Listen to this articleI am so deeply immersed in my fitness lifestyle that I lose touch in a way with people who don’t share my passion. The beginnings of my fitness journey were not easy and were not without setbacks, but now it’s clear to me what I need to do to achieve my goals related to my physique and well-being. At the same time, I regularly realize that for most people, it’s not that obvious. That’s why I decided to describe how to start losing weight, step by step and without relying on any diet.
Weight loss is a subject that has always been close to my heart because years ago, I made multiple attempts to lose some extra pounds, but all of them ended in failure.
Moreover, I’m currently in my third phase of cutting, after a bulk, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of how to effectively lose weight.
From my observations, it appears that the average Joe trying to lose their belly is lost. Bombarded with often conflicting and imprecise information, they simply don’t understand where and how to start losing weight.
Last Easter I experienced another collision with the world of fitness normies, with people who don’t know how to properly feed themselves. Therefore, I feel that it’s time for an article on how to start losing weight, especially without any seasonal diets.
General principles of effective weight loss
Losing weight itself is a process that occurs on a physical and visual level. However, this does not mean that it is disconnected from the mental sphere. On the contrary!
Weight loss begins in the mind. Without the right and stable state of mind, you will not persist in your resolutions. You also need to work on this proper state of mind because it tends to come and go.
I could go on and on about these elusive aspects, but how do you specifically prepare your mind, and what should you pay particular attention to at the very beginning?
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First and foremost, remember that effectively losing and keeping weight off, although not easy, is definitely within your reach.
Every action you take in relation to wanting to lose weight makes you better. Every action you repeat regularly forms in you the necessary new habit that has real driving power. These small daily steps accumulate. They add up to make a big change.
You need a strong and sincere internal desire for change. Sincerity here means not deceiving yourself, consistently sticking to your resolutions, especially in moments of weakness that will certainly come.
You have to finally stop just thinking about it and take even the smallest step today, with no further delay.
Skip the dessert you had planned, don’t order pizza after work, just eat at home, don’t put snacks in your cart during a visit to the market. There is no better day to start losing weight than today. Start drawing strength from these small decisions and build on them – increase your strength with each right choice.
Very importantly, don’t expect quick results. How quickly you achieve the first results depends on where you start, but objectively speaking, really noticeable changes should occur after 4-6 months of very solid commitment to your resolutions and being honest with yourself.
Forget about diets and all kinds of weight loss products. You don’t need them at all to start losing weight and seeing results. Looking for the latest fad diet will only confuse you.
There are also no products that will somehow magically make you lose weight on their own. Most of them work by reducing your appetite = making you consume fewer calories, and may have side effects. Weight loss products are not a long-term strategy that will generate the results you are looking for.
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Perhaps it’s worth taking some time (a week, two, however long you really need) to really internalize the above points before taking the actual actions described later in the post. As
I keep saying, weight loss is simple but difficult. The rules you need to follow are clear, however, achieving and maintaining the proper state of mind to adhere to these rules is not easy.
How to start losing weight – specific strategies for everyone
Okay, now you know how to prepare for effective weight loss. It’s time for specific actions.
The key to achieving and maintaining weight loss results, and at the same time the goal of weight loss is a permanent change of eating habits.
It takes time. If you have never seriously dieted before, forget about doing it almost overnight. Your current diet is a certain system of nutrition, and its update must take place gradually.
Below, I present you with a realistic plan of how to start losing weight step by step, without the need to turn your life upside down. Believe me, I have been where you are, and I was missing exactly something like this – honest, proven ways to lose weight without beating around the bush.
Don’t drink calories
The ubiquity of sodas and juices is not accidental. Their consumption has become a habit for many people. It was the same in my case. Buying a large bottle or carton used to be a no-brainer during a visit to the supermarket.
The basic problem with soft drinks is that it is very easy to take in a large amount of calories without any other nutrients. No protein, good fats, vitamins, nothing, just sugar.
