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Where to start losing weight: developing an action plan

Why is losing several dozen kilos considered almost a feat? People who have achieved significant weight loss and changed beyond recognition become heroes of television shows and social networks. This happens because, according to statistics, 85% of the female population and 55% of the male population have set such a goal at least once in their lives, but 25% and 10%, respectively, reach the final stage. Fighting the food instinct inherent in nature itself is a real challenge. The outcome of the battle largely depends on what served as the starting point.

To conclude the matter, you need to know where to start losing weight and how to make a correct plan - not only nutrition and training, but also make adjustments to your usual lifestyle. Making such a decision must be accompanied by awareness of the complexity of the approach to weight loss. From now on, every step should bring you closer to the goal and needs to be thought out carefully from the beginning.

The simplest and most correct solution

If you want to lose weight, you need to limit your diet

If you want to start losing weight correctly, achieve the desired result and not harm your health, you need to:

  1. Save about $200.
  2. Look for a nutritionist in your city and make an appointment with him.
  3. Go to an appointment.
  4. Follow all their recommendations.
  5. Visit him regularly to adjust the plan he initially outlined.
  6. Find a professional fitness coach who specializes in weight loss and make an appointment with him.
  7. Consult him, request an individual training plan, taking into account the nutritionist's recommendations.
  8. Follow all their recommendations.

You will need money to pay for personalized nutrition and exercise plans. The value is approximate and may vary in different cities and between different specialists. On average, each such undertaking costs about $100. Only a nutritionist and trainer will help you start losing weight correctly and will guide you until you achieve the desired result.

Consultation with a nutritionist

First, you will receive a detailed survey aimed at collecting anamnesis. Get ready to answer lots of questions:

  • whether there are chronic diseases;
  • what you eat, how many times a day (down to the smallest details, down to seeds and a bottle of mineral water);
  • how quickly you gained weight;
  • what illnesses have you suffered in the last 2 years;
  • You have bad habits;
  • what is the nature of your work (sedentary or do you have to move constantly - on foot or by car);
  • What kind of life do you lead after work?
  • Your parents have problems with being overweight, etc.

After data collection, tests and instrumental studies are prescribed:

  • general blood and urine tests;
  • blood sugar test;
  • blood chemistry;
  • blood test for thyroid hormones;
  • tomography;
  • Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity;
  • gastroscopy/other endoscopic examinations of the gastrointestinal tract.

Based on all the data collected, an individual nutritional plan will be drawn up, which you must follow strictly. You also need to follow all the related advice that the nutritionist gives you (walk at night, go to the upper floors without an elevator, exercise, etc. ).

Coach consultation

After the nutritionist with all your recommendations and nutritional plan, you go to the trainer. He should adapt a weight loss program at the gym to suit them. It is important to understand the following here: as soon as the instructor begins to criticize the nutritionist's performance, turn around, leave and look for another specialist. Doctors have the appropriate training and know what they advise, but in the fitness industry there are many amateurs who can ruin everything.

If you need to lose a lot of weight (more than 100 kg), the plan can last from six months to 2 years. If you need to lose 10 to 20 kg, 6 months is usually enough.

Therefore, it is extremely easy to start losing weight properly. This method is good because you do not need to independently calculate BMI, daily calorie intake, BJU proportions, etc. Errors are excluded here, health risks are minimal and the final result is guaranteed. The disadvantages are the high cost of drawing up individual nutrition and training plans, as well as the duration of the course - from 3 months to 2 years.

Independent weight loss

If you plan to organize the weight loss process yourself, at home, you will have to devote a lot of time to preparation. Regardless of gender, age and weight, it is recommended to start with the following steps.

General points

The first is motivation: clearly formulate your goal and determine why you need to lose weight. You can make a selection of photos of when you were thin and what you are now. You can hang your favorite dress in a prominent place, into which you should "fit". Read relevant literature, watch films. There are a huge number of ways to motivate yourself and they should work throughout the months you will be working your body.

The second is a medical examination. You can't go anywhere without it. What this will give you:

  • some diseases cause excess weight and it is not possible to get rid of it without treating the first one;
  • all diets and certain types of exercise have contraindications - with the examination data, you will be sure that this or that nutritional system or exercise will not harm your health.

Keep a weight loss diary: you will write down all your mistakes and achievements, changes in weight and volume.

Find like-minded people: join groups on social media where people share their successes, give advice and support each other. Please contact them if you have any problems.

