Weight Loss Guide – Everything You Should Know

There are more than 1 billion overweight adults around the world according to recent studies. This number gives us a great clue about the importance of weight loss. Losing weight and maintaining the same weight are amongst the main concerns of the modern world, as being overweight isn’t just a matter of appearance but also affects an individual’s overall health.

When it comes to weight loss, each person has a unique weight loss journey. But there are some basic tips that seem to work for almost everyone. So in this article, we’ve compiled a few facts you may not know about weight loss, with our top tips to help you lose weight.

Be ready for a long-term journey

There’s no magic spell that gives you your target body in the blink of an eye. Losing weight requires effort, time, patience, and commitment. That’s why you should think about why you want to lose weight and construct a sustainable plan to stay motivated. Even though this may sound challenging, don’t worry! Your effort and hard work will bring you the best weight loss results.

Burn more calories than you consume

The basic rule of weight loss is that you must consume fewer calories than you burn. At this point, there are two options: eating fewer calories than you burn, or burning more calories than you eat.

Weight loss vs. fat loss

Weight loss doesn’t necessarily mean fat loss. Diet programs usually cause you to lose not only fat but also muscle. As your muscles play an essential role in your body’s function and movement, losing them can lead to health problems. In addition, increasing your muscle ratio boosts your metabolism, which promotes fat loss. So as well as thinking about your diet, make sure you’re scheduling exercise sessions like cardio and bodyweight workouts to help you maintain your muscles and get in shape.

Ask your doctor

Consult your doctor to make sure you don’t have any hormonal imbalances like thyroid disorders or PCOS in women, which can affect your weight loss process negatively.

Avoid radical diets

Radical diets restrict either your daily calorie intake or certain types of foods to an extreme level. As they often promise to make you lose weight in a short time, they seem very attractive. However, when the body faces extreme calorie restriction, it starts to prepare for a potential famine and decreases the metabolism in order to survive. So these types of diets may actually cause you to gain more weight over the longer term.

Also, limiting your calorie intake to extreme levels prevents your body from burning fat. Don’t forget that no food or calories are actually “bad”. Food provides fuel for your body, so it’s vital for life. How can you burn fat if you don’t have enough fuel to keep the fire going?

Eating carbs and fat doesn’t make you fat

It’s true that low-carb diets can help you lose weight, but cutting carbs out of your diet completely isn’t at all healthy. The point here is to consume only whole carbs like quinoa, oats and fruit, but not refined carbs like pasta, bakery products, sugary sodas, etc.

The same goes for fat intake. Contrary to popular belief, eating fat doesn’t make you gain weight. You just need to be careful about not getting your fat intake from fast food and other unhealthy fat sources. Your body needs healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil to function properly. Healthy fats are vital for a fully functioning digestive system and are also important for brain health.

If you’re following a keto diet or doing intermittent fasting, healthy fats are essential to get into the ketosis stage, too.

Be realistic

Know yourself and set realistic goals. Otherwise, if you don’t get the results you expected, you may become demotivated. For instance, losing 0.5 to 1 kg per week is optimal, which requires burning 500 calories more than you take in each day.

Not all diet foods are diet-friendly

There are lots of unhealthy diet foods on the market that consumers believe to be healthy and diet-friendly – as their name suggests. We can label them as “secret junk foods“. You should be skeptical about products labeled as low-fat, fat-free, or gluten-free. All of these foods are overly processed. Always read the ingredients of packaged foods and check out ingredients you don’t recognize.

Increase your awareness

Awareness is key to losing weight. Look carefully at your eating habits. Track your hunger signals. Which are caused by real hunger, and which are related to your emotional needs? Understanding your hunger signals helps you overcome the harmful effects of cravings. You can also keep a food diary, to help work out which eating patterns are hampering your weight loss.

Note: Keeping a food diary may help many people, but eating healthy can become unhealthy too as it may be triggering for people with an eating disorder history.

More muscle means higher metabolism

Exercise is an integral part of the weight loss process. Not only is it a great way to burn calories, but it also makes you stronger, improves your skin, and reduces stress.

The more muscle mass you develop, the higher your resting metabolic rate becomes. And as your metabolic rate gets higher, you burn more calories even when you’re resting. The most efficient way to build muscle is through strength training. If you don’t have the opportunity to do strength training, doing cardio at home or bodyweight training are great options. Fitness Kompanion offers a bodyweight workout plan according to your BMI and fitness goal.

Don’t skip cheat days

Surprisingly, having a cheat day isn’t breaking your diet, it’s actually diet-friendly. This is because your body gets used to a limited calorie intake and adjusts your metabolism in line with your new low-calorie eating habits. But cheat days surprise your body and boost your metabolism. In addition to being a metabolic booster, cheat days can help you stay motivated. Just make sure you don’t go totally overboard and consume so many calories on your cheat day that you undo a whole week’s effort!

Take probiotic supplements

Taking probiotic supplements containing Lactobacillus bacteria, or simply consuming probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, or pickles has been shown to reduce fat mass. If you prefer to buy a supplement instead, consult a health professional beforehand as some studies have shown that not all Lactobacillus species are diet-friendly. For example, L. acidophilus may promote weight gain.

Eat clean

Adopting healthy eating behaviors is key for weight loss. The most important point is constructing a plan which you can follow consistently. Start with limiting processed foods and added sugar. An ideal diet should contain protein and veggies, good fats, and whole carbs.

Control your portions

You may have a healthy diet but still can’t lose weight. If so, your portion size may be the underlying reason. As we’ve mentioned above, it’s important to create a calorie deficit if you want to lose weight. Not only what you eat but also how much you eat matters because larger portions increase your total calorie intake.

A handy tip: Try to use smaller plates. This helps your brain be satisfied with smaller portions.

Try out intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a popular eating model based on consuming food within a restricted time period. According to recent studies on nutrition, IF improves metabolism and thus provides optimal fat burning.

Note: It’s important to understand that intermittent fasting isn’t suitable for everyone, so we suggest you ask your doctor’s opinion before you start. If you’re OK to fast, you can get Fasting Kompanion for a personalized fasting plan.

Stay hydrated

Water is the best way to boost your metabolism. Studies also show that drinking water before meals reduces your calorie intake.

Avoid alcohol

Alcohol is a beverage with high calories. It’s also an enemy of your metabolism. Whether you want to stay healthy or get fit, you should reduce your alcohol consumption.

Stress and sleep deprivation are your enemies

Both stress and sleep deprivation can make it difficult for you to lose weight. Stress makes you crave carb-rich snacks and junk food which tend to calm those stress hormones. Always have healthy snacks, fruit, and nuts around, in case you feel the urge to have a snack from stress.

Inadequate sleep also negatively impacts the hormonal balance by decreasing leptin (a hormone that makes you feel full after eating) and increasing ghrelin (which triggers hunger). Consult a medical professional to deal with insomnia.

Be kind to yourself

Losing weight is not a linear process. You may follow your diet and exercise program completely some days, but you may feel demotivated and lose your commitment on other days. Always remember that this type of fluctuation is normal because you’re a human being! Instead of blaming yourself for breaking your usual routine, adopt a compassionate approach to yourself, and remember that it’s all part of your own journey.

The bottom line

Losing weight isn’t easy – but it’s not impossible either. Having a balanced diet, doing regular exercise patiently, and – most importantly – having self-compassion will be your best tools on this challenging path.