Make sure you’re not sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
For a lot of us, losing weight is one of our biggest challenges, if not the bane of our entire existence. Since it can be a frustrating, emotional journey for so many, we put together a list of tried-and-true weight loss tips designed to make it a whole lot easier on you.
Strength training
A lot of women overlook the weight room in favor of grueling, sweaty, seemingly endless hours on the treadmill, without realizing they might actually be sabotaging their weight loss efforts. The good news is, you’d be doing yourself a favor by forgoing some of that cardio and adding a weightlifting program to your regimen. That’s because the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn in a day. Toiling away on the treadmill without hitting the weights regularly will cause your body to eat and deplete that lean muscle rather than build it. For the best results, you want to strike a balance between the two, giving half of your workout time to cardio and the other half to weights. That means less huffing and puffing, and more weight loss for you!
Healthy eating
Seems obvious, right? Well, what a lot of people don’t realize is healthy eating and exercise aren’t created equal. The cold, hard truth is that just because you had a hard workout that day, doesn’t mean you can indulge in any meal your heart desires. We know it feels like you’re burning a ton, but depending on your weight and fitness level, a tough hour-long workout will burn, on average, anywhere from 300-600 calories—sadly, just about the amount in a large cookie or muffin. That means that the dessert you’re eyeing at dinner could be enough to offset all of that hard work. For ultimate weight loss success, healthy eating should be priority number one. A diet like the whole30 diet or ketogenic diet will help you move forward with your fitness goals.
Accountability
You don’t need to lose weight alone! In fact, recruiting people to join you on your weight loss journey will not only boost your morale, it will help you get results, too. Telling friends, family, and followers about your plans is super helpful when it comes to making sure you get the job done. If you wake up feeling groggy and an hour longer in bed sounds better than a sweaty gym session, it’ll be a lot tougher to give in if you have a team of fitness supporters waiting to hear about the day’s workout. If you don’t have a ready support group, there are a ton of fitness motivation groups on social media full of people waiting to give you encouragement and help you on your journey.
Set realistic goals
Studies prove that we’re more likely to reach our goals if we write them down. Sure, you know you want to lose weight, but how much and by when? Having a concrete number to work toward is a great tool for measuring your progress along the way and motivating you to keep going. But you want to be sure those goals are realistic, too. Promising yourself that you’ll lose 50 pounds in two weeks is a surefire way to defeat and discouragement while 2 pounds per week is far more realistic and attainable. If you’re not sure which goals are right for you, a lot of gyms offer free training consultations—take advantage of one of these and get a certified trainer to help you assess where you are and to come up with reasonable goals and milestones to measure your progress going forward.
If you follow these tips, you can check out Adele’s weight loss photos for real results!
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