I want to make this crystal clear. You’re looking at the last article you’ll ever need to finally start losing weight. Forget about clickbait headlines and unrealistic promises. Stop looking for secret ways to burn belly fat. Get real! If you want to know how to lose weight, focus on two fundamental and proven aspects I’m discussing below, and I guarantee you’ll see the results. Ready?
Just like anyone who decided to lose weight, I also was looking for information on how to do this. After years of experimenting, I finally realized that I didn’t see the wood for the trees.
Diet can be made overcomplicated in so far that often different research examples are being brought up that stand in opposition to each other. Have you noticed, for example, how coffee takes turns being beneficial and harmful to your overall health?
First off, dietary research is frequently financed by various lobby groups and is designed to produce a specific outcome. Second, if research is truly independent, its results are affected by a wide range of factors related to the particular subjects’ lifestyle. Thus, they’re not perfectly applicable to everyone else.
I digress but I want you to understand how scientific research works and be more critical of the results you’re seeing and perhaps taking for granted.
All that being said, there are two key factors affecting your weight loss efforts. Before I move on to them, let’s talk about…
The basics of how to lose weight
I know damn well that the internal image of one’s physique can be very warped. Our opinion of ourselves may differ from reality.
So, before you’ll try to figure out how to lose weight and start striving for a better version of yourself, make sure you properly understand where you currently stand and then set a realistic goal.
Be honest with yourself, and if needed, consult a third party. It may happen that it’s not necessarily weight loss but rather body recomposition that will be the optimal way forward for you. Especially you, girls! Don’t get skinny, get a butt that sticks out. Guys don’t want to be able to put fingers around your thigh!
Now, fitness rookies can be divided into three main groups.
Obese individuals, who basically need to lose weight to counteract the potential health hazards related to their condition. Increased physical activity is definitely recommended but changing poor dietary habits and developing a proper mental state oriented towards a lengthy battle may be more important here. The amount of work required can be discouraging but you can weep now AND cry later or dig yourself out and continue your ascension.
Individuals who’d like to improve their physique but for various reasons don’t have a strong drive for a sporty lifestyle. Luckily, a better shape is within the reach of anyone with a full set of limbs.
Individuals interested in switching to a sporty lifestyle, including conscious eating and regular, preferably diverse physical activity. This is absolutely worth striving for but how difficult it’ll be to execute this plan will depend on the person’s starting point. Besides, it remains to be seen whether the need for change was a flash in the pan or the Olympic flame.
The best weight loss diet
Alright, it’s time to get to the gist of the post. What diet should I choose to lose weight? How to burn belly fat and get rid of love handles?
I assume you’re already familiar with diets such as keto, paleo, mediterranean, and perhaps a couple others. Maybe you even tried some of them. The amount of diet models available doesn’t, however, affect the issue of how to lose weight. This is because they all work within human biochemistry.
First pillar of efficient weight loss
I’ll allow myself to take a bit of a superficial approach here because many people wondering how to lose weight need to start from really understanding the basics. In essence, weight gain or loss boils down to your daily and weekly caloric intake. The calorie source is a secondary issue, albeit not completely irrelevant.
That said, if you consume more calories than you spend, you gain weight. If you consume less calories than you burn, you lose weight. It really is that simple for 9 out of 10 people, despite what many claim, and any potential failures have sources elsewhere.
Still waiting for a hidden punchline? A secret I’m about to reveal? Well, the only secret you and most people are unfamiliar with are the nutritional facts of the products that end up in your system!
If you want to lose weight, you simply have to figure out your daily caloric requirement and create a meal plan including less calories than that.
In theory, having a daily requirement of 2200 calories, you could be eating just Big Macs and still lose weight but this wouldn’t be a great plan long term. Besides, I’m pretty sure that a meal plan like that would get old preeeetty fast (and Quarter Pounders are better anyway lol).
How to successfully diet
Ok, you now know the absolute foundation of how to lose weight, which is the difference between calories in and calories out. Obviously, a diet that will generate the best possible results and improve the way you feel has to be balanced. Eating a pound of white sugar a day to get 2000 calories in is like putting a whole Uzi mag into your temple but this doesn’t change the general rule.
Alright, what’s next?
Second pillar of efficient weight loss
Acquiring knowledge and creating a meal plan is only a part of the success. Only the attempt to actually implement the newly acquired information will reveal what you’re made of.
Your biggest enemy in losing the extra pounds is the lack of patience and looking for a shortcut, a magic pill. Forget about it, none of that exists!
Despite what some popular opinions and clickbait headlines claim, dieting is a marathon, and not a sprint.
Diet isn’t a punishment. It’s not about ever again stepping into a McDonald’s or a sweets shop. A complete abstinence from fast food and treats isn’t the goal, at least not in the long term. The goal is to understand how your body works and how various foods affect it.
People who want to know how to lose weight don’t seem to understand how important time is. Apart from literally hitting a lottery jackpot, nothing in life changes for the better overnight.
Rest assured that if you won’t take the necessary steps, you’ll never improve your physique and thus the quality of your life. This takes time and patience. What’s nice about this is the fact that all the time you’ll devote to losing weight will keep bringing returns long-term if, that is, you develop new healthy habits and stick to them.
All in all, if you want to lose weight and keep it off, be patient and stay on track. The results are right there for the taking!
Final word
Despite the growing fat acceptance in the West, which I’m absolutely against, I reckon that deep down no one wants to be fat. The problem is that people are too lazy, know nothing about nutrition, or don’t know how to do something about their situation.
The best weight loss diet is the one which assumes a daily caloric deficit which you’ll be able to maintain for a long time, perhaps even years, and adjust in the course of life as per your requirements.
The best thing you can do is start expecting more of yourself and take more responsibility for your own decisions.
I’m well aware of the fact that there are going to be growing pains and despite all you’ve learned from this post you may still be unsure of where to start. I can help you take your first steps if you’re ready to make a change.
Send me an email or DM me on Instagram. I’ll be happy to discuss how we can improve your life.
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