A major problem one faces is changing their lifestyle. The reason is we want something quickly but the truth is, a change never comes in seconds. Lifestyle modification means altering long-term habits and maintaining new behaviour for months or years (nature). Thus, to achieve something, consistency is the key.
Obesity is a disease in which excess fats accumulate in body causing weight gain. Today, obese people have diverted their minds and don’t even try to put effort for weight loss. They have accepted themselves the way they are. Here, one cannot deny that improving lifestyle and following new habits is hard but declaring something as tough doesn’t mean it is impossible to attain. In this blog, I will provide tips and techniques to make your fitness goal a reality.
Types of Lifestyle Modifications
This includes exercise and diet.
1. Exercise
A daily physical activity is needed to burn those extra fats. Generally, exercise is thought only to involve dumb bells, treadmill and various other machines on which you have to spend hours in order to lose your weight. This perception is actually wrong, these things do help you but they are also not necessary. A simple walk, jogging, cardio, and some strength training such as pushups, squats; that only involve your body weight, is all you need. For better results, follow them until you start sweating, this is a sign of burning of fats.
There are bed exercises, for which, you only need to lie on your bed and move your body. They can transform you.
2. Diet
To lose weight, you must not starve. Even if you are obese, you need to fuel yourself for work or chores. However, you don’t know what to eat and in which quantity you need each nutrient. For this you need a portioned meal, containing carbohydrates (less), fats (unsaturated fats), proteins, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Taking five meals a day, keeps you full and don’t make you crave for more. Water intake is an integral part of diet. Drinking eight glasses of warm water in a day, is best in increasing your metabolism or digestion.
How to achieve?
We have seen that exercise and diet are the modifications you need. Now let’s jump on how to achieve them.
1. Diary or Journal
Grab a diary or a journal in which you will write and keep record of your progress. On a page make a table with two columns. Write chest, arms, abdomen, waist, hips, upper thighs and weight in one column. After that, measure each body part mentioned with the help of measuring tape and write the measurement in front of each part. Measure your eight using weighing machine and record. Write date and day on which you measured.
This template will give a clear overview of your current condition. Maintaining this habit of writing every month, will show you where have you reached, which part needs most working and if there are no changes in previous and current data, what should you do next? To motivate yourself, add good and positive quotes in your diary.
2. Goals or Aims
You must be honest to yourself about what do you want. Goals are the future vision you want to see. For example; “how much weight I want to reduce in a month” is your goal. I would highly recommend you to make small goals as they are achievable. There should be three goals for a month. Then, to attain them, make weekly goals, in which you will decide what you have to do in a week. Weekly goals should be small as well.
3. Objectives
Following the formation of your goals, you need to make objectives and set criteria. Write in your journal, what you have to do on daily basis like doing cardio exercise on Monday, strength training for arms on Tuesday and cheat day with rest on Sunday, so on. Keep this thing in mind that your daily goals must be small, for even in your busy schedule, you can take out time.
Criteria means how much change you want to see. Such as, reducing 0.5kg weight in a week is the criteria you have set. If you don’t like to write your daily tasks in your journal as you cannot open and see it over and over again, use sticky notes instead. Write your daily goals on colourful notes and stick them on any place where you can see them continuously. This will remind you every time your eyes go on that note.
4. Reminders or Alarms
Another way to remind yourself is to keep reminders on your phone. Set date, time and, your goal on your phone depending on when you want to complete that task in that day. Thus, whenever its time for you to do a particular task, your phone will beep or notifies you.
5. Habits
You will agree with me that all the above mentioned tips will work when they become a habit. Habits are not formed rapidly for you have to work. At start, if you’ll work or exercise for an hour, surely you get demotivated to do that the other day. Simply, follow a 5 minute rule, involving an activity to be done for 5 minutes a day. After two or three days, increase the time to 10 minutes, then to 15 minutes and so on, till you reach a specific time period, which you can give for physical activity.
Don’t forget to give breaks and rests in between workout. Initially, take 20 seconds of rest and gradually decrease your rest time. All these things will build your stamina, challenge you and keeps you motivated. Positive self-talk is essential like “I can do it”. It brings out confidence as you need it the most.
Before concluding the blog, I would like to inform you about this written piece that these words and sentences can pave a way for you to achieve your desires, only when you will alter your mindset. Thus, say ‘No’ to negative thoughts and start doing what’s best for you.
