I am overweight. I was going to school five days a week, working, and working out. People think they don't have the time to lose the weight, but that's not true. These steps plus just a little time out of your day can assure weight loss. My personal trainer once told me "anything worth having isn't going to be easy," and it's true. Losing weight takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and time, but once you put in the effort, you can see amazing results. Obesity is a bigger problem now than it has ever been. The percentage of obese people in the United States is a serious problem. Not only is obesity affecting adults but children too. Many overweight people think it's almost impossible to lose weight with just hard work, so they turn to diets, medications, and surgery. Losing weight isn't just important for your health, but for your overall lifestyle too. Here are 10 tips to help you start losing weight naturally. 1. Doctors and Nutritionist: Start by going to a specialized doctor and nutritionist. Professionals can help you learn what you should be eating, how much you should be exercising, and test your health from start to finish. 2. Exercise: Start incorporating exercise into your daily routine. Anything as simple as walking 30 minuets 3-5 days a week can help. Of course there's always the option of joining the gym. Joining a gym can give you a great variety of cardio and strength training exercise. Gaining muscle is great since it burns fat faster. 3. Eat breakfast: Many studies show that people who eat breakfast actually weigh less than those who don't. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gets your metabolism rate going for the day and often makes you less hungry throughout the day. 4. Eliminate sugary drinks: Drink water. Eliminating sugary and high calorie drinks from your diet saves you valuable calories and lowers your sugar intake. Water is the best thing to put into your body since your body is made up of it. 5. Limit calorie intake: It is recommended that when starting a diet, you start keeping track of your calories. Eat what you typically would for about a week and keep track. Take the overall average of what you eat and subtract 500 calories. You can also use weight, age, and height charts to determine your calorie intake. 6. Eliminate the bad: Try to keep the consumption of things like fast food and sweets to a minimum. Cook fresh meals using lots of veggies and fruits. 7. Control portion sizes: A portion should be about the size of your fist. It is recommended that half your plate is vegetables and the other half be divided by protein, fruit, and dairy. 8. Treat yourself: Many people believe that when they are trying to lose weight, it's bad to eat bad food. However, everyone deserves a little treat once in a while. Try taking one day out of the week to treat yourself to your favorite foods. Treating one's self allows a person to eat what they want and not crave it until they eventually cave in and stop their diet. 9. Better choices: Switch to eating whole grains, green vegetables, good carbs, and low fat or low sugar foods and beverages. 10. Take it: Take your picture, weight, and measurements at least once per month. This can be a huge encouragement. People who focus only on weight often miss out that they losing inches. Taking a picture can allow you to see even small changes that happen from month to month. By following these steps, I was able to lose 50 pounds in about six months. Anyone can do it if they put their mind to it. Instead of saying you can't, say you can. Half of the challenge of losing weight is your mind. All doubts are in your head, and when people say they can't, chances are they can. There's a big difference between you thinking you can't do something and physically not being able to do it. So go for it, work hard, and you can lose the weight. Source
