So I decided to start it in my own way, after lots of people recommended it, I downloaded the My Fitness Pal app on my phone and got started. It isn't a weight loss plan, it doesn't tell you what you can and can't eat, but what it does do is takes into account your activity level, your height and your current weight and asks you for your weight goal, it will then calculate the amount of calories, fat, protein, sugar, protein, salt etc required each day to achieve your weight loss goal.
I set my weight loss goal of 2lbs per week as I had a holiday I wanted to slim down for, but you can set it at what works best for you! Sure enough, over the whole course my journey, I indeed lost 2lbs per week exactly! It taught me how to portion control, and to really think about what I was putting in my body.
The journey isn't always fun, and you have to be away these things take time, but when you first stand on those scales and you've lost even half a pound, you've done that hardest part which is getting started. Below I have come up with a few tips to stick to your new diet, hopefully you will find them useful, they are all things I used and hope they make things easier for you too!
"Every day you stick with it, is another day closer to the body you want"
Set a Date Contrary to what every other website out there seems to say, I think that setting a specific date to start your diet works more effectively than just suddenly deciding in that moment to do it, if you have a meal out/holiday planned that is coming up then use that as your final time of eating what you want, enjoy it knowing you will be starting your new healthier lifestyle the very next day, it gives you time to get all the cravings out of your system, so you're starting out not missing out on anything. I find when I eat a big meal out or a takeaway, I feel pretty crap afterwards and swear I'm not going to do it again for ages, which is the perfect time for you then to start, keep in mind how you felt after you ate and remind yourself it's not worth it now. Be realistic You've been used to eating bigger portions and amounts for a while so don't expect to wake up the next morning and suddenly be full up on a fruit salad, yes it's healthy but you need to add something a little more robust to get you through breakfast. It's not going to be easy to start with, you will probably feel hungry but it will fade after a while! Also don't expect to lose the weight super quick, it takes time, if you start off losing at a good pace then find yourself at a plateau, don't give up, it doesn't mean you won't lose anymore, it's just your body regulating itself and getting used to less calories, keep going! Plan This is what got me through the week, a meal plan, knowing what you're going to eat for the week will help prevent you from ordering a takeaway, you don't need to slave away in the kitchen all evening to cook a healthy nutricious meal, pasta, stir fry's and jacket potatoes are 3 great meals you can really vary up and take up to 15 mins to make, easy and yummy! I will be posting up recipes of some of my favorite meals that helped us to lose weight very soon so keep an eye out :). I could also freeze certain meals and simply defrost and cook for a delicious meal again! Treat Day I think this is really important, it really helped me stay on track and gave me something to look forward to as well, just one meal a month to eat whatever you want, depending on what works for you and your family, set a day in the month where you have a takeaway or something naughty for dinner, for me I literally eat loads, the first treat meal we had we ordered a Domino's for Ben's birthday, I had half a large pizza, half the garlic bread, chicken strippers, wedges and 2 doughnuts! It was amazing and I think the important thing is DO NOT FEEL GUILTY, you will not undo all your hard work, in fact what Ben and I both found was we actually got past that little plateau stage and the next weeks weigh in we both still lost weight!
Exercise
Ugh I know, when i used to read that on other people's tips I would feel a little defeated, Im not one to exercise, I hate it, but I made myself do just a little every day, you don't need to join a gym, nor do you need to buy those exercise DVD's, if you saw a previous weight loss post of mine, you can read exactly what I did! I loved how much more toned my body was becoming, I finally have a waist again, my hips are smaller and things don't 'wobble' any where near as much anymore! And I haven't actually exercised in a few weeks and still lost a little, although now my aim is to maintain! :)x
