It goes without saying that when it comes to weight loss, there is absolutely no shortage of advice which is available both on and offline. Magazines, websites, books, TV shows – all of these promise that they have conveniently discovered the key to losing serious weight – from diets which are going to eliminate fat or carbs to programs which tout superfoods or some sort of magical special ingredients.
The truth is, however, that all of this abundance of information is absolutely conflicting and you are presented with thousands of options, making your choice an absolute impossibility. With this in mind, we’ve decided to take the liberty of providing you with few actionable tips and serious, harsh advice that you need to understand and apply.
You Should Involve Your Doctor
There, we said it. Even though this is something that a lot of online sources actively want to keep you away from, involving your doctor in your weight-loss attempts is the most responsible thing that you can do.
Before you start any type of program, you should have a serious conversation with your treating physician. He or she is going to review your overall medical issues and the medications that you may be currently taking. These are things that might affect your overall weight. He will be able to provide you with professional, medically-backed up guidance on a program which will be effective and, most importantly – safe!
It is absolutely impossible to stress out how important that last word is. Most of what’s being advertised online is borderline dangerous. Just think about it. Diets promising to help you lose 10 kg in 2 weeks, 5 kg in 1 week or anything else of this kind – that’s the prevailing approach. And, if you take a closer look, all of them either contain a secret, marketable ingredient sold by the one who’s recommending the diet or, they are parts of web platforms for certain dietary supplementation.
What they fail to tell you, however, is that after you go through one or two weeks of drinking water and eating a “superfood”, you’d be completely wrecked. Your energy levels would have taken the biggest dive in your life, you would feel absolutely useless and, on top of it all, you will regain this weight in no more than a month. That’s the harsh reality.
Your Personal Requirements Matter
A lot of the diet programs available online are trying to convince you that it is only a matter of strong will and sacrifice. They insist that if you put your mind to it, you can easily achieve your goals. Well, guess what – you need to consider your own body. It has needs. Even though you might not like it or even consider it – we need those fats, carbs, proteins and pretty much everything that you can think of.
The game-changer is the source that you get them from. Cut back all of the processed junk food that you might be having on a regular basis. However, accommodate the diet to your personal lifestyle – not the other way around. There are a few things to be accounted for here:
- Your budget
- Your preferences
- Your experience with different diets
Have you ever read about this in a 2-week 10 lb-loss challenge? Unlikely. You know why – because they simply do not provide actionable and sustainable options. A proper diet won’t change your overall lifestyle dramatically – it is just going to alter it and tweak it in order to enable you to achieve your weight loss goals. It would never deprive you of critical nutrients which are absolutely necessary for the proper functioning of your body. Sure, it might lower the intake of certain substances such as trans-fats or limit them entirely but it would either increase or introduce a healthy alternative.
You Don’t Have to Starve Yourself
Weight loss diets do not mean that you will have to starve yourself. There is, in fact, absolutely nothing more harmful than that. It is tempting to go and buy into the serious claims and convenient promises of rapid and miraculous weight loss. However, a slow and steady approach is a lot easier to maintain and it is going to provide you with far more sustainable and actionable results in the long term. You shouldn’t aim to lose more than 2 pounds a week, which is absolutely enough to reach your goals, regardless of how serious they might be.
Of course, if you do need to lose weight quickly for professional purposes, medical supervision is absolutely critical and necessary. This is the case of professional athletes or when you need to lose weight quickly to get through a life-threatening medical condition, for instance.
There are a few things that you have to account for when choosing your diet. They are absolutely simple and yet so important:
- Flexibility – you need to be able to alter your diet conveniently according to changes of circumstances.
- Balance – you want the diet to bring balance in your lifestyle instead of chaos. Remember, the former revolves around the latter – not the other way around.
- Likeability – you should truly enjoy the components in your diet. Small compromises are allowed but nothing major.
- Activity – whenever you want to lose weight, you should do it through enhanced activity and proper diet simultaneously for the best results.
These are pretty much the standpoints of something far more beneficial than any weight loss program that you are likely to encounter which promises a miraculous effect. Make sure that you do things in a manner which is sustainable and it is going to last for the long term. The last thing you’d want is to go ahead and lose 10kg for a week and then regain 25kg over the next month.
Be smart when it comes to your diet because this is something which directly impacts your health and you can’t afford to mess it up. Your health should always be your number one priority.
Learn More Weight Loss Tips and Tricks Here!
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