How To Start Losing Weight For Beginners – 10 Healthy Habits And Changes To Start With
Losing weight is a common trend all over the world. A fit and healthy body is something that most people desire. It doesn't mean that weight loss is only prioritized for looking good and attractive but also about being healthy. Losing excessive fat decreases the risk of heart disease, liver problems, stroke, etc.
Weight loss is viewed as something that requires extra effort and deprivation. Active people complain that losing weight is not their cup of tea. But many studies have shown that continuous effort, regular exercise, and a healthy diet can quickly help you reduce unwanted fats.
Again the question arises How to carry on with the weight loss routine? Points to ponder while working out? How to change our habits to lose weight? What are the essential tips every beginner should know?
So friends, grab a coffee or tea and read this article to get all the questions you mind composing as a beginner.
10 Healthy Tips And Habits To Follow For Losing Weight
1. Track your food consumption
Food is an essential requirement of the human body. It gives required nutrients to our body, promoting healthy growth and preventing threatening diseases.
Therefore to lose weight, you need to consume a properly balanced diet that can provide sufficient nutritional value to your body.
Doctors and fitness dietitians advise that a diet should be rich in proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Food that includes proteins is vitamin-contained vegetables and fruits, milk, eggs, pulses, and meat. These proteins help build muscles, strengthen metabolism and maintain body shape.
Carbohydrate-rich foods include whole grains (such as maize, barley, and wheat), dried fruits and nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, and apricots), and legumes (such as beans, lentils, flax seeds, and peas). Carbohydrates are the body's primary fuel source, and the fiber content in them helps control weight by promoting a feeling of fullness.
Some carbohydrates contain sugar, so choose your food and drinks carefully.
Fats-rich food includes cheese, avocadoes, oils (olive oil, fish oils), and seeds that help in improving cholesterol levels.
Satvik food can also be one of the great diet options for vegetarians to lose and maintain weight. According to Ayurveda, it is beneficial for mental and physical health.
Calorie counting is also vital – the calorie requirements for males and females differ. These requirements depend on factors such as age, lifestyle, height, weight, and body size.
To lose weight, it's common that physically active people are more likely to burn extra calories than less active people.
Count your portion of food and take it according to your requirement.
2. Water, Your Secret Weapon
Water does more than just quench your thirst; it helps regulate body temperature and supports overall bodily functions. It carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells and tissues. During physical activities, the body loses water through sweat and urine. Therefore, staying hydrated throughout the day is essential for maintaining proper hydration levels.
For weight loss, try to consume plenty of glasses of water. It can also burn excess fats and reduce hunger.
According to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of UNITED STATES, an adult woman requires approximately 2700 ml/day, and an adult man needs approximately 3700 ml/day of water.
3. An effective sleep
Schedule your daily sleep of six to seven hours. It is vitally important to make your mind and body calm, relaxed, and free from stress. Lack of sleep increases the hormones leptin and ghrelin.
These hormones are responsible for hunger and food cravings, which can lead to excess weight gain. Therefore, it is important not to compromise on a healthy sleep routine. Good sleep improves concentration and focuses on activities, while adequate rest also aids in weight loss and muscle maintenance.
4. Exercises are necessary
Being a beginner, do not rush into things, even your weight loss plan. In your childhood days, you must have ridden a bicycle. First, you paddle slowly, and after a month of practice, you increase your speed. Similarly, it goes with exercise because when you do challenging and heavy exercises on the very first day, your body will face unreasonable pain and your bones are more likely to get injured.
Give your body some time to settle and accept the physical exercise routine. Start with ten to fifteen minutes of exercise. Exercises for beginners include cycling, swimming, biking, pushups, deadlifts, dips, squats, and hinges. To make your exercise routine worth enjoying, you can join aerobics classes, group dance classes, or fitness classes.
Always consult your fitness trainer before going for any heavy exercise routine.
5. Intermittent Fasting
Fasting has proven to be an effective action for losing weight. It detoxifies and cleanses your body. With intermittent fasting, you can reset your body system and get rid of excess and unwanted weight and toxins of the body. Fasting can be an excellent option to improve blood pressure and heart-related diseases. It also plays a vital role in boosting and increasing the metabolism rate. As a beginner, you can do fasting by skipping one-time meals.
6. Keep distance from sugarily, packed, and processed food
It is not easy to directly avoid tasty and unhealthy food. However, you can start by limiting the amount. Pre-cooked and frozen food increases blood sugar levels and can ruin your weight loss plan. In snack time, try to intake fruits and dry fruits instead of chips, biscuits, or fries.
The fruit sweeteners satisfy your craving for sugars and unhealthy kinds of stuff. Also, keep a distance from cold drinks and alcoholic drinks because these carbonated drinks are full of non-nutritive sweeteners that can damage your planned weight loss routine.
7. Add Cheat meal to your weight loss diet
Restrictions are reasonable but being too strict and hard on yourself can lead to stress and anxiety. Hence add a cheat meal to your diet list.
Instead of directly eating your favorite food, go for Weekly cheat meals. It will help you lessen the feeling of anxiety. And also improve and increase the ability to stick to your plan. The overall key is to stick with healthy eating as much as possible.
However, it is important to know that while your cheat meals, you are not watching any shows or television because it will maximize the craving to eat more.
Make sure it should be your cheat meal, not your cheat day.
According to some researchers, if you are abiding by 90% of your diet plan, you can go for cheat meals weekly without much worry. Do not forget to track your portion of your cheat meal. Always follow a detox day after eating unhealthy food.
8. Your vision towards weight loss
When you decide to lose weight, it’s important to determine how much weight you want to lose, why you want to lose it, and what your vision or goals are for your weight loss journey.
You should be aware of the journey you are leading. Otherwise, you will not know where to stop.
In the weight loss journey, vision or goal is a must.
Those will help you overcome self-limiting beliefs and encourage you to become a higher and best version of yourself.
9. Take care of yourself
The weight loss process takes time and patience. Transformation of the body needs hard work too. But that does not mean you have to be harsh on yourself.
Self-care is an essential part of weight loss. You have to be happy and positive towards your aim. Losing weight should be your choice and not be forced.
This transforming process is challenging and strict, so always cheer up for yourself. Respect your body limits and self-esteem. Do not compare yourself with others.
Trust your routine and be happy about your weight loss journey. Encourage and motivate yourself by reading books and saying good things about yourself and your lifestyle.
10. Say hello to green tea
Green tea is one of the healthiest beverages that help in losing weight. The polyphenol antioxidants present in it reduce inflammation in the body.
Studies have shown that a moderate intake of green tea improves bone strength and quality.
L-theanine present in the green tea leaves induces a state of relaxation and well-being.
Green tea boosts the metabolic rate and enhances the hormone function in the body to maintain weight loss.
So, Introduce green tea to your daily routine.
Conclusion
As a newbie, try to start your race of losing weight slowly. Don't plunge into workouts and exercises too fastly. Follow a daily routine diet full of healthy and nutritional foods. Avoid fast food and unhealthy eatables because they may affect your hard work. Drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated and your digestive system robust. Most importantly, love yourself and take care of your mental and physical health.
References
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/fats-and-oils
https://jamesclear.com/the-beginners-guide-to-intermittent-fasting
