As we welcome March, let me as a question that most of us are afraid to ask ourselves and no, this is not if you have found a date this Valentines. My question for you dear readers is if you have kept your New Year’s resolutions. Or, and this may be appropriate in many cases, have you even started them at all?
If you have promised to diet, exercise and lose weight in 2014, have you taken the appropriate steps and started already? Or are you still stuck at the beginning? Admittedly, starting is one of the most difficult things to do. We often think of excuses and reasons to stall our endeavors. If you have not started your weight loss quest yet (don’t worry, many of us take months before finally taking the plunge), here are some simple steps that you can follow
Step 1: Start logging your food
Yes, your first step to weight loss isn’t a brand new diet or a complicated exercise routine. Your first step is as simple as logging in everything that you eat. And when I mean everything, I mean, everything. Even those two small cookies you sneaked in before finally dozing off last night.
You do not have to count calories. Just write everything down and review them at the end of the day. Seeing a list of what you regularly eat makes you aware of your eating habits, allowing you to see what if you’re eating right or if you’re doing everything all wrong. Continue this habit and check to see if you have made any improvements after the first week.
Step 2: Walk daily
Walking is a very simple and easy method to weight loss, but it is often overlooked. If you have no time to exercise, you surely have time to walk. The idea is to get at least 10,000 steps a day. Walk whenever you can. Take your dog to the park, do groceries twice a week if you can. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Take the longer route to your destination, or park your car a little bit farther and walk the whole way. You can buy a pedometer to track how well you are going.
Step 3: Get active
Going on a diet and cutting back on your calories is not the only way to lose weight. You still need to exercise and get moving to help shed those unwanted pounds. Develop an exercise routine that keeps you active at least 3 to 4 times a week. These activities can range from walking (see Step #2) to Yoga, running, boxing, dance and more.
You can also incorporate physical activity anytime you can. Walk around the office at work. Do stretches in between hours. Set aside an hour a week to clean your house. Jog or dance in place while cooking dinner. If you don’t have a lot of time but want to exercise, you can try high intensity exercises that only take as much as thirty minutes.
Step 4: Load up on produce
If you’re a big eater or simply love food, then you may probably hate going on diets. Instead of scrimping up on your meals, continue to eat large portions of food as long as they are vegetables and fruits. They are rich in nutrients and fiber, and are quite low on calories so you do not have to worry about eating more than you should. Large portions of vegetables and fruits also keep you full so you don’t binge eat or snack in between meals.
Step 5: Don’t obsess on weight
When you follow the first four steps continuously for a couple of weeks, you will definitely expect to lose weight. Do not let your weighing scale be the sole determinant of your success. Take note that muscles are heavier than fat and there are many factors that can affect the numbers that show up on your weighing scale.
So don’t fret if you’ve only lose four pounds. There are other ways for you to measure your improvements. Are your clothes getting looser? Do you feel more energetic? What about your blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels or heart rate? Are they improving?
Go, get started!
The first month of the year is already over, but do not fret just yet. You have eleven more months to achieve your target weight. If losing weight feels like such a gigantic and overwhelming task, start with these five simple steps and just focus on them first to make sure that you start losing weight and keeping it off.
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