Weight loss is often seen as a chore. You have to think about what you’re going to eat, how much you’ll exercise, and what kind of lifestyle changes you can make. And the process can be tedious and time-consuming. But it doesn’t have to be. We live in an era where everything is fun. So why not incorporate some fun into your weight loss plan? Here are four ways that you can turn a task into something enjoyable:
4 Ways You Can Make Weight Loss Fun
Don’t Go Crazy With Your Diet
Dieting is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Just because a plan worked for your friend doesn’t mean it will work for you. Everyone has a different biology and different nutritional needs associated with it. People often dive head first into diets they saw movie stars or fitness influencers follow but soon crash and burn. The key to a successful diet is consistency.
If you are planning to make any major change to your diet, you should consider consulting a dietitian or a doctor. But there are some basic principles you can follow on your own. Try reducing processed and junk food as much as you can. Switch to whole food instead. They are generally much healthier and keep you full for much longer.
Instead of eating bland food that you don’t enjoy, switch to healthier ingredients for your regular diet. It is a misconception that healthy food is inherently costly or tasteless. You can find many recipes for healthy foods on the internet that are also tasty, cheap, and easy to make.
You don’t have to cut out the food that you enjoy entirely. Allowing yourself to indulge every once in a while will lift your mood and keep your metabolism active. According to Kate Patton, RD, eating healthy food 90% of the time and indulging yourself 10% of the time is sufficient for getting healthier.
Consider Taking Supplements To Fill The Gaps In Your Diet
Supplements can be your friend. Whether you are trying to lose weight or gain muscle, supplements can help you reach your goals faster. While many foods provide us with the essential nutrients we need, there are also some things that just aren’t found in our everyday diets and must be supplemented in order for us to maintain a healthy weight and avoid any deficiencies.
You don’t have to take dietary supplements to get healthier, but they certainly help. What supplements you should take depend on your dietary requirements, your health, as well as what medications you are on. If, like most other laymen, you don’t know how to make this decision, check this out. Websites like MyHDiet can help you make this decision taking your particular situation into consideration.
However, do be careful that according to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, makers of dietary supplements are not required to prove their effectiveness or safety standards to the FDA before launching a product on the market. Therefore if someone promises a miracle cure or guaranteed results with supplements, they might not be reliable.
Practice Stress Management
Stress can be a major obstacle in your weight loss journey. Stress causes the body to release hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones help you perform stressful activities, but when they’re released for prolonged periods of time (as with chronic stress), they can lead to weight gain.
Stress management is an important part of any healthy lifestyle and will help you lose weight more easily. The first step towards managing stress is identifying what causes it in your life so that you can avoid or manage it more effectively. You can always try stress management activities, but if you feel you can not tackle this problem by yourself, visiting a therapist or a counselor is always a smart thing.
Other than bringing down stress, stress management activities like yoga or meditation can also help you sleep better, which has its own benefits. According to UChicago Medicine, people who managed to increase their sleep duration from less than 6.5 hours per night to around 8.5 hours per night managed to reduce their daily caloric intake by 270 Kcal.
Find Ways To Exercise Outside The Gym
While it’s great to be able to work out on your own schedule, the gym is often a place that can feel isolating or maybe even boring. So what can you do?
One idea that always comes up when discussing exercise options is finding activities you enjoy outside of the gym. Most people have some sport that they enjoy. You can try playing something that brings you joy.
Badminton, for example, requires very little space or equipment but is a very good workout. Playing sports lifts your mood, sharpens your mind, and the complex nature of the workout activates many muscles that won’t usually be activated in the gym.
If nothing else, you can, at the very least, go biking or even walking. According to Timothy Burnett, an instructor of kinesiology at Oregon State University, You burn around 100 calories per mile, regardless of your speed. Therefore even taking an hour-long walk can help you exercise. It is up to you to figure out what works best for you.
Remember, too much of a good thing can actually be bad for you. So don’t get too caught up in the hype; focus on what works best for you. Crash courses are very difficult to follow through on and rarely produce any permanent results. The key to successful weight loss remains the same as always. Consistency.
