Where do I Start if I Want to Lose Weight?
This popular question is asked by many of my personal training clients. You’re not alone if you don’t know where to start. Don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed to ask this question. Although everyone’s weight loss path will be different, there are certain habits that work for everyone.
Start with Your Health and Fitness Goals
1. Know your “Why”
To successfully set and achieve your health and fitness goals, you have to understand your “why”. Why do you care about reaching these goals? Your initial reasons may be about appearance – you want to look good at an upcoming reunion or on a special trip. However, it’s best if your “why” is more focused on how your lifestyle and relationships will be positively impacted with better health.
Think about these motivations:
- Do you want to feel no, or fewer creaks, aches and pains each morning when getting out of bed?
- Do you want to have more energy and better relationships with your spouse, kids, or friends?
- Would you like traveling to be easier?
Your “why” is strong enough if it stirs up your emotions and gets you excited to take action. A visual cue, ie. you lifting up and playing with your grandchildren, helps ignite your desire to be healthy and fit. You need a strong “why” because this is what will push you to workout on days when your energy and motivation is low.
2. Be Clear.
When building your fitness resolutions, ask yourself the following two questions, to build clarity around your goal.
1. How much time are you willing and able to consistently invest towards your health each month? Look out across the entire year. Estimate how much time you will spend at home versus travelling.
From a fitness perspective, this will help you decide if a gym membership, fitness class, or piece of home fitness equipment is right for you. It will also help you figure out what you should be spending on fitness. If you don’t think you’ll have more than one-two hours a week to spend on fitness, is a $100 monthly gym membership worth it?
From a nutrition perspective, this will help you figure out if a new food preparation tool, meal delivery service, or cooking lessons will help you meet your goals.
2. How committed are you to losing weight and getting more fit on a scale of 1 – 10 (10 being the highest commitment level)? We live in a time-starved society. In my experience, if your commitment isn’t an 8 or higher, exercise and chopping veggies will drop quickly off your list, as other priorities start to eat away at your time.
Defining your commitment will help you create more realistic goals. If you’re not very committed to achieving a healthier lifestyle, it will take you longer to achieve your weight loss goals. You may discover in this process, that you need to seek the help of a professional, to keep you motivated and accountable to your goals.
The Goals are Set, Now What?
1. Just start!
Walking is the easiest way to begin increasing your physical activity. Learn more about the benefits of this action you can do anytime, anywhere. Building strength training into your routine is crucial as well. There are so many exercises you can do in the comfort of your own home, with no equipment required.
Much of your weight loss success is contingent upon what you put in your mouth. Search my blog, the internet, magazines, cookbooks or ask your friends for easy and healthy recipes. There are so many sources available to us today! Generally, you want to try eating meals that consist of mostly vegetables, fruits and lean proteins. Try reducing junk foods.
Overall, the key is to start moving more and eating lots of veggies!
2. Build Schedules and Track Results!
Our Canadian government recommends that adults get “…at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity” weekly. To fit exercise into your busy week, plan out your workouts two weeks a head and block the time off in your calendar. Treat these workouts like you would any business meeting. Don’t skip them. I always try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise in 5-6 days a week to cover myself. To know you’re exercising vigorously enough, it’s a good goal to try breaking a sweat during each workout.
Many people have no clue how many calories they are eating. In fact, most of us underestimate our calorie intake by up to 1000 calories daily, this is a lot! It’s important to eat regularly throughout the day to ensure your body doesn’t go into starvation mode. This state causes your body to try to hold on to each calorie you give it and store it as fat for later. Food tracking will show you what your habits are, and where to put your initial efforts.
3. Get Support.
Tell your friends, family or co-workers that you want to focus on your health and fitness this year. Ask for their support; some of them may want to join you in your new fitness routine. Joining a fitness class or sports team can be a good option, personal training may also help you. Put together the support system that works for you. Now is the time to make a change and invest in your health and fitness, you are worth it!
To Sum it Up…
Spend time figuring out what your health and fitness goals are. You have to understand the “why” to be able to push through difficult times. Know the time and commitment you have to invest in your goals. Once your goals are clear, just get started – do something! Creating a schedule and tracking results, in addition to building a support team, are tools that will help you along the way.
Make 2018 the year that you invest in, and succeed with, your healthy lifestyle goals!