Weight loss is one of the most common goals people have at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. It is a highly coveted goal, yet very few end up achieving their target once the set time elapses. The committed few make some significant progress, but a good majority end up abandoning their goals somewhere in the middle of the journey. Simply put, weight loss is no joke, and you need to be keen on your strategy if at all you are to realize progress. The following pointers can help you know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to weight loss.
Focusing heavily on BMI
BMI, standing for Body Mass Index, is a system that doctors use to determine whether a person is overweight, normal weight or underweight. This is worked out by putting a person’s height, gender, age and weight into a calculator, which then produces a number. 18-25 constitutes a “normal” weight; under 18 is an underweight person, and 25-30 is overweight. 30 and over counts as being obese.
While this can be a good indicator of where you’re at, BMI is not the be-all and end-all of weight loss. Many athletes are considered overweight or obese on the BMI index, for example, because they have a heavy muscle mass.
This also depends on your physiognomy. Many people who are average-sized are considered overweight by the BMI index, making them insecure and worried about their weight. For some people, the FFMI calculator, standing for fat free mass index, is a better indicator of how well you’re building muscle. If you focus too heavily on BMI, you could be stealing focus from the actual issue at hand, and impeding your ability to lose weight safely and healthily.
Regular Physical Exercises
Exercising is one of the best-proven ways to shed off unwanted weight. Exercises are also amazingly good for your mental and spiritual health. The more you engage in physical activities the more calories you burn off. Exercises should not take a tall order on you. However, you will not realize substantial weight loss benefits if you exercise just once a month! It needs consistency, planning, and resilience.
If you don’t have so much time to commit to the gym, maintaining an active lifestyle can help. It’s simple. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator every day while at work. You could also engage in outdoor games over the weekend, walk around the neighborhood, do some gardening, and pretty much anything that gets you active or sweating whenever you get the chance to. Try yoga, invest in home gym equipment, or use one of those home workout apps that offer free bodyweight fitness training. Keep it consistent and you will realize significant drops in your weight over time.
Enjoy Some Green Tea
There are a myriad of reasons why you should drink more of the green cup. It’s healthy and has been shown to promote weight loss, thanks to its powerful antioxidants such as caffeine. As revealed in a recent review article on Fitbug, this is perhaps why green tea extract is a popular ingredient in diet pills, especially for women. It helps in fat burning and boosting metabolism, both of which are vital for losing weight. This means that reputed green tea supplements could work in helping you lose weight.
Mind Your Nutritional Habits
Conscious eating equals healthier eating. Have you ever paused and asked yourself before wolfing on that plate of French fries or glass of soda how it’s impacting your health? Mindful eating can help you arrest poor eating habits. It will go an extra mile in shedding off and maintaining a healthy weight. Mindful eating is imperative. It leads to disciplined eating habits which help in cutting down weight. Don’t swallow every junk into your tummy. Love yourself enough to say no to anything edible that promotes weight gain.
Skipping Meals
Losing weight can drive someone bananas! Sometimes the dejection for losing weight can push you to cruel extremes like starving yourself. This is an awful resolve. The last thing you want to do is starve yourself as a means of losing weight. It’s not only unhealthy but it’s also a terrible notion. Skipping meals will only slow your metabolism and lead to weight gain. It will throw your body into survival mode, which will force you to eat more once you land on food. It will impel you to snack more. It’s not a smart idea but a punishment.
Cutting Fats
Bring on some avocados and nuts to your diet and you still lose some weight. Let’s cut off the fallacy. Not all fats are your foes when it comes to weight loss. Fats are part and parcel of our cell components in the body. We need to consume a fat diet for our cells to function effectively. Fats help us stay replete. Cutting out fats from our diets destabilizes blood sugar, which calls in hunger pangs. There is no guilt in consuming healthier fats. Some of them include plant-based, olive, or vegetable oil. They are of extreme importance to your health. Fats are good for us, so cutting fats entirely won’t work for weight loss.
Skipping Breakfast
Being the most essential meal of the day, breakfast gives you the much-needed energy to go through your daily hustles. It also keeps you from snacking during the day, which is a common factor of adding weight. Eating a healthy breakfast every morning can keep you energetic enough to work, climb up and down the stairs, and do other activities throughout the day. All these factors contribute to burning calories, which is good for weight loss. Skipping breakfast doesn’t work when it comes to shedding off those extra pounds.
Especially for those who are desperate to lose weight, there are many myths and misconceptions out there about how you can achieve your goals. You could easily fall for these misleading sentiments if you are not well informed. To avoid this and stay on track, the above pointers should shed some light on what works, and what doesn’t as far as weight loss is concerned.
