get your body in shape, you have to make sure you do your research. Be careful not to fall for the myths or the weight loss schemes. Learn the dos and donts to make sure that you are utilizing the best procedures to help you accomplish your goals.

 DON’T: Starve yourself to lose weight

For some reason, people believe that they have to stop eating to see the results that they want. It’s evident that if you stop eating, you will shed a few pounds, however, skipping out on meals is very unhealthy.  The average person should consume  1,800-2,000 calories per day to survive. If you decide to eat once a day, this will slow down your metabolism. In the beginning, you may lose weight. However, after a while, your body will get used to starving, which will cause your body to go into survival mode. Instead of losing weight you will begin to gain weight because the body stores that fat to protect you from losing too much weight at once.

DO: Smaller portions

Instead of skipping meals try lowering your portions. Instead of eating one meal a day you should try to eat six times a day. You want to make sure you eat three small meals and three healthy snacks in between. To shed weight, you have to build your metabolism up. The more you eat, the better. Your metabolism will speed up then your body will burn off fat faster.

Wait you want me to do what ?…

Yes, I know most people will think this sounds crazy but it’s not.  its a proven fact. If you do not believe me then, check out this article  How to eat more and lose weight. This method will make your weight loss journey more enjoyable. You want to make sure you eat more but eat less in portions. If you eat 3 pancakes for breakfast, try eating one, instead of four sausages eat 2, instead of white toast eat wheat toast. This same process applies to each meal. Also keep in mind that If you want to lose weight instead of eating 1,800-2,000 calories, you would cut back to eating 1,600-1,800 calories a day.

DON’T: Stuff your face every time you feel hungry.

Know when and when not to eat. If you eat every time you get a craving, you will most likely eat way more than you’re supposed to. You can have a desire for something without being hungry.  Some people eat out of boredom. Every time you get bored put down the food and pick up your water bottle. Drinking water is essential when trying to get in shape. Water prevents you from overeating.

DO: Drink water to fight off cravings.

A lot of the time people mistake being hungry for being thirsty. The average person should drink 64oz of water per day. When you are dehydrated, you sometimes have the same symptoms as if you are hungry. You ever have a day where you feel like no matter how much you eat you are still hungry? If you were to drink a cup of water before or after you eat, you would be able to get rid of that feeling. Have you ever ate a meal and then finished your drink after and felt so full to the point you can barely move? The reason that happens is that you ate too much. If you are a person that does not drink water you will not be able the recognize the difference unless you are highly dehydrated.

5. DO NOT: Take the easy way out

I always hear people say. “I want to get my body in shape in 30 days what do I need to do ?”  Then when they hear all the hard work they start to research ways to do it faster.  The media broadcast weight-loss scams. There are  Diet pills, waist trainers, fasting diets, displayed everywhere.  Not only are those regiments unhealthy, but they do not offer long-term results. Half of the time companies pay models that already have nice bodies to model their product.  Companies know everyone wants the perfect body, so they manipulate people to buy their products. As soon as you skip a day with any of those products you’re going to gain your weight right back.

Heres why.

When you use supplements to lose weight, your body is reliant on a substance. The substance is the key factor in your weight loss. The second you stop using this substance your body will not be able to lose weight on its own.

DO: Be patient with your results

It takes time getting your body in shape. Losing weight does not happen overnight and if it does it will most likely backfire. It takes 21 days for your body to adapt to a lifestyle. If you take the time to eat healthily and exercise consistently, then you will see results. Once your body grows accustomed to your new healthy lifestyle, you can afford one or two cheat days a week without gaining weight.

I know it sounds crazy but

Your body needs sugar and carbs, just as well as your body needs fruit and vegetables. So yes you can afford to have your favorite sweets every now and then. You just have to make sure you intake healthy food more. Our bodies require balance. if you eat healthy food every single day and you never cater to your cravings, you may get tired of it and go bad to your old eating habits.

DON’T: Try to kill yourself trying to lose weight by overdoing it in the gym.

The last thing you want to do is go to the gym and overwork your body. You do not have to work out every day for two hours a day to lose weight. Especially not in the beginning anyways you will most likely burn yourself out and give up after a few days.  You don’t want to work out so hard, where you are terrified to work out again.

DO: Start off slow so you can enjoy your weight loss journey.

Figure out what your body can handle. Once you build a tolerance add more to your routine. For example, let’s just say you discover that you can only do 40 sits up. The highest amount of weights you can lift is  30 pounds.  Do what you can handle. Stick to that routine for a week.  Once you build that tolerance makes sure you try to increase to 50 sit-ups. Challenge yourself to lift 40-pound weights.  Each week increase your reps and your weights. Not only will you avoid burnout, but you will also be able to physically see and feel your body get stronger.

 

DON’T expect cardio to me the main source of your weight loss journey. 

i know most people think that they have to make cardio their main focus when trying to lose weight. the truth is cardio will help but it may not give you the body that you are looking for. the truth is when you are tying to shed weight around your stomach and other areas of your body you have to also do workouts that target that area as well. yes cardio will help you burn calories and shed fat but lifting weights is what will really help you see a difference.

DO lift weights. 

weightlifting actually helps you lose more than cardio will. so the goal is to do 15-30 mins of cardio and spend the rest of your time lifting and doing caltehtics. you want to build muscle to cancel out the fat. now i know you probably thinking wouldn’t this just make me build muscle over fat ? no thats what the cardio is for. if you do cardio and lift you will be able to transfer your fat into muscle simultaneously.

All in and all just enjoy your journey and record your progress to keep yourself motivated.i know some of the hardest parts about losing weight is staying motivated. For this reason, I have a post that gives tips on how to keep your mind in the right space. Tips To Help You Overcome Self Doubt I also have a few products I recommend you use that helped me along my journey. I hope this helps. If you like this post then, make sure you stay tuned for part 2. I will discuss more in detail my eating habits, routine and the tricks that I used to receive my results.