How to Start Your Weight Loss Program Successfully

How to Start Your Weight Loss Program Successfully

It happens all the time. You find yourself going from extremely excited to apathetic in just a few days when it concerns your weight loss plans. Most people tend to face this kind of situation because of an all-or-nothing paradigm to losing weight. The desire to transform your body can be very strong but you can also get overwhelmed by the all the changes it entails. The thing about this approach is that, it is not sustainable and you can end up quitting before you have even started.

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So how do you actually begin a successful journey towards weight loss? Research has it that starting out with some clearly drafted objectives can help you succeed with your plans more. You have to start right by setting your goals early on so you can be reminded of them each time you have the desire to quit. You also have to set the stage for success by making important changes from the start. It would be the right time to check out your pantry and keep only those which will help you lose weight. If you need to, you can shop for workout attire and footwear to keep you inspired. Get those heart rate monitors and weighing scale ready and on sight along with your body goal posters to cement your resolve. You have to lay the groundwork necessary to finally start losing weight and here are different ways to do it right:

• Define your short-term and long-term goals

No matter how passe it sounds, the goals that you set at the beginning of any journey you make will define how successful you will become and that is why it is so critical. As previously mentioned, muscling up a mountain overnight is sure to frustrate you along the way. On the other hand, when you take it one step at a time using a measured approach plus patience and perseverance on your end, you are guaranteed to arrive at your goal with flying colors. What you need is to take time to pause and think thoroughly about your end goal then write them down for that tangible reminder. Once done, you can then plan your short-term goals on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis that will all contribute to your long-term goal.

Remember to be specific about it so you yourself are clear about what exactly you want to do and achieve. For instance, you can specify which two behaviors that are unhealthy you would like to start eliminating for the week. For the following week, you can write down which unhealthy behavior you plan to replace with a more desirable behavior that contributes to the achievement of your goals. Once all this is set up, it will be easy for you to slowly but surely climb into the mountain of weight loss success.

• Prepare yourself mentally

More than anything, weight loss is a mental endeavor. You’ve got to set your mind to do it and develop a strong willpower. The world today is extremely fast-paced, stressful, and highly competitive. Most people seem to be in this rat race where one has to be the best at everything. You just got to have an amazing job, a trophy spouse, international travels, multi-talented kids, and of course, that gorgeous body. All these seem ideal but it can also take its toll on your mental well-being – making you feel easily frustrated and discouraged. However, if you have body goals, then there can’t be room for any of these because you will never get to them with a faint heart.

You need to have the mental and emotional resilience to be able to manage life’s stresses and keep you inspired to work towards your goals. Prepare your mind for the emotional attacks and get ready with right strategies to counter them. Being aware of your weak points and being able to deal with them with a sound mind can help you overpower the challenges that are sure to come with your weight loss objectives.

• Take care of yourself first

One of the reasons you can fail at losing weight is when you fail to take care of yourself and your needs. Because you need to change a lot of your undesirable behaviors, it can mean depriving yourself of what used to bring you pleasure and satisfaction especially when it comes to food. As such, it is important to understand that you need to take care of this part of your daily life if you want to reach your body goals. Replace comfort eating with healthier practices that equally contribute to your self-satisfaction and bodily transformation. Being able to take care of your needs this way will help you avoid binge eating when you start to deprive yourself of those things that you used to enjoy prior to your weight loss mission.

In the same way, get as much rest and sleep as you can when you start on your physical exercises. Taking care of your body this way will energize you and fuel your workouts. Do not make weight loss seem like a punishment you have to endure as you will not last for very long. Losing weight is serious business and when you are able to satisfy your needs and take care of yourself first, it makes it easier for you to resist temptation and succeed.

• Set up a weight-loss friendly environment

Shedding those extra pounds that you have accumulated over the years will be like climbing Mount Everest and that is the reality that you have to face. And so aside from internal motivation, your external environment should be able to support such a cause especially considering the intense challenges you are bound to encounter. Both your physical and emotional environment has to be very supportive. From your home, to your office, and other places you frequent including restaurants and bars, all have to be in tune with your bodily objectives. Preparing healthy diet food from home to bring to the office can help you stay consistent with your plan. Avoiding restaurants that do not serve the food that’s listed on your diet program is likewise important. Choosing alcoholic beverages that are low on calories or have zero carbs in them is a must if you plan to have some drinks while on a diet.

Meanwhile, you can make use of your social media network to help you get through with your goals with flying colors. Making a commitment through your social posts can make you feel accountable for what you have set and help you see it through. It can even help to join groups who are in the same boat as you are. Solicit the support of your family and friends. The more they know about your mission, the more support you will be able to get from them. And when the going gets tough, you will see the value that their encouragement will bring.