Prepare your family for the fact that you will lose weight. Ask them for help. Sometimes, if you don't have the courage not to eat before bed, let your husband distract you from this temptation and prevent you from relapsing. Effective, but must be thought of at the beginning of the journey.

Required purchases:

  • scales;
  • kitchen scales;
  • dumbbells.

Think about what caused you to be overweight: inadequate nutrition, excessive eating, sedentary lifestyle, age or an illness. Understand: without eliminating the provoking factor, you cannot lose weight.

Nutrition

Immediately prepare yourself for the fact that the first steps to losing weight may take up to 1 month. Of course, the preparation phase can be shortened to 3-5 days, but in 90% of cases such a start leads to inevitable failure. So be prepared to spend time on this.

Preparing for weight loss includes weighing yourself and cutting daily calories.

Start by calculating your BMI. Determine how many extra pounds you have. Write down three numbers: your ideal weight (the ultimate goal of losing weight) - your actual weight at the moment - the amount of kg you need to lose. Then proceed according to the following plan.

First week

  1. Write down everything you eat during the day and in what quantity.
  2. At night, count the number of calories you consume.
  3. On Sunday, determine the average daily calorie content of your diet.
  4. Using a special formula, calculate how many calories are needed for effective weight loss. Normally for men it varies from 1, 500 to 2, 000 kcal, for women - 1, 200 to 1, 500 kcal.
  5. Calculate the difference between what you consume now and what you earn according to the formula.
  6. Think about which foods or dishes you should reduce your daily calorie intake (food calorie tables will help with this).

Second week

This preparatory stage is the beginning of weight loss, as with proper nutrition you can lose 1 to 2 kg. You need to give up fast food, fried foods, alcoholic and carbonated drinks and limit the consumption of sweet and salty foods.

Third week

  1. Start with a fasting day.
  2. Study the issue of complex and simple carbohydrates. Leave only the first ones in the diet.
  3. Create a menu for the week, reducing your daily calorie intake by 100 kcal. Fulfill it.
  4. Drink at least 1 liter of water per day.

Fourth week

  1. Start with a fasting day.
  2. Remove another 100 kcal from your diet.
  3. Increase the amount of water you drink per day to 1. 5 liters.
  4. Avoid fatty foods: meat, fish, milk (more than 2%).

Remember: this is not weight loss itself, although you will probably already lose a few pounds, but just the preparation for it. It minimizes the stress your body will experience in the coming weeks or months.

In the last, fourth week of preparation, start choosing a diet. We immediately reject the 3-day and one-week express options, which promise a loss of 1 kg in 1 day. Firstly, it is harmful to your health. Secondly, the peso will return with interest after the end of the hunger strike.

If you want to lose weight correctly, choose long-term nutrition systems for weight loss, designed for 1 to 3 months. Mainly these are developments by authors: Montignac, Atkins, Dukan, Liepaja. Carefully study everything related to them, prepare a menu for the first week, look for recipes for dishes and calculate the calorie content.

That's it: nutrition-wise, you're ready to lose weight.

Sport

If you want your weight loss to be truly effective, just organizing your meals won't be enough. The calories you consume also need to be expended. To do this, you will have to increase physical activity and physical activity. But if tomorrow you start training for several hours in the gym, your body will rebel out of habit: the next day you won't be able to get up because of muscle pain. And all because this also requires preparation. Fortunately, there is something to do these 4 weeks while you create your new diet.

Thanks to sports, you can lose extra pounds and gain a slim figure

The training program recommended below is called "From Scratch". It was designed for those who have never exercised, but understand that they will have to do so to lose weight.

First week

  1. Avoid the elevator: 5 to 6 floors must be covered daily.
  2. When working sedentary, get up for 5 minutes every hour and warm up: walk, stretch.
  3. Walk for at least half an hour at night.

Second week

  1. Find an easy set of 10-minute morning exercises that should invigorate and improve your mood, not drain you. Do this daily.
  2. Learn several breathing exercises (qigong, bodyflex, oxysize), try to master one of them.
  3. Increase the time of your evening walk to 40 minutes.

Third week

  1. Include 2-3 new, more complex exercises in your morning workouts.
  2. Continue to improve proper breathing.
  3. Walk for 50 minutes at night.

Fourth week

  1. Morning exercises should last 15 minutes.
  2. Then walk (Finnish, sports) for half an hour at a brisk pace.
  3. Night walks are extended by one hour.
  4. Make a training plan.

If you start losing weight by implementing this plan, your body will be fully prepared for new physical activities. The correction in value will occur much more intensely and with minimal losses. Sure, the muscles will hurt at first, but not that much.