Drinking calories is a trap that is very easy to fall into, but at the same time, if you manage to avoid it, you greatly increase your chances of losing weight, so it’s also a kind of an easy way to get results.
If you must, choose the zero version, there are quite a few on the market. It is in no way healthy, but it will satisfy your sweet cravings without providing unnecessary calories.
A few numbers to wrap up this section ⤵️
A half-liter of Coca-Cola contains 210 calories and 53g of sugar, which is not a problem to consume for many people. On top of that, imagine a glass (200ml) of orange juice later in the day, adding another 88 calories and 17.4g of sugar. In total, this is 298 calories and 70.4g of sugar (about 14 teaspoons!).
Daily caloric needs can vary greatly, but for the average woman, it is estimated to be 1900-2000 calories, and for the average man, it is 2400-2500 calories per day.
Therefore, the above moderate calculation means that women can consume approximately 1/7 and men 1/8 of their daily caloric needs from just these beverages.
It is worth noting that we are dealing with the worst possible source of calories too – pure sugar, and moreover, doubling these numbers (consuming twice as much) is very realistic as well.
Portion control
Instead of fooling yourself into thinking that tomorrow you will start eating three servings of vegetables a day and lean meat or fish, simply limit the amount of what you currently eat.
Even if you don’t think you eat that much, try to reduce the size of your meals. Remember that this strategy will be much easier than switching to any typical healthy diet anyway.
Cook less, serve less, and order less than usual at a restaurant. In the future, portion size will still matter. It’s worth starting to develop the habit of eating smaller amounts, and perhaps more frequently.
Don’t try to exclude
Apart from the already discussed soft drinks, I don’t want you to try to exclude entire food groups.
Assumptions like “I will never eat sweets / bread / pizza again” are doomed to fail. At this stage, you simply don’t have enough willpower, and it’s not even a criticism, it’s just the reality.
The all-or-nothing approach guarantees failure and frustration.
Of course, a certain degree of flexibility does not mean that you don’t have to worry and that everything in any amount is okay for you. If you want to start losing weight, work on not overeating, especially when trying to solve emotional problems with food.
High-calorie foods such as sweets and fast food are designed to trigger a certain response in your brain while eating them, making you crave more.
Not reacting to every craving and limiting (not attempting complete restriction of) highly processed foods is a great way to lay a solid foundation for effective and sustainable weight loss.
Leave room for snacks
If you find that you have a greater than average enthusiasm for weight loss and approach your diet a bit more aggressively, you may consider including some safety valves or rewards in the form of snacks.
They will allow you not to go crazy and be something you will look forward to, making it easier for you to stick to your base resolutions.
It can also be an additional opportunity to practice strong willpower. The ability to stop at literally two cookies is amazing and will come in handy in the future.
Start walking
Don’t bother with the gym, yoga, Zumba, swimming, or any other form of physical activity if you can’t establish a habit of regular walking. Ideally, every day.
If you have two working legs and your body weight is not a contraindication (meaning if you don’t weigh like 440+ lbs), you really have no excuse.
The commonly recommended 10,000 steps per day is even about 3.7 miles, but start with any distance.
If you can walk somewhere instead of driving, do it. If you spend most of the day sitting, go for an evening walk. Get your heart rate up and burn some calories. Everyone who isn’t a mail carrier or doesn’t exercise regularly could benefit from spending more time on their feet.
Summary
I have a feeling that the strategy I presented on how to start losing weight may seem incomplete or insufficient to many people because they are looking for immediate solutions that provide stunning results.
Well, your success will largely depend on changing the way you think about what it really takes to effectively lose weight in the first place, and that is working on the fundamentals, taking small steps and making small changes, not following the latest diet from Instagram.
I would like this post to be a mini guide for you, a reference point in the process of striving for a better version of yourself.
You don’t need another guide on how to start losing weight, you need iron consistency in implementing the advice contained here. If you honestly put all my advice into practice without cheating, there is no possibility that you will not see significant results after 6 months.
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