7 Crucial Habits for Weight Loss
Weight loss is easy to understand in concept but extremely difficult to execute because human beings are creatures of habit. Almost every person who succeeded in their weight loss journey had to go through the arduous task of breaking old habits and replacing them with new ones.
There’s no way around this and it’s something to bear in mind at all times. Below you’ll find 7 crucial tips to help you achieve your weight loss goals. As simple as they may sound, they’re of paramount importance when it comes to shedding the stubborn pounds.
1. Water
Everyone knows that they need to drink 7-8 glasses of water a day and yet most people are dehydrated all the time without even realizing it. It’s a good idea to set alarms on your mobile phone to go off at 2 or 3-hour intervals to remind you to drink a glass of water.
Your body needs water to increase lipolysis and accelerate fat burning. Start drinking up.
2. Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a practice where you fast for 18 hours and eat during a 6-hour window. This is an excellent habit to cultivate and it will not only help to curb your hunger and cravings, but will improve your relationship with food. The goal is to reduce your eating window to 5-6 hours.
3. Gradual progress
Trying to do too much too soon is a guaranteed recipe for failure. This is a common mistake made by millions of people in their race to get faster results. Almost always, they throw in the towel because the sudden massive changes they’ve undertaken are too much to bear.
Aim to make gradual progress with your nutrition and exercise regime. The goal is to be slightly better every day than the day before. Your efforts will compound and you’ll lose weight in time to come.
4. Resistance training
Resistance training can either be bodyweight training or weight training. Whichever option you choose or even if you decide to mix both up, what matters is that you engage in resistance training 2-3 times a week.
There are immense benefits that can be accrued from resistance training that cardio just cannot give you. You need BOTH types of training in your regimen. Make resistance training a habit.
5. Cardio
Everyone immediately thinks of cardio as hours of mindless pounding on the treadmill. The truth is that any activity that elevates your heart rate for a prolonged period of time is cardio in nature.
It could be swimming, walking, rowing, cycling, dancing, etc. Pick a cardio activity that you enjoy doing and it will not be torturous. There’s no rule that states that you only need to run.
Aim to do 2-3 sessions of cardio a week, and never do cardio before a resistance training session.
6. Tracking
Tracking your progress is crucial. Keep a food/exercise journal and record down what you eat and what you did for activity daily. You should be at a caloric deficit every day.
Weigh yourself daily at the same time daily and record it down.
This may run contrary to what you’ve been told. But by measuring your weight daily, you’ll notice how the foods you ate the day before interact with your body and how it impacts your weight.
The goal of tracking is to stay accountable and see if you’re progressing. Write it all down. Don’t rely on your memory.
7. Rest
Aim to rest at least one day a week, ideally two. This will give your body time to recover and lower your cortisol levels too. Going too hard every single day will take a toll on your physical, mental and emotional health.
Music is the space between the notes, and your breaks will be the space you need to rest and heal from all the training.
These 7 habits if adopted and followed consistently will result in fat loss and you’ll succeed in time to come without overly stressing yourself out. Inch by inch, weight loss is a cinch. Yard by yard, it is hard. So, build your habits gradually and you’ll reach your dream body before you know it.
