Proper weight loss begins with setting specific goals and creating motivation. In addition, you must undergo a medical examination to check your hormone levels and the function of each organ. This will allow you to make a suitable diet and speed up your metabolism as much as possible. It is possible that the doctor will prescribe some type of therapy if the disease that causes obesity is detected. Self-selected diets are rarely ideal and are completed without negative consequences.
Have you decided to lose weight without outside help? Then read this article carefully - here you will find answers to all your questions, except those related to medicine. What affects the appearance of overweight? Poor nutrition, passive lifestyle, bad habits, stress and lack of sleep. Start living differently and you will start losing weight!
Motivation to lose weight
Its importance is huge, because without incentives you will not be able to lose weight: you will often break down, which will reduce all efforts to zero. A serious motivation to lose weight is an old "slim" photo, an upcoming event, or a significant change in life. Once you have decided on your goal, set a time frame in which you can lose weight. This should not be an abstract period of time, but a sufficiently calculated period during which you can get rid of extra pounds.
To do this, be sure to calculate your ideal weight, estimate how many extra calories you can "burn" in a week/month. This is the only way you can understand how long it takes to lose weight. The severity of the diet also depends on the period - in this process everything is interconnected. Be sure to visualize your goals and surround yourself with reminders of what you are striving for. Mark your progress on the calendar on the way to the cherished date. Make sure you get a scale that will definitely stimulate you if you don't break your new diet rules.
Calculation of daily calorie intake
Before you think about where to start losing weight, start a food diary and track your food for a week or two. Then run an analysis by calculating the number of calories consumed per day, as well as the ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Now it is worth knowing how much food your body needs, if you do not take into account your needs. The Internet is full of formulas that will help you figure out this number. Remember 2 things:
- You must know how many calories your body expends to maintain its vital functions;
- You must calculate your daily needs, taking into account your energy expenditure for work, cleaning, training, etc.
To lose weight, you must reduce the calorie content of your diet by 200-300 kcal per week - this is the only way the body will adapt calmly and not consider it a strict diet. Remember: you need to consume no fewer calories per day than your body expends for your vital functions and activities. That is, if you find that to maintain the function of all systems in your body you need to consume 1200 kcal, and at work and at home you spend another 600 kcal, then 1800 kcal is the minimum that your diet should not exceed. .
With improper nutrition, a person absorbs 2000 or more kcal per day, while most diets consist of harmful fats and easily digestible carbohydrates, which leads to obesity, and muscles and skin suffer. In addition to monitoring your calorie intake, you also need to be smart about the amount of protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats you eat. The correct ratio of these components is 1: 4: 1, but this ratio is only suitable for ordinary people, that is, not trying to build muscle mass or eat fat burners.
Reducing the calorie content of the diet and changing its nutritional value is not everything. Often, when asked where to start losing weight properly, the answer is that you need to drink more water, and this is true. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day, not in one sip, but in small and frequent sips. You can add a slice of fresh lemon to it - this will speed up the process of removing toxins from the body. Taken together, these measures will lead to better metabolism, body cleansing and, as a result, weight loss.
How to cook and eat while losing weight?
Before you decide where to start your weight loss process, consider whether you can follow the following conditions:
- Try to reduce your appetite, which causes you to take more than you need. To do this, remove all sweets and other unhealthy snacks from the house. Fill your plate and bag with fruits and snacks that will satisfy sudden hunger pangs. The main meal should be every 4 hours, and between them nutritious snacks: beans, salads, vegetable sandwiches;
- Start breakfast! Breakfast should comprise at least 30% of your daily diet so that you are not too hungry in the evening. In the morning, food should be nutritious and contain a large portion of carbohydrates, and in the afternoon and evening it should be protein and vegetables, fruits;
- Do not eat at night - the last meal is 3 hours before bedtime. This will relieve you from the feeling of heaviness in the stomach and extra pounds, and make you sleep better;
- Eat slowly and chew thoroughly. Delicious food with spices will help you with this, which you will chew just like chewing gum - until you squeeze all the juice out of it;
- Food should not be fried or fried. Use the grill or slow cooker to create a variety of healthy and nutritious meals. You can add flavor with various spices and homemade low-fat sauces;
- Try to buy quality products, so check the labels on all products;
- Periodically arrange fasting days for yourself - this will speed up the process of losing weight and cleansing the body, and also improve your psycho-emotional state - tested!
- When pouring yourself some food, put back a spoon. You can also use small plates - so visually the amount of food looks big, but you eat little;
- Your diet should take into account your needs - this is the key to good results. Violence against yourself will not lead to good, so find a compromise. For example, you can't live without pizza. To do this, learn to cook yourself - this will make it healthier, and secondly, the night before eating it, limit yourself a little, which will allow you not to exceed the allowed daily calorie intake;
- Make a menu for the week ahead so you don't have to worry about cooking all week. This will make the transition to a new diet easier.
Do not try to lose weight with ready-made diets, because most of them are not universal and dangerous for many people. For example, a low-calorie diet, in addition to rapid weight loss, can worsen chronic diseases and provoke weight gain after its end. A low-fat diet leads to overwork and deterioration of appearance, and vegetarianism is not suitable for our climate, as it causes excessive stress on the heart.
What you can and can't eat while losing weight
The list of healthy products is known to everyone - these are fresh vegetables and fruits, cereals, pasta and wheat bread, lean meat and some fermented milk products. Where to start losing weight at home? – from the rejection of the following "dangerous matter":
- Flour products, yeast sweets and various types of dough;
- Fried food;
- potatoes;
- Sausages and semi-finished products;
- Store-bought mayonnaise and sauces;
- chips, crackers;
- Snacks;
- Sweet, carbonated, alcoholic beverages.
Replace sweets with raw food desserts, sweet drinks with carob, herbal teas and natural coffee. Fast food can easily be replaced with pita bread with vegetables, boiled chicken and low-calorie sauce; pizza can be easily prepared at home and includes the "right" ingredients. Here are the main dishes: different types of fish, diet meat, vegetable soup, nutritious salad, and all this with homemade sauces and various spices.
Sports and cosmetology for weight loss
Usually, when asked where to start losing weight for women or men, they answer that the first thing you need to do is sign up for a gym or at least start doing squats and doing abs at home. However, fitness is only a complement to proper nutrition, healthy sleep and maintaining water balance in the body. Cardio exercises, such as running, jumping rope, cycling, swimming, and dancing, will help you lose weight. Strength training aims not only to burn fat, but also to tighten muscles and skin. Start exercising at least 20 minutes 3 times a week, increase this time to 40 minutes and frequency to 5-7 sessions.
It is better to train in the morning, when fresh energy has not entered the body with breakfast and it has to produce itself, using fat deposits for this. In addition, sports help speed up the metabolism, cleanse the body, improve health and mood, which will definitely have a positive effect on the weight loss process. If you want to start exercising at home, there are various programs "Where to start losing weight", where experienced instructors tell you what to pay attention to during your first training and how to get yourself in normal physical shape to improvethe intensity of your exercise.
Take care of your body from the outside by doing various body wraps, visiting massage rooms and preparing scrubs. For example, honey massage helps to remove excess volume and cleanse the skin. Vacuum roller massage or cupping is effective against cellulite. Scrubs help clean the skin, and wraps tighten it. By interacting with your body through the skin, you increase blood and lymph flow, breaking down cellulite - stimulating the release of excess fluid and the breakdown of fat cells.
A combination of these recommendations will help you:
- Speed up your metabolism;
- Cleanse the body;
- Become a healthier and more beautiful person;
- Of course, lose a lot of weight;
- Be cheerful and active.
We hope you achieve your goals!