No matter how much you want to lose weight, if you love to eat, but hate to exercise you’ll find that losing weight seems like an insurmountable task. It’s not. While it’s not going to be easy, it’s easier when you first commit to shedding pounds and start by taking baby steps. Create a list with all the changes you need to make to lose weight and a weight goal you want to reach. One-by-one, start including those changes in your lifestyle.
Cut back on processed and fried foods and load up on veggies.
Sometimes, changing the order of food you eat can make a huge change and help you shed pounds. Pick out four vegetables to go with every meal and serve the other foods you’d normally eat, but cut the portion in half. Eat the vegetables first and follow with the half serving of the food you’d normally eat. Do this for a while and after a few weeks, substitute fresh fruit for dessert.
Build on that base of healthy eating.
Once you become adept at increasing the portions of vegetables, start focusing on your main dish. Instead of fried chicken, go with baked, grilled or air fried. Learn to make substitutions when cooking, like replacing oil and sugar in baked goods with unsweetened apple sauce or using Greek yogurt for sour cream.
Getting more exercise is important even if you aren’t trying to lose weight.
Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a formal program, although that does ensure you’ll improve your cardio, strength, flexibility and balance fitness and work on all muscle groups. It can start with something as simple as walking each day, or turning up the radio and dancing like nobody’s watching for a half an hour. Find something you love that is active, whether it’s walking, riding a bike or even roller skating and do it.
- Start experimenting with new foods. You’ll be amazed at how delicious spaghetti squash is when you use it to replace pasta or love the eggplant or zucchini lasagna that’s richer in nutrients and lower in calories.
- Make an effort to get more exercise in non-traditional ways. Park further from the grocery, take the stairs instead of the elevator or find a two, three, four or more minute short workout to do every time you have a few minutes.
- Change a regular walk to an HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout by varying the speed you walk. Walk as fast as you can for a while, followed by a short period of recovery where you keep a moderate pace. It’s one of the fastest ways of getting into shape.
- Make an effort to do something new and active. It might be actually signing up and working with a trainer, learning kettlebells or taking up hiking. If you don’t like it, try something else.