In case, if you don’t know the concept of weight loss revolves around lot of myths and often confuses the people, who want to carve a path out. Many times, people are advised to do all sorts of crazy things, which lead to even deeper problems.
What exactly happens?
Sustainable weight loss happens by taking baby steps and not by taking drastic measures. For example: If you have not been exercising for a long time, your first step should be to make a routine that includes exercise every day and your first form of exercise should be to do simple cardio exercises such as walking/low intensity aerobic exercise/going to the gym to do cross trainer, treadmill, cycle or even yoga.
An important thing to remember is to start with low intensity exercise and increase the intensity a little every day. Otherwise, body goes through aches & pains.
Not just that it feels extremely fatigued and dull which leads us to moving around like a zombie at times, we then look for pleasure or ways to make us feel more energized in terms of our food intake, teas, coffees, juices or pleasure meals which often is much more in calories than the calories burnt.
Behind the scene, hormonal action also takes place. More discomfort implies more stress which translates to more hormone release of cortisol, which generally is linked to more insulin release which causes more fat storage and less muscle building.
On the other side, the mind registers the experience as discomfort. Our minds work like auto respond systems. So every time, we think of exercise (which happens early in the morning, time to wake up), we put it off to the next day and the day after.
Make SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. It is often a good idea to break down our (BHAG) Big Hairy Audacious (health) vision into smaller SMART milestones and shorter goalposts.
Otherwise, these couple of scenarios normally happen –
Scenario 1: We tend to look for drastic measures which are not sustainable in the long run.
Scenario 2: The goal we set for ourselves is very overwhelming and daunting, so somewhere we have already given-up before starting.
Finally, dynamic visualization can play a very crucial role in sustainable weight loss. For many it is a game changer. This activity is easier said than done and does need some persistence to get the activity right for optimal results. Many people, who have set themselves BHAG goals find it very difficult to see themselves as thin as they desire to be. Hence, having shorter milestones and visualizing yourselves as slightly thinner is a more practical approach.
Top 10 tips for sustainable weight loss:
- Focus on your health, not calories
- Identify your motivations
- Cut back on added sugar
- Eat more fibre, vegetables and fruits
- Learn to de-stress without food
- Sweat it out
- Get good sleep
- Don’t do sugary drinks
- Chew more slowly
- Eat mindfully
