I was wondering this as I'm feeling like I'm running to stand still at the moment. My inner critic (Fat Bint) is telling me I'm not doing enough and that I'm losing weight too slowly. So I googled the question above and after I weeded out the "lose weight fast" and "How to lose 6 stone in 3 weeks" rubbish, I discovered that really I knew how the process of losing weight works. In a nutshell, there is no magic diet. Basically, it boils down to hard work, supported by discipline and having goals.
1. Make a commitment
Permanent weight loss takes time and effort - its not rocket science. But I need to keep telling myself this all the piggin time as I've fallen into the trap of wanting the weight loss over night. However, I'm in this for the long term and I'm seeing great results.
2. Get emotional support
One of the things we as humans need is reassurance that we are doing well, confirmation from others that we are getting it right, weight loss, stopping smoking, learning a new skill. So thank god I have BB and BF!!
3. Set a realistic goal
I understand the maths -To lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a low-calorie diet and regular exercise. I get that, but setting a gaol for me has been hard. The one I initially set has gone and been achieved, however I've spent weeks picking another one!!
I'm trying to make sure my goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and track-able. An example of a SMART goal is aiming to walk for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and WRITING IT DOWN!! So I have chosen my goal to be 1 stone lighter by 23rd May which is when I'm doing my 1st race for life run this year.
4. Enjoy healthier foods
Decreasing calories doesn't mean giving up taste! I enjoy cooking but I sometimes struggle to think out of the box. However the salad, rice and scrambled egg I had the other day was very tasty thank you very much!! We used to get take away curry every Saturday, then to cut cost we started to buy the ready meal packs from the supermarket. Then one day, when I was really strap for cash, I made it myself from a jar - It was plate licking tastic. I now make them from the spice box instead and have mastered steaming rice and making paratha bread too!!
5. Get active, stay active
I can't scream this loud enough, add a 45- to 60-minute brisk walk four days a week, and you can double your rate of weight loss.
If you can't manage that remember this, one of the best ways to lose body fat is through steady aerobic exercise — such as walking — for more than 30 minutes most days of the week. Park further from the shop/work. Walk the kids to school, turn the TV on an hour later than you usually do and dance or run up and down the stairs or mop the floor, meet up with friends in the park and go for a walk together. Just move your arse!
I started with 40 min walks a couple of nights a week, this progressed to 3-4 nights and then in July I bought Roger, my treadmill. I walked on him then eventually ran. Then I started doing simple hand weights and that's it, nothing more or less than doing something every day and the really weird thing is, the healthy eating side of it has just happened because instead of obsessing about when I'm eating next, I'm thinking about when I'm walking next!!
6. Change your lifestyle
I have an occasional setback, usually a piece of bread that's been calling me so loud that I have to kill it by eating it! But instead of giving up entirely, I start fresh the next day.
I've figured out I'm an emotional eater and start to sabotage myself by talking myself into grabbing the bread. I think I'm possessed by a 45 stone woman, Fat Bint, who sits and waits for me to feel stressed or worried. Then she starts to work on me, whispering encouragement "go on, eat it, you can work it off with a run or build it into the rest of your meals" or she'll try to convince me its only a tiny bit of bread, not like I'm eating the whole loaf and I've done so well this week, I deserve a treat.
Sometimes the bint wins and other times I take her fat ass for a long walk and make her drink water and try to pee her out. Then I go upstairs and look in my wardrobe and see all my size 16/18 clothes and try to remember what being 22/24 was like. Or I check out my measurment stats and measure myself again just to re affirm.
Remember that you're planning to change your life. It won't happen all at once, but stick to your healthy lifestyle and the results will be worth it.