Ok, so...yeah...the title is a bit deceptive but for those of you that are looking for a quick fix, you really need a reality check and hopefully this it. If you really read the title then you may have realized I didn't say anything about losing weight being fast! Can you lose a lot of weight quickly? Most certainly but the likelihood of you keeping that weight off is inversely proportional to your chances of keeping that weight off in the long run.
What I mean is the faster you lose the weight, the less likely you are to keep it off. This statement comes from personal experience and not from a scientific study. Take a look at my completely made up graph that I dreamed up: Also check the way to lose weight here: the benefits of roller skating for weight loss Completely Made Up Graph There are anomalies. There are some people that have dropped massive amounts of weight, quickly, and kept it off. However, for the sake of this article we aren't going to delve into how they accomplished it. If you are wanting, or needing, to lose a lot of weight and keep it off, here are a few pointers that may help you in that journey. Have realistic expectations A monumental mistake that many make when trying to lose weight is making changes to drastic to maintain. I don't need to tell you that we live in a "I WANT IT NOW!!!" society. We want everything instantaneously. We have been conditioned to think and feel this way. Losing weight is no exception. Not only do we want it now but we also want it with the least amount of impact to our 'normal' life as possible. It is a struggle because when you combine those two 'wants', it produces a long term weight loss enemy that is very difficult to defeat. How do you do it? You need to take baby steps. You start by making realistic goals. Rather than looking to lose 10 lbs per week, your goal should be 1-2 lbs per week. Yeah, I know you may consider that slow. To be honest, I really don't care if you do because if you want to make a real and lasting change in your life, this should be your expectation and your diet should reflect it. Think about it. Are you going to be more likely to stick with a diet that leaves you starving every minute of the day or are you more likely to stick with a well balanced diet made up of clean foods at a modest caloric deficit of 500 to 1000 calories below your BMR? Avoid fad diets like the plague Just so you know, you may see an occasional Google ad on this blog that advertises "Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!" or something along those lines. As a disclaimer, I want to make it clear that I do not endorse these types of ads and I don't have control over what Google shows here. Now, on the fad diets...cabbage soup, master cleanse, etc (I'm not goingto link to resources on this so if you want to check them out, I won't be the one to promote them). I assure you that if you stick to these 'diets' you will lose weight...and probably a lot of it. But what happens when you hit your target weight? Have you changed your lifestyle to foster continuous maintenance and improvement? No. You haven't. You won't eat cabbage soup for the rest of your life. You won't go on a cayenne spiced water drink ONLY for the rest of your life. In fact, you've learned nothing about nutrition except how NOT to lose weight. In all likelihood you will return to your normal, pre-diet lifestyle. Then, not only will you gain the weight back, you could possibly end up worse off than when you started. If you go down the fad diet path, the odds are incredibly against you keep the weight off for the long haul. Do you research. Hire a REAL nutritionist. Do your research. Do it RIGHT! Take 'baby steps' when starting a fitness program Here is my take on it setting up a fitness routine that will encourage long term results. I am sure some may disagree and that's ok. This worked for me and it has worked for others I have helped. If you haven't worked out in a while, or if you've never worked out, it is very important that you take baby steps. Science has proven that weight training promotes fat loss so I do believe that needs to be one aspect of your beginning program. However, in the beginning, I would recommend that you start with cardio and start slowly. Get used to being active. When I started, I started by walking for 30 minutes (treadmill) at about 3.5 mph. That is a moderate walking pace. Each subsequent cardio session should increase on that in some way whether it be a faster speed, walking at an incline, or walking for a longer period of time. In addition to your cardio, I recommend starting very slowly on the weights with a professionally designed routine. If you jump in with both feet with workouts that are designed for more advanced gym-goers, you may become so sore that it hampers your workout sessions for the near future. For some people, the pain is so much of a deterrent that they give up almost immediately. While you want to maintain whatever muscle you have as much as possible, your main focus should be getting your weight down to a manageable level. To recap, start slow, begin with a focus on cardio, then slowly shift your focus to weight training (while continuing your cardio). That's my recommendation. Build a support system In my opinion, having a strong support system is probably the biggest key to long term weight loss. If you are married and your wife or husband isn't supportive of your efforts, you are almost certain to fail. If you are single and your friends aren't supportive, it is also very difficult to succeed. If you find yourself in any situation where those closes to you aren't supportive, all is not lost! There are a ton of online fitness communities that people turn to everyday for support! Here are just a few as a sample:
In closing, the main theme of this post is that there is no quick fix. You didn't gain 50 extra pounds over night. You shouldn't expect to lose it overnight, either. Ignore the unreasonable claims. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
1 Comment
8/1/2016 03:14:39 am
I'm always trying out new exercises that challenge the body as a whole while still targeting the specific muscle group I want.
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