Losing Weight Steadily and Keeping It Off

Rich With Words LLC

Losing weight weighs on the minds of millions of people all around the world. Some people need to lose weight because of health reasons, others want to do it to become more mobile and energetic, and some people want to lose weight for the simple reason of just looking sexier. Whatever the reason is for finding a diet and exercise regimen that can help you reach your goals, the task can prove to be a little tricky.

Although your day-to-day work life may be pretty much the same, not always will your life outside of work be the same. Dentist and doctor appointments, school activities for your kids, vehicle maintenance, grocery shopping, family events, you name it, there is always something that makes life a little hectic. Your exercise schedule that worked well one week may not necessarily work well the next. And if you don't schedule around those bumps in the road, trust me, as someone who has spent a lot of time going to the gym, it doesn’t take much to lose your focus and motivation forcing you to skip for the day.

This is huge. I know it's hard for those of you who have busy schedules to find enough time to get to the gym, but if you only have the time to put in a semi-workout, than why bother.

If you try to cram a short workout into a small window of time, either because that is all the time you have left for the day or you still have things to do after your workout, then chances are you won't get much out of that workout anyway. Finish up the responsibilities you have for the rest of the day and try to take care of some of the responsibilities and errands you have for the next day, and then get some rest. Head to the gym the following day with the time and energy to stay as long as you need, and accomplish a workout that your body deserves.

One of the biggest reasons people fail at their attempts to start and stick with an exercise and diet regimen is the way they start out. Deciding one day that instead of coming home every day and sitting on your duff, you're going to go to the gym and run and lift weights like you never have before. And instead of your usual super-sized Big Mac meal, you're going to nibble on veggies. The problem with that logic is you most likely will never see success.

You will be so sore and tired from working out too hard and too fast, you won't be able to get back into the gym for a long time due to soreness. And cutting out all your crappy dieting habits cold turkey will leave you so miserably hungry you will eventually break. After breaking and spending two or three days back on your duff and eating crappy, the thought of starting from scratch again will leave you feeling unmotivated, unaccomplished, and that weight loss dream will be just that, a dream.

To give yourself the best chance of sticking with your weight loss regimen, you have to be truthful with yourself and come up with a reasonable plan that you know you can accomplish. If you can barely get up and down a flight of stairs without losing your breath, you probably need to start out with just a walk on the treadmill, and when you're comfortable with that you can move up to power walking and so on. It may take weeks or even months to see a positive difference in the way your body looks, but the slow progression will help you find success. If you believe that some type of miracle is going to happen and you’re going to look like a Calvin Klein model in a few short weeks, you're just fooling yourself.

This thought process should be applied to your whole exercise/diet regimen. From your cardio to weightlifting and even your eating habits. If you treat your weight loss regimen like a marathon, you'll make it, if you treat it like a sprint, most likely you will fall flat on your face.

Having a workout buddy is a great motivator. Not only can you motivate each other while you’re at the gym, but you can motivate each other outside of the gym. Making better life choices is all part of finding a new and better you. You and you’re workout buddy can find healthier places to eat, walk or bike to particular destinations, you can go outside and throw the football around instead of sitting around and playing football on the XBOX, and even when it’s time to have some fun, instead of sitting on a bar stool having a few beers you can go bowling or play some darts to promote activity.

You will also find that if you promised your workout buddy you would be at the gym, it is a lot harder to find excuses to skip the gym for the day considering most people don’t appreciate being stood up.

It’s easy to think that if you just don’t eat or skip a meal, you will see weight just shredding off, but that is far from the truth. The problem is our bodies are smart, and when they realize you’re missing meals, when you do eat your body will store more fat because it doesn’t know when the next meal will come. Also, low blood sugar causes your metabolism to slow, and when your metabolism is slow, you can’t burn off calories as efficient as you would like, especially when you are trying to lose weight.

There is no way anyone can believe they will get in a workout that is worthwhile when they are lacking sleep or just generally exhausted from a long day. Rest is a huge part of muscle growth, and it also gives you the focus you need for a successful workout.

A weight loss regimen that you can accomplish successfully day-in and day-out is about the only way you will reach your goals. Eating healthy one day and going back to your bad habits the next or going to the gym every day one week and the next week the only Jim you see is the annoying guy with the bad breath at work will only leave you never finding success.

If you want to see real body transformation, you need to be honest with yourself and build a weight loss regimen you can get through consistently every day, every week, every month, and every year. As time passes, you can always add to it and push yourself more and more for the best you, you can become.