Starting a weight loss plan is easier said than done for most people. It’s not impossible, though. Changing habits take time, and changing out bad habits for good ones take practice.
You don’t want to try them all out at once or you may get overwhelmed and want to quit entirely. Start slow, trying one way out at a time, slowly adding the others. Soon, you will realize that you have completely changed to a healthier lifestyle and are losing weight! Here are six easy ways to start a weight loss plan.
Limit Calories
Image via Flickr by cntestmaster Instead of eating whatever you want when you are hungry, limit the amount of calories you eat in a day. This is easy to track with calorie apps. It will take some time familiarizing yourself with what foods have a certain amount of calories in them, but soon you will be able to go to a grocery store or restaurant and know how many calories are in each food just by looking at it.
Eat Better
Become a mindful eater by eating better. This means watching calories, reducing your sugar and salt intake, adding whole grains, and eating more vegetables. If you don’t eat breakfast, get into the habit of doing so. Again, start small so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. Soon you will find yourself choosing the healthy foods over the unhealthy foods, just out of habit.
Increase Activity Levels
Getting active, along with eating healthier contribute to weight loss. Get in the habit of getting more active, even if it’s just by 10 minutes. This can be running instead of walking, taking the elevator instead of the escalator at work, or parking further away so that you have to walk more to get to a store. Get creative and find little ways to increase your activity levels.
Exercise
If you’ve never stepped foot in a gym or its been awhile, start working out just once a week. If you already work out, increase your intensity level, how long you work out, or how many times you go to the gym. Mix things up by combining cardio, weights, and high-intensity workouts.
Plan Out Meals
Meal planning is another important step to successfully losing weight. If planning out an entire week’s worth of meal sounds like too much, just plan for a few days, then increase it every week. There are plenty of easy meal planning recipes to help you get started. LifeSum has great ideas for developing a diet plan to help you get started.
Monitor Your Success
Keeping track of your success will help you see where you are hitting your goals and keep you moving forward. Write down the reasons why you want to lose weight to keep yourself motivated. Did you just lose ten pounds? Strive to lose ten more. Whenever you reach a goal, set another one.
These are just a few, but easy ways to start a weight loss plan. What are you waiting for? Get started with your weight loss plan today.
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