When creating a training plan, remember that the benefits of intervals are much greater. And don't exhaust yourself every day: muscle fibers need time to recover, so every other day is the most convenient time.

Consider the question of where classes will take place. A gym membership is a financial hit, but it's worth it. Professional simulators will be at your disposal and you can always ask the trainer for advice. Or group fitness classes - it's captivating and won't let you fall apart.

Buying nice sportswear is also a kind of motivation. And when you buy it, think that in 2-3 months you will replace it with things 1-2 sizes smaller.

Recommendations for special cases

The right start to losing weight is 50% of the success of your plan. However, the above plans must be adjusted taking into account the individual characteristics of each person. Therefore, some tips for special categories of the population will help organize the entire process more correctly.

Women over 35

At this age, the body gradually begins to age and adjust to menopause. The metabolism slows down, few people are ready to go in for sports. So, even the owners of the most slender figures begin to get confused. The belly grows, the butt expands, the breasts increase in volume and fall a little.

In addition to the nutrition and training programs proposed above, there is a special step-by-step system for women from 35-40 years of age who do not want to bear excess weight.

  1. If you can stop going to the doctor before the age of 35, at that age it is mandatory before losing weight. Perhaps he will suggest the most suitable weight loss methods for you.
  2. Start taking special vitamins.
  3. High-protein, low-fat, low-carb diets are not for you. Choose the most balanced nutritional system with a daily intake of at least 1, 500 kcal.
  4. There is no need for strength exercises at this age, but you cannot completely exclude them from your training plan. When compiling it, focus on cardiovascular exercises, but don't forget about dumbbells.
  5. Replace your morning run with sports or Finnish walking.
  6. Dancing is, of course, good. But, when planning to lose weight at this age, still opt for swimming.

And the most important advice for an older woman who is starting to lose weight: get a medical exam every 3 months. Any changes in the body during the pre-menopause period are important.

Men with beer bellies

Deciding to lose weight for a man with a belly is a real feat. Diets are common for women, but they are not prepared for dietary restrictions. What is it like to refuse a can of beer in the evening with salted fish, not to sit in the bathhouse with friends on the weekend?

A man with a beer belly can set a goal and lose weight

However, the process will have to start with this:

  1. There is no need to look for a diet - just remove alcoholic and carbonated drinks, fast food and snacks from your diet.
  2. Daily calorie intake should be reduced to 2, 000 kcal. Usually men don't like to sit with these formulas and tables, so it's better to ask your wife, sister or mother for help.
  3. Give preference to protein and low-fat foods.
  4. Be sure to include morning running in your training plan.
  5. Choose abdominal exercises.
  6. Alternate strength and cardio exercises.

For a man whose goal is to lose weight, the main thing is to start. They get involved in the process itself much more quickly, without allowing themselves to indulge, as women like to do. Don't put your plans on hold. If the four-week preparation described above is too long a journey for you, start as early as tomorrow so as not to drag it out for months, during which your beer belly will only grow.

Age after 50

The most dangerous and difficult thing for men and women is to lose weight after the age of 50-60, when the body is worn out and its organs no longer work at full capacity. It is age that often becomes the main reason for impaired metabolism, which is why you gain extra pounds.

Here you should definitely start with a visit to the doctor - it is categorically not recommended to develop plans on your own. After all, any restriction in the intake of fats or carbohydrates can worsen your health. 10 extra minutes of sports result in shortness of breath and tachycardia. An incorrectly performed exercise can result in joint pain or even injury.

Therefore, the decision to lose weight after age 50 must necessarily be agreed with experts, without dubious initiatives or experiences.

How much weight do you need to lose?

If you need to lose 10kg, simply follow the four-week training program detailed above. With it you can lose 3 to 4 kg per month. Once you implement it, you don't even need to diet - just continue following the nutritional recommendations during the 4th week and do 40-minute workouts every other day. The main thing is to start well, and then the need for hunger strikes will disappear by itself.

Another question is if you initially have a very large weight (more than 100 kg). Here the preparation phase also plays an important role. If you immediately start with an express weight loss minus 10 kg per week, in the end, even if you manage to lose kilos, it will affect your health, and the skin will hang in folds because it does not have time to shrink. What is important for you is a gentle, gradual introduction to any diet and slow weight loss (1-2 kg per week). But then you will save on plastic surgery.

The start of any business accounts for 50% of its successful completion. Losing weight is no exception. If you are motivated to go all the way, don't dive in head first: the dive should be slow and gradual. This is the only way to get results.