Beginning Your Weight Loss Journey Losing weight is something many people struggle to do for various reasons. While body image and self-esteem are certainly oft-cited reasons, there are also many health benefits to losing weight. The most common are reductions in the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Losing weight helps lower cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure, all of which are beneficial when regulated. Fortunately, there are several easy steps that anyone can do to begin their weight loss journey. These are small changes that anyone can make to their life which will help them skip the crash diets and begin to nourish and feed their bodies.
First, recognize that food is fuel. For many people, food has an emotional stigma attached to it, which often triggers cravings. Starchy foods like pasta and sweet foods like cake are good examples of this idea. The emotional release that accompanies these foods can overshadow the detrimental effect that they have on health and wellbeing. By recognizing that food is simply fuel for your body, food ceases to have an emotional hold on you and your mind.
If you are trying to lose weight quickly, the best food to nourish your body with has been proven to be lean sources of protein, cruciferous vegetables, and complex carbohydrates like brown rice. Since making all of these changes to your diet at once can be overwhelming and daunting, make small changes instead. A few easy swaps include brown rice instead of white rice, wheat bread instead of white, and sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. Remember, anything that is overly processed or contains lots of added ingredients is not going to fuel your body, it’s going to take longer to process and put more strain on the organs responsible for filtering. The most important thing to remember during this phase is that you don’t have to be perfect. In fact, most healthy eaters recommend an 80/20 split between healthy eating and splurges. If you really want a cookie, go for it, because moderation is the key here.
Now, let’s talk about some easy tips for weight loss. The most common tip is to drink water. Water is an invaluable resource to the human body, as it is made up of roughly 70% water. Drinking a glass of water anytime you feel hungry can help ensure that your body isn’t confusing dehydration with hunger, which is a common problem. Another good idea is drinking water before and after a meal, which aids in digestion and helps you to feel fuller. Another tip that really seems to help dieters is to swap out large plates for smaller dishware. When plates are smaller, it appears that you have more food, and you aren’t tempted to take more to fill in the gaps on your plate. This advice is simple but can do wonders for tricking your brain.
Perhaps the most important part of beginning your weight loss journey is to find a like-minded community to join. The Internet is a great resource for this. Finding support has been proven to up your chances of success in a weight loss journey. The most important thing is to stick with it and not give up.
