Are You Serious About Losing Weight? 10 Proven Weight Loss Tips to Get You Started

You’ve decided it’s finally time to lose weight, but you have no idea where to start. Luckily, we’re here to help with 10 proven weight loss tips to get you started on the right foot, whether your goal is to lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds. Follow these tips consistently and you’ll see results in no time.

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1. Determine Your WHY

Before embarking on this journey, you need to get real clear on what your WHY for doing this in the first place is…

Do you know WHY you’re starting your weight loss journey? Something motivated you to pull the trigger and find this article today… What is That? And it’s not just losing the weight, it’s what losing the weight can do for you, your life, your health, your confidence, your body image, and your future.

When you start with your why, you allow your why to be your guiding light when self-doubt, fatigue or the idea of giving up starts popping into your head. Not to mention when the naysayers surrounding in your life start popping in and imposing their limited beliefs onto you. – I know for me, this was a big one!

Every time you begin losing hope, doubting yourself, getting pulled in different directions, remind yourself….. WHY DID YOU START? WHY do you need this? WHY are you starting your weight loss journey and getting more fit and healthy?

Can’t Find Your True WHY? Try out this exercise and answer the questions honestly:

– Start with the first thing that comes to your mind.

– “I want to lose 80 lbs”

– Ask yourself WHY.

– Then write down the answer.

– Ask yourself WHY again.

– Write down the answer.

– Repeat until you’ve asked yourself WHY 7 times.

Usually, you will find that your true why lies somewhere along one of the last 4-7 answers.

And now that you have gotten clear on your WHY, move on to the next weight loss tip…

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2. Set SMART Goals

I’m sure you may be wondering… What exactly are, “SMART goals?

The acronym SMART stands for:

(S): Specific

(M): Measurable

(A): Achievable

(R): Realistic

(T): Timely

When you sit down to decide what goals you actually want to achieve, make sure that they fall into each of the SMART categories. Your goal should be specific and measurable (ex. I want to lose 25 lbs)

Your goal should also be something that is both achievable AND realistic, within a specific time frame.

Example of SMART goal: I want to lose 25 lbs in 3 months

Example of a goal that is not using the SMART method: I want to lose 100 lbs in 3 months

Do you see the biggest difference here?

The biggest difference is not the difference in weight, the biggest difference is the weight in this specific TIME FRAME.

And why is that?

Because it is physically impossible to lose 100 lbs in 3 months.

How could the 100 lb weight loss goal be transformed into a SMART goal? You could instead say, I want to lose 100 lbs in 8 (or even 7) months!

… And Now, onto the fun stuff!

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3. Eat Smaller Portions, More Often

Smaller, more frequent meals are the key to a faster metabolism!

“Mini-meals can aid in satisfying the appetite, stabilizing blood sugar levels, and providing nutrients to the body throughout the day. Smaller, more frequent meals in your daily eating patterns also can aid in a more efficient metabolism compared to a slower metabolism when meals are skipped,” says Katherine Patton, MEd, RD, CSSD, LD, author of Cleveland Clinic Article.

“Mini-meals can aid in satisfying the appetite, stabilizing blood sugar levels, and providing nutrients to the body throughout the day. Smaller, more frequent meals in your daily eating patterns also can aid in a more efficient metabolism compared to a slower metabolism when meals are skipped”

Katherine Patton, MEd, RD, CSSD, LD

A few of my biggest rules for any of my clients is:

• Eat within the first 30 minutes of waking up

• Eat small meals every 3 hours- not surpassing 4 hours (#protip: put an alarm on your phone as a reminder to eat every 3 hours, this will help you stay on track until you adjust to being hungry every 3 hours)

• If you overeat or “cheat” at one of your meals, get back on track your very next meal

• Don’t wait to “start again next Monday!”

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4. Increase Your Fiber Intake

Fiber is a wonder that is not spoken about enough.

