When it comes to weight loss, we all have many different questions. The most popular question, by far, is the most basic one: How do I lose weight? I love weight loss related questions. What can be better than to help someone lose weight and feel healthy again?
But you know what, I hate when people ask me: “How do I lose weight?” Sounds like a real non sequitur? It is not. Let me explain.
While it is true that the “How do I lose weight?” question is simple and direct, it is also true that it is one of the hardest questions to answer. Why? Because it is so generic. It is like asking “How do I build a house?”
Of course, I still want you to know what you can do to lose weight, so the following is a set of rules that are designed to address the “How do I lose weight?” question in general, yet they are specific enough to be practical.
How do I lose weight using various weight-loss programs? Personally, I think that people should stay away from most if not all weight loss programs. With some effort, you can educate yourself about nutrition and how to follow and maintain a sensible diet. If you can do that, you will know exactly what you need to do to lose weight. If you follow some diet program, on the other hand, you are unlikely to acquire the skills that are necessary to lose weight on your own or to maintain the weight that you have lost on some diet plan.
That said, you should not be afraid of using a structured weight-loss program, they do work for many people. If you do not have enough time or if you are simply not interested in learning about nutrition, there are programs out there that can help people lose weight. Here are two programs to consider: Fat Loss for Idiots and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. Both of these programs are great, they tell you how to eat to lose weight and they teach you how to make healthy food choices, but they do not overload you with information about fitness and dieting.
How do I lose weight if I do not like to exercise? The conventional wisdom is pretty adamant that you have to exercise at least every other day (and preferably every day) to lose weight. What’s more, fitness and diet gurus claim that it is impossible to lose weight if you do not exercise.
In reality, you certainly do not need to exercise every day, and in most cases, you do not even need to exercise every other day. To lose weight, most people will do just fine if they exercise three times a week. So, you still need to exercise, but you do not need to exercise as much as you might have thought you need to, which brings me to the next question.
How do I lose weight if I do not want to go to the gym? Usually, people go to the gym because they think that they need all that gym equipment to lose weight. They think that they should lift weight, use the machines, run on a treadmill, etc. if they are serious about their weight-loss goals.
While I am not going to argue that weightlifting has no benefits, I will tell you that it is not absolutely necessary to lose weight. It is beneficial to lift weights but you do not have to lift weights if you do not want to. In fact, you do not need to go to the gym at all. Why? Because the best exercise for weight loss is walking, and you can walk anywhere.
How do I lose weight if I do not want to exercise at all? What if you hate exercising so much that you do not want to spend any time doing it at all? Can you lose weight while seating on your favorite couch? The short answer is, wait for it, yes you can! Shocked? Do not be. Here is the deal.
As implausible as it sounds, research shows that you do not necessarily need to engage in any kind of extra physical activity to lose weight. If that is not surprising enough, some weight-loss experts claim that exercise can actually be counterproductive to your weight-loss effort because it increases your appetite.
While the latter claim is a bit too controversial for my taste, in the interest of keeping this reasonably short and focused, I will just say that most people gain weight simply because they eat too much. Hence, if you decrease your daily calorie intake by eating less food, you can lose weight even if your physical activity level stays the same.
How do I lose weight if I do not want to follow a strict weight-loss program? Start with something small. Small changes to you eating habits can quickly add up to a substantial weight loss. Do you eat potato chips, ice cream, cookies, soda, French fries, bagels, cereal, white bread, or prepackaged meals on a regular basis? Focus on eliminating just one item a week from this list and replace it with something healthy. This way you can gradually weed out unhealthy foods, which is much easier than going cold turkey.
How do I lose weight if I do not have enough motivation to change my eating habits? There are a number of tricks you can use to deal with a situation like this. For example, think about new clothes that you will be able to wear once you lose some weight. In fact, go to a store, buy them and put them in your closet; make sure your new clothes are visible and in front of your eyes every day.
This is just one of many tricks you can use, but let’s talk about something else. The reason many people are not motivated to lose weight has to do with faith, that is, the faith in the fact that you can lose weight. That’s right, you do not have enough motivation to lose weight because you do not actually believe that you can lose weight.
It is true, isn’t it? You have been overweight for such a long time that you do not think you can lose 30 pounds or whatever amount of weight you need to lose. Get that out of your head, you can lose weight, it is all in your head. Have faith in yourself! People lose over 100 pounds all the time.