So full disclosure, I am obviously not a medical professional and these tips are only what worked for me. Weight loss and weight maintenance are also very different. During COVID I lessened up on my healthy habits and gained 20 lbs as a result. While I’ve generally been within 5-10 lbs of my current weight, I knew I needed to start making some changes. I didn’t follow anything like super exact, but I’ve definitely learned that consistency is hands down the biggest part of losing weight. You have to expect to have set backs and keep going and not get discouraged.
Another big part of weight loss is your self talk. If you’re shaming yourself every time that you slip up and telling yourself you “can’t change” then you’ll get that result. Be kind to yourself and keep going no matter what. Every time that you have a negative or limiting thought, change the narrative as soon as you realize it’s happening. “I shouldn’t have had that brownie/bagel/pasta” -> “I really wanted that brownie/bagel/pasta and now I’m going to stop thinking about it and move on with my life because in the grand scheme of losing weight it won’t make a difference.”
Real change takes time. If you’ve had the same patterns for 10+ years, you’re not going to overhaul your life overnight. I highly recommend starting with a few manageable changes and then habit stacking once you’ve fully incorporated them into your life. That may seem like it creates a slow timeline, but think of it this way: in one year you can have a rolodex of new habits that you have taken 12 months to build, or in one year you can be exactly where you’re at because you took on too much and gave up.
SO that all being said, there are a few things that you can’t start doing every day that will kick things off. Per suggestion of a few different fitness trainers, I wanted to increase my muscle to increase my metabolism. I achieved this with weight lifting and I stopped doing my traditional cardio (this was NOT intuitive to me at all since I always believed cardio was the bet form of weight loss). Instead, I started walking 10k steps per day, which is about 4.5 miles for me. I tracked this diligently by wearing an Apple Watch. If 10k is too much for you, start with 5k and build up. I did 4-6 weight lifting sessions per week for 6 months - 3 focused on lower body, then 1-3 focused on upper body.
While I do believe that what you eat has the biggest impact on weight loss, I personally find it much harder to change eating habits than to add in workouts. If this is you, I would focus on workouts first. You might not lose weight, but working out that often builds confidence and discipline. Within a month or two you will likely find that you WANT to eat better naturally, and that is a lot easier to stick to than feeling deprived.
Instead of focusing on things you “can’t” or “shouldn’t” eat, focus on adding things IN. I’ve always had a green juice every single day which is the easiest thing to add in and get a huge dose of nutrition. I’ve found that hitting nutritional goals makes me feel more satiated in general. Once you’ve done that for a week or two, try swapping one meal but keeping everything else the same. Pick a meal that is easy for you to incorporate into your lifestyle - if you always have a lunch that you know isn’t super healthy then try getting Sweetgreen instead.
When I wanted to lose weight I tracked everything I ate. Again, this might be too much for some people, but this is what worked for me. You would be surprised how much little things add up. I am 5’3 and for about 6 months I ate roughly 1500 calories while working out and walking 10k steps every single day. I had one or two treat meals every week. Another tip I was given was to hit at least 100g of protein per day to help build muscle and stay full. If I went over my 1500 by a few hundred calories I never stressed about it but also didn’t let it get myself into a fuck it attitude and eat whatever else I wanted to. Your body isn’t going to know if you had 100 calories more one day lol. I stopped snacking since I wanted to enjoy my meals and make them more filling. I also focused on eating mostly whole food’s rather than processed.
Quick summary:
Add in HEAVY weight workouts. First and foremost develop consistency with working out and everything else will follow.
Walk 10k steps per day.
Habit stack - change 1-2 small things per week and build on them.
Track your food for at least the first few months. Eventually this will become more intuitive.
Focus on adding IN healthy foods.
Don’t beat yourself up. You WILL achieve your goal if you remain consistent and keep going when you feel frustrated.
Lastly, once you get to your goal then maintenance becomes a lot easier since you’ve already built amazing habits!
