Set a goal, make a plan and get going

If you wonder how to loose weight, the first thing you need to do is invest some time in research to get clear on how much weight you have got to loose and within what time frame you may be able to lose that weight realistically. Don’t buy into those “lose 10 pounds in 10 days” schemes as for most people such an extreme weight loss is simply not possible. And even if you lose 10 pounds, a good part of that is most likely water and will come back on quite quickly. And don’t forget that we are not in a “Biggest Loser” environment but have to continue to run our busy lives beside trying to figure out how to loose weight. A more sensitive approach will more likely result in dropping some pounds. Get started with setting a goal weight and time frame, decide on a weight loss plan and get started.

Forget the magic pill myth

It sometimes seems to be like the search for the holy grail, the quest for the magic weight loss pill that you swallow and the pounds start melting away, or the latest fitness gadget that shakes off the pounds while you only need to stand on a vibrating plate for 10 minutes a day. It seems like the perfect weight loss solution, but somehow I don’t know anyone who has really lost weight with that. Do you? I guess it is time to grow up and get real, in essence you already know how to loose weight and that you need to put in a little effort. You do know the basic concept of eating less than you burn, so don’t get trapped by some weird ideas that make some companies a lot of money. Rather invest your money in what has been proved to work, use a solid diet plan that you feel comfortable with and get going. If you can not stick to that diet plan the next fad diet won’t help either, rather work with concepts that increase your determination and motivation.

Keep your motivation up and be patient

After the first few days of dieting with your slim new figure on your mind, the motivation often starts to fad quickly when the scale does not show fast weight loss. And after we might have experienced some initial weight loss due to decreased water retention and less food in your body we often hit a plateau. This is the most difficult phase of your diet and any support is much appreciated as otherwise the chance of falling off the wagon is high. It always takes longer than you think for the scale to pick up your weight loss as your weight underlies fluctuations of 1-2 pounds anyway. Just be patient and continue to do what you do. If you can find a weight loss buddy that should help and motivate you a lot, if you can’t find somebody you might want to read about successful weight loss cases or view similar videos on YouTube to keep your spirits up, so you will not lose the faith that you can do it too. Be patient, stick with it and you will see results soon.

Record your weight and calorie intake for motivation and accountability

A good and simple tool for motivation is to keep records of your weight and your calorie intake or at least of what foods you ate. The mere act of having to write down your caloric sins may prevent them in the first place. Your food diary will hold you accountable to yourself and when you think of the next chocolate bar or donut for your coffee break, you will feel a resistance towards having to write that down. Put your data in an excel table and create graphs, moving averages of your weight loss, chart your daily calorie deficits against your actual weight loss and see what else of excels sophisticated functions you might want to use. If you like playing with numbers, this will keep you motivated. If you are not a numbers fan a simple graph showing your weight loss can still make you feel good and give positive feed back.

How to loose weight with an off-day from your diet

We all need a break here and there, even from our diet. Nobody is always perfect and it is much easier to stick to your new eating plan for a couple of days when you know that you can have whatever you want on that off-day. We are all only human and going without your favorite foods for weeks or even months doesn’t seem to be possible, so we cheat on our diet right away. However, the off day gives us the opportunity to have that food without feeling guilty because we are not cheating, it is part of our diet. So have a guild-free treat and go back to your diet the next day without beating yourself up. To have one day a week with considerably more calories has even the advantage to prevent your metabolism from going into starvation mode and burning less and less calories.

Right mind set: your body is not your enemy

It is very important to develop the right mindset to make it through a diet, maybe it is the most important detail and the reason why so many of us battle with losing weight and keeping it down. Often, when few extra pounds have accumulated we get more and more unhappy about how we look, but for the resulting frustration we then have our comfort foods. Of course the comfort only works for a few minutes and frustration comes back. We start seeing our body as an enemy that does treat us badly by piling up the pounds and getting more and more off target and then our body craves even more of that comfort food. To get out of that vicious circle you need to develop the right mind set, you need to think differently about yourself and your body. Rather than seeing your body as your enemy that is the reason for you to have to go onto a diet, it is more helpful to remember that your body is the only place your have to live in here on earth and it should therefore be very precious to you. So treat your body accordingly, be more aware of it’s value and it will be much easier for you to go for healthy food choices.

Conclusions on how to loose weight

There are many factors that play a role in weight loss. Of course you have to get the basic right, but how to loose weight successfully is mainly a function of how well you are able to execute your weight loss plan.