• Check your numbers for assessment purposes

It is good practice to assess where you’re currently at, at the very start of your journey. The numbers on the weighing scale is a good indicator of your current physical make up even if it is not the end all. Once you have it, you can then target how much you want to lose and how you can strategize on losing them effectively. This will also tell you how much effort you need to put in or which diet can help you achieve your targets in an efficient manner. In addition, you can create a timeline or target date for achieving the new numbers as your long-term goal as well as a short-term goal for how much you can lose each month.

Before you start, you can also keep track of your current food and beverage consumption for two weeks so you can check which areas would need improvement. Be watchful of any unhealthy trends such as binge eating on weekends while watching your favorite series. Make a plan as to how you can let this go with a healthier activity to do over the weekend. Be mindful of the number of cups or glasses that you typically consume on your favorite latte or beer. All these contribute to your weight gain or loss so it is important to be able to assess your current standing and make it a basis for your direction as you begin your body transformation.

• Determine your caloric needs

Not all calories are made equal and that is the challenge. It is not as simple as establishing how many calories you’re supposed to consume for the day. If you got deep-fried cheese curds on one hand and raw vegetables on the other, 500 calories for each will not mean the same. You will have to figure out your macronutrient intake including your carbs, protein, and fats. This will entail serious planning as to the percentage of calories that you need to consume for each macros daily. In this way, you will be able to identify what you are going to exactly eat to reach your ideal weight in the most balanced and healthiest way possible.

Should you need assistance, the Beachbody program has a guide available through Beachbody on Demand that will help you use a simple mathematical equation to determine your calorie range daily to facilitate weight loss.

• Make it easy on yourself

It is human instinct. When something is too hard to accomplish, your first thought would be to give it up completely. The hardest part is always crunching the numbers like it’s your Math subject in school. That’s why you have to do everything you can to make it easier for you. Certain electronic gadgets and motivational devices can make your weight loss life more motivating. There are also numerous apps to download that help with tracking your intake. Tracking your macros and calories is very important as keeping a food diary facilitates weight loss almost twice as much as people who don’t as shown in research studies.

As with your daily diet, Beachbody has these Portion Fix Containers that you might consider having so you can avoid all the guess work and be able to exactly measure your required macros daily and lose the number of pounds that you are targeting. It can be very taxing to have to count the amount of macros you need in grams daily. It is much easier to just pop them into the containers before you plate your protein, carbohydrates, and fat. There is also an eating plan that goes with these Beachbody Portion Fix containers that carefully outlines your nutritional requirements. It comes handy with tally sheets that keeps track of the number of containers you’ve already had.

• Get your gears ready

Clean eating recipes, exercise mats, blender, smartphone apps, body fat tester, salad spinner, portion containers and the list can go on – it will look like you are getting ready for war but then again, successful weight loss does seem like a battle that requires preparing for every single thing. You have to cover all the bases and get organized with everything that you will need that will make you feel like there is no escaping finally shedding those extra pounds off. You need to have the proper tools to flawlessly execute your transformation plan.

Something as simple as your workout getup can have positive effects on your goals. Research has it that the clothing you wear impacts the way you will perform the exercises while you are wearing them. So think comfortable clothes and shoes that do not necessarily have to be expensive.

• Be ready to monitor your progress

Another important aspect to successful weight loss is being able to track your progress and development along the way. This is not about obsessing over the numbers and getting frustrated when the scale fails to reflect what you want to see. This is about seeing something real and tangible enough to motivate you to keep going and work harder. This is also about setting the benchmarks from which to base your next plan of action or strategies as necessary. Yes, the weighing scale is a good friend and taking your measurements regularly or at predictable intervals is recommended. But weight loss is not just about looking at how much you’ve lost and how fast because there are other numerous ways to measure your success. Try getting on the jeans you used to wear or the seductive dress that you wanted to wear before but couldn’t fit in – surely you will be able to sense the difference.

Leandro Carvalho is a Beachbody Super Trainer. He created YOUv2, an 80’s dance hits and sculpting routine. It was designed for those who are new to exercise and is all for measuring your vital statistics to monitor your progress. Carvalho recommends you do it this way because weight loss is a gradual process and you are going to lose little by little. These little achievements may not make much of a dent on the weighing scale but it is progress that you should see. At the end of the day, what little progress you make is one that should be able to motivate you. Decide how often you will do your measurements but do not make it too often that it will be too early for you to see progress. Log your measurements in detail or use an app to help you do it conveniently. Whatever you do, just keep eating clean and working out. Guaranteed, you will get to your body goals in time.

Are you ready to lose weight, build muscle, or feel more fit? Join Beachbody On Demand, and get unlimited access to Beachbody’s world-famous programs, including 80 Day Obsession, 21 Day FIX®, Insanity, P90X® and 100’s more. Don’t miss out on your chance for amazing results. Sign up today!