Losing weight is hard — that's why it's a $66 billion industry in the US alone.
Losing weight can be tough and it's something that is often shrouded in guilt and secrecy. If you want to lose weight or even simply adopt a healthier lifestyle, here are 13 things you need to know beforehand, no matter what your plan is.
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Not everyone's meant to be super-thin — and that's OK. It doesn't mean you're not healthy.
Let me put it bluntly: If you're embarking on a diet plan so you can look like someone else, you're probably going to be disappointed.
The simple truth is we're all built differently. There are scientific explanations for why people's bodies store and burn fat in different ways.
But don't adopt the mindset that because you're body's built a certain way, healthy eating and exercise are pointless. Despite the natural factors that make weight loss harder for some people, scientists still maintain that the obesity epidemic has more to do with caloric intake than genetic makeup.
You'll always benefit from cutting processed foods and moving more, even if washboard abs or a lower number on the scale aren't in your immediate future. Just manage your expectations.
You're going to hear a lot of conflicting information and uninformed opinions.
There's no one diet plan that's going to satisfy everyone. Talk to a keto devotee about your increased fruit intake, and they might lecture you about the sugar content in bananas. A proponent of Weight Watchers might insist that cutting any food group is pointless and unsustainable.
But only you can decide what works for you. And you must stick to your guns when people insist you're wrong because believe me, they will.
You're going to receive unwanted advice from everyone — even the people who are asking you for advice. And their input says more about them than it does about you. So learn which sources to trust and which ones to politely ignore. Do your research, talk to your doctor, understand how your diet and exercise routine works, and make sure you really believe in what you're doing.
Eating fewer calories is going to be hard at first.
Weight loss is the result of a simple math equation: you're burning more calories than you're taking in. This means that when you start a diet, you'll probably be eating less food than usual or food that doesn't feel as satisfying at first. The physical process is simple, but mentally, the execution is so hard.
At the beginning of a weight-loss plan, feelings of deprivation are normal and often mostly mental, but you also shouldn't be starving. Just make sure you're getting enough calories, and be patient. Once you've built new habits, your brain will forget the old way of doing things.
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