People who successfully lose weight typically follow a strict plan. They make incremental goals and establish ways to hold themselves accountable. If you’re overweight or obese, you must change your food approach. It often requires weeks or months of hard work, and you should expect your body to fight back.
It’s normal to feel intense cravings and experience moments of weak willpower when you’re trying to lose weight. However, it’s much easier to keep your goals in sight and stick to your plan if you create a program.
It’s relatively normal to see fast results on the scale at the beginning of a diet. The challenge, however, comes in a couple of weeks once your body adjusts to the new normal. Your plan will see you through tough times and keep you moving forward.
Here are six weight loss strategies that will help you reach your goals.
Start with Small Steps
If you’re 100 lbs overweight, it’s easy to tell yourself that you want to lose it all. However, that rarely happens because people become discouraged when they run into tough times or food starts to tempt them. When things get stressful, they return to the destructive habits that got them where they are.
Instead, set some small goals that start to establish a pattern of success. For example, try to lose a couple of pounds your first month. Then, slowly increase your targets as you progress. Those small goals will reinforce the notion that you can lose weight.
Losing a lot of weight and keeping it off is a long-term thing. It’s not going to happen overnight, so you shouldn’t be in too much of a rush to get there. Slow and steady works better.
Examine Your Social Circle
You shouldn’t ditch all of your friends and family if you want to lose weight. You should, however, examine who you’re hanging around and whether they make losing weight harder or easier.
Dieting successfully is way more manageable when you have people around you who support you and encourage you in what you’re doing. They’re not going to invite you out to binge or wave donuts in your face.
Try to spend more time around people with fitness goals and who want the same things you do. Experts say the five people you spend the most time with influence you significantly. So make sure those five people lift you up and move you toward your goals.
Eat More Protein
One thing you can do to lose weight is to eat more protein. For example, stop eating cereal for breakfast and start having eggs. Also, eat more chicken breast and salad instead of bread, candy, or pasta. Research which foods have protein, and buy them at the grocery store instead of the junk food you’re used to.
Eating more protein promotes muscle mass which builds calories faster. A high-protein diet also keeps you feeling full for longer in the day. For example, you’re not as prone to snack after you eat a big meal of grilled chicken.
Track Your Calories
Nowadays, it’s easier to track your calories and make losing weight a math equation. Then, when you know how much you want to lose each week, you can set a calorie limit and input everything you eat.
These mobile apps are great. They have extensive libraries of foods you make at home and buy in restaurants. There’s no more guessing about how many calories a given food is. You can make it precise and know exactly when you should stop eating.
Tracking calories eliminates a lot of anxiety associated with dieting because you know what you can eat and stop stressing about whether you’re over.
Set a Routine
Eat at specific times during the day, and don’t stray from your meal routine. Snacking is a huge stumbling block for people who want to lose weight. When you know the next snack or meal, you can usually avoid snacking until it’s time to eat. Instead, space them out based on when you normally start to feel hungry during the day.
Peptides & Weight Loss
Peptides are short chains of amino acids, and weight loss peptides have been getting a lot of attention in recent years. Modern peptides target specific metabolic processes in the body.
Semaglutide is an example of a weight loss peptide. It slows intestinal motility to increase feelings of fullness and slow the rate of blood sugar rising. Semaglutide may also act as a neurotransmitter to decrease the drive to eat and reduce hunger feelings.