Weight-loss is no easy task. There are a few things to keep in mind when losing those first couple of pounds. These steps include your diet, exercise, and consistency. Without these three components, it will be difficult to see progress.
The first step would be to figure out your diet. If you are not eating the greatest types of food, you won't be seeing the best results possible. Before starting my weight-loss journey, my diet was terrible. I ate whatever I wanted. This would usually include a lot of sugary drinks, high calorie snacks, and lots of fast food. None of these things are terrible for you in moderation, but I definitely was not considering moderation. Some foods to focus on would be chicken breast, turkey, beef, steak, your favorite veggies, and your choice of carbs. These carbs can include sweet potatoes, red potatoes, jasmine, brown, or wild rice. These are just some general food ideas to help get you started. To help spice your meals up and keep your calories lower, check out these recipes!
Next would be to figure out your calorie intake and macros. If you are not familiar with what macros are, you can read more about them here. Macros are nutrients that consist of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. To truly eat in a caloric deficit, you must first know what your maintenance calories are. These are the calories that your body burns during normal everyday functions, also known as TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). To figure out your TDEE, go here. When you have your maintenance calories, you will need to set up your daily macros. Head over to our macro calculator to get your protein, fat, and carbohydrate daily intake! Once you have those numbers, I recommend reading our blog about keeping track of your macros and how to use them.
Now that you have your maintenance calories and macro intake set up, let's focus on exercise. Hitting the gym or running is not necessary to lose weight. In fact, you can lose weight by just changing your diet up and eating less. Exercising will just help speed up the process! One of the first things I did when starting to lose weight was to find a good exercise routine. This will help keep you consistent, building muscle, and burning fat, depending on your goals. You can find a routine anywhere really. For me, I was looking to build muscle, and so I searched Google for "Muscle Building Workout Routine" and picked out which program fit me best! In time you will learn which movements you like best and can customize your own program.
Once you figure out which meals you want for the week, your macros (and what to do with them), and a workout routine to keep you consistent, you are on your way for success! I will warn you though, the first couple of weeks will be rough. You will want to eat the entire pantry and you will be super sore, but as long as you stay with it, the results will follow!