Are you struggling to lose those last 10lbs or even more? Follow these 10 steps and you will be on your way to successful weight loss.
Step One: The first step is getting your mind mentally prepared to learn new habits. Are you ready to make changes? Are you ready to make time in your day for your health? If you are not mentally on board than you will not be successful.
Step Two: Let your friends and family know you are starting this new lifestyle and ask for their supportive. You are influenced by the five closest people in your life. Let them know you need their encouragement.
Step Three: Get your calendar out and set times for exercise. You need 150 minutes a week of cardiovascular exercise. This can be done in increments that fit your schedule. Maybe it’s 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night. All that matters is at the end of the week you have 150 minutes of getting your heart rate up.
Step Four: Get a device that calculates and records your heart rate, like a Garmin or Apple watch. Make sure you are working in the correct heart rate zones.
Step Five: Once you know your heart rate zones. Mix up your cardiovascular exercise. Work at a steady pace zone which is usually around 70-80% of your max heart rate a few days a week. An example of this would be running or jogging a nice steady pace that you could do for at least 20 or more minutes. On the other days crank it up to interval workouts and get your heart rate up around 80% or more for a short period of time and then recover for equal time. An example of this would be running at a fast pace for 1-2 minutes and then walk/jog for 1-2 minutes. Interval workouts are usually shorter in duration, such as 15-30 minutes.
Step Six: Download a fitness app like MyFitnessPal. This is a great way to record your workouts and calorie burn. It’s also a great way to record what you eat and how much you are supposed to eat. You may think you are eating the right amount of calories or enough protein and then find you are not. Apps such as Rise or Noom will set you up with a dietician that can guide and help you with your eating. You do have to pay to use a dietician, but it may be worth it for a month or two to get you on the right track.
Step Seven: Adding strength training is important, but you don’t have to kill it in the gym to get results. Just do basic exercises that target multiple muscle groups. A great start is 10-12 reps of push-ups, squats, lunges, bent over rows, bicep curls, tricep extensions and abdominal crunches. 2 sets of each 2-3 days a week should do the trick. You can even add 20 jumping jacks in between exercises to get your heart rate up a little. Make sure the last 2-3 reps of each exercise are challenging. If not get a heavier weight.
Step Eight: If after a few weeks the scale stops moving and you start to plateau, mix things up. Your body can adjust to doing the same thing over and over again. Change up your cardiovascular routine, add new exercises to your strength training. review your eating habits, etc.
Step Nine: Be prepared for set backs. It will happen. Knowing this will help you march on. Don’t let it derail you from your goals. Get your head back in the game and back on the fitness wagon. If you have a bad eating day, then start fresh the next day.
Step Ten: Reward yourself. You worked hard and you deserve something special. Maybe after a good couple of weeks you schedule a massage. Plan a beach trip with your new body. Just make sure you keep up your good habits even after you hit your goals.