Fiber can reduce constipation, help with weight loss and help with maintaining that weight loss. (2) (3)

The U.S. Department of Health’s dietary guidelines provide guidelines based on an individuals’ age and gender. (4)

• Women aged 19–30 should consume 28 grams of fiber per day
• Men aged 19–30 should consume 33.6 grams of fiber per day
• Women aged 31–50 should consume 25.2 grams of fiber per day
• Men aged 31–50 should consume 28 grams of fiber per day
• Women aged 51 and over should consume 22.4 grams of fiber per day
• Men aged 51 and over should consume 28 grams of fiber per day

So make sure that you’re getting enough fiber in your diet!

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5. Drink Plenty Of Water:

Drinking enough water is of vital importance. Water is necessary to keep your metabolism working at peak efficiency and your digestive system functioning well.

Research has also shown that drinking a glass of water right before a meal helps you to feel more full and eat less.

What’s even more incredible about water is that it doesn’t just help you regulate how much you eat, it helps you digest your food properly, too! (So, if you’re experiencing constipation, you may want to check on your water and fiber intake!)

How much water do you need?

Generally, I like to advise my clients to have at least half their body weight in ounces. However, athletes and individuals with chronic illnesses should have one ounce per pound of body weight.

This means that if you weight 180 lbs, you should be consuming at minimum, 90 ounces of water per day. And a 180 lb athlete, would drink closer to 180 ounces of water.

As a general rule of thumb, I like my clients to be drinking at least a gallon of water a day. If this seems like a HUGE jump for you, start with half a gallon daily first, and gradually work your way up to a gallon.

Tip for staying on track with your water intake: buy a half gallon water bottle that you fill up once in the morning and once in the afternoon ➡️ Here’s my favorite one: Half Gallon Water Bottle ‼️

6) Avoid Fad Diets:

Are there ANY fad diets that work for weight loss? Sure, they could work to a certain extent.

Are ANY of them a sustainable way to live? No. Not even one.

Keto, Atkins, hcG diet, peptide injections, meal replacements, and the list goes on…

What is the one thing that all of the above mentioned diets and diet “tricks” have in common? ➡️ None of them are sustainable for the longterm.

Meaning, what you need to do is eat real foods (not processed), in small portions, every few hours, and make each of your meals balanced. + Drink plenty of water!

7) Exercise Regularly:

Alright, now – when I say “exercise regularly,” I don’t mean that you have to go to the gym 5x/week or have any kind of extreme workout regimens. I just want you to MOVE!

Start moving again. Move in whichever way you feel best- whether that’s walking, jogging, dancing, playing with your kids or grandkids- just MOVE.

Do this 3x/week for 30 minutes each time.

As you go growing stronger, add weights to your exercise, resistance bands, TRX bands – maintaining a good amount of muscle mass is crucial and gets more important the older that you get. Cardio is NOT the answer. Weight training and slow burn cardio (walking at 3.0-3.5mph, incline-walking, interval incline-walking are all great options for slow burn cardio)

8) Track Your Workouts:

My favorite way to make sure that I ALWAYS maximize my workout sessions/ exercises is by tracking my workouts with my MyZone mZ-3 heart rate monitor. With it on, I am able to ensure that I’m always at my optimal heart rate for fat burn 💪

9) Manage Stress

High stress levels or chronic stress can significantly impact your ability to maintain a healthy weight; in fact, it can even make you MORE susceptible to weight gain. When it rises, the stress hormone, known as cortisol, is also known to lead to weight gain because of its link to sugar cravings, the release of glucose into the bloodstream as a result of the cortisol-release, and because of its slowing-effect on our metabolisms.

Finding different stress management techniques such as exercise or therapy can be life-changing. And can be the missing piece in your fitness journey.

10) Get Plenty of Sleep

Getting less than 6 hours of sleep can have detrimental effects on your metabolism, your ability to process glucose (bringing an accompanying rise in insulin), and your ability to process carbohydrates.

Another important factor to consider is the impact of sleep on cortisol levels. Insufficient sleep can cause the release of additional cortisol, which in turn can stimulate hunger.

For the best results and most effective weight loss, a balanced diet, regular movement/exercise sessions + good sleep (6 hours + per night) are essential !