Weight loss is an issue most of us tackle at some point in our lives. With the multitude of articles, endorsements, and advertisements everywhere, it’s hard to know what’s fact and fiction when it comes to successful weight loss. Many of these are not scientifically proven to be effective at losing weight, meaning that we’re often wasting our time and could be potentially doing more harm to our bodies than good. So if you’re finding it hard to lose weight, despite exercising and healthy eating, here are 6 proven successful weight loss tips you may find useful.
Using Apple Cider Vinegar
There has been much talk around the use of apple cider vinegar to lose weight, but did you know there are studies to support these findings? In fact, it works in several beneficial ways, including controlling your appetite. It’s also been found that apple cider vinegar promotes weight loss, not by increasing your metabolism, but by helping to break down fat. This also includes visceral fat that’s found around your abdominal cavity. Apple cider vinegar can also help control your body’s sugar levels, making you less hungry in the process.
Get Real
OK, you know your end goal, but do you know how to get there? What’s more, do you know how long it’s going to take? If you’re serious about losing weight, you need to be prepared to be in this for the long haul. Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight, especially when you’re not opting to use diet fads and are instead focusing on permanent weight loss safely.
It’s considered that 0.5 – 1 kg weight loss per week is realistic, meaning you’ll need to burn between 500 – 1000 more calories than you consume. You achieve this through a low-calorie diet and exercise. With this in mind, focusing on reaching small goals will be more achievable than looking at your target weight. Reward yourself to a treat each time you hit a goal, like getting a haircut or a new item. You’ve worked hard to get there, so acknowledge your achievement when you do.
Keep Motivated
Your weight loss journey starts and ends with you. You can think about it, you can plan your weight loss journey, you can even discuss it with friends, but unless you’re mentally prepared and ready to start and keep on this path, nothing anyone says or does will help you lose weight.
To help you keep motivated, think about your reasons for losing weight. Is it to look good, feel good, or get healthy? Weight loss is a personal journey, so if it’s to get into a certain outfit for a special event, then that’s OK because you’re the one it concerns – not your friend or colleague, but you.
Of course, it helps to have support, so choose your network wisely. Think about how people make you feel, or whether they’ll come with you for that evening stroll. Having someone with you whilst you’re keeping active may inspire you to keep going when you’re finding it hard to.
Focus on Dieting
You need to get your food habits and healthy eating under control as soon as possible. Not only for your health but to lose weight too. All the exercising in the world will not help you to lose weight if you’re consuming more calories than you burn, and this is a fact.
For example, if you want to have a 500 calorie deficit, you run in the park for 5 miles, or do not consume that amount of calories. It’s really that simple, and studies have proven that people can lose more weight by dieting alone, instead of exercising alone. However, the best way to lose weight is to diet and exercise together, in combination with an active lifestyle.
Exercising
Exercise is an important contributor for you to lose weight, so don’t cancel it out just yet. In fact, exercising has been found to help fix a broken metabolism, which research has shown is a real thing. Even a few days of inactivity can negatively affect it, although it can start to improve if you become more active, on a daily basis.
Don’t forget, exercise is effective in maintaining weight loss, although you may have to work harder if your body has been inactive for a long period of time. You’ll also have to consider the possibility that your metabolism might not return to normal, but with regular exercise, and motivation, you can lose weight. It just might mean you have to work harder for longer.
Change your Perspective
It’s one thing to get to your target weight, but it’s another to stay there. Many people exercise and eat healthy just to see those magic numbers on their scale, and then stop doing all of this once they have. But as you most probably realize, the weight will creep back on if you take this approach. Therefore, you need to change how you look at weight loss and see it as a lifestyle change as opposed to a temporary way of life. This is the only way you’ll successfully manage to keep off any excess weight for good.
No one has said weight loss is easy, and for many, it can be a life-long journey of healthy eating and keeping fit. But this is what we should be doing to look after our bodies and mind, in the first place. Changing your outlook and seeing it as a way of life will help you adjust, as will following the other tips set out in this article. Be kind to yourself as you embark on this journey because there will be times you’ll falter, and that’s OK because life is for living. Just start again the next day, remembering why you started on this journey in the first place.