Are you looking for a way to start your weight loss, like maybe get a head start?
There are actually several ways you can get started.
And guess what, none of these that I’m going to mention have anything to do with exercise.
They are small steps that you can start today that will ultimately help you succeed in your weight loss journey.
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Start Your Weight Loss
Water
Start drinking more water!
For many of us, we don’t drink as much as we really should.
The typical suggestion is 8 8 oz. per day, so 64 oz a day.
If you think about that, it should be really easy.
About one little drink every hour you’re awake and you’d easily get that in.
Now coffee and, of course, tea count but soda does not.
If you don’t like the taste of plain water then try adding some low-calorie drink mixes.
Or, you could even try just dropping in some fruit or vegetables to subtly flavor your water.
The eventual goal is to drink half your body weight in ounces.
Say you weigh 200 pounds then you want to work your way up to 100 oz. a day, etc.
I personally have a 32 oz. water bottle that I carry with me all the time.
I know that if I can drink through about three (3) bottles worth of water then I’ve gotten in my water for the day.
Sleep
This one’s a hard one, I know but it is important.
Try to get more sleep.
Lack of sleep can lead you to feel more stressed which will affect how well your body will lose weight.
I will use chamomile tea to help me fall asleep.
Usually, I start feeling sleeping within about 30 minutes.
Now, I’ll be honest, it doesn’t always work, but that’s probably because I start playing on my cellphone or start thinking too much!
So, besides the tea, doing things that help you calm down and relax before bed is key.
We all know the things, right?
Put away the phone, lower any other lights, read, meditate, etc.
Find what things work for you.
And it may be different things at different times.
For me, sometimes just appreciating how comfortable the bed is and how thankful I am to be lying down and resting is enough to help me fall asleep!
Fiber
O.k., I’ll be honest.
Before this current weight loss journey I never really focused on or even thought of my fiber intake.
For my weight loss or even just my health in general.
Now I realize how important it is.
First of all, because I’ve been tracking my food intake, I know that there are many days when I don’t come close to getting in enough fiber.
Why does this matter?
Because if you’re not going to the bathroom regularly or well, that will affect your weight loss.
In other words, if your body is holding all of that in, you will naturally weigh more.
That, of course, won’t be your true weight which is where fiber comes in.
Making sure you’re getting at least the minimum of 20-25 grams of fiber a day will really help expel that extra weight and give you a better understanding of your true weight.
I will occasionally use a fiber powder to help supplement what I’m getting in by eating.
Otherwise, I have two other magic foods!
My protein bars from Costco and some carb balance tortillas.
When I have both of these during my day I know I’m getting in a good amount of fiber.
Maintenance Calories
That’s just a fancy way to say, knowing how many calories you’re eating each week and staying the same weight.
Why is it important to know this?
Well, it’ll help you figure out just how much you’ll need to cut from your calories to be in an effective deficit.
So let’s say you’re eating at around 1200 calories a day and maintaining your weight.
You’ll need to cut about 500 calories to see 1 pound of weight loss for one week’s worth of work.
That means only eating about 700 per day for a whole week.
I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sound fun, enjoyable, let alone doable for more than 1 week!
Needless to say, you then would need to consider doing a reverse diet.
Reverse Diet
The basics: you’d add about 50 extra calories for one week.
Meaning, if you were eating at 1200 calories, the next week you’d eat at 1250 each day for a week.
Then the next week you’d go up another 50, so 1300 each day for the week, etc.
You’d keep doing this until you get to a calorie range that when you cut 500 calories from it it’s still doable.
Another part of the process though is to keep your protein high during this time.
You’ll want to be eating your body weight in grams of protein, or at least your goal weight in grams.
For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds you’ll want to shoot for 200 grams of protein per day.
This was too much for me so then I started shooting for my goal weight, somewhere between 120 and 140 grams per day.
I know that probably even sounds like too much, depending on how much you’re currently eating but with a few tweaks it actually pretty easy to do.
Related Post: Best Protein Sources
Protein
So, as I’ve already mentioned above, protein is a huge key to start your weight loss.
Eating the extra protein will help your body maintain and grow the muscles you’ll be working out.
Start adding in protein in every meal and before you know it you’ll be so used to doing it that by the time you really start your weight loss journey you’ll already be ahead of the game.
And that’s the whole point of this post!
Giving you suggestions on ways to start your weight loss journey.