8 Weight Loss Tips: From One Average Person To Another

I’ve been doing a lot of research online about weight loss and I’ve come to realize, that a lot of the information out there isn’t doable or realistic for the average person.  Those of us, who are out of shape, that want to get into shape can get easily discouraged when taking advice from the experts that don’t take into account that we are “average.”  We live an average life, make average money, live on an average budget, & must work with what we have.
It’s hard to weed through all the information out there. If you started now, 10 yrs down the road, you will still be weeding out the information.  It’s a never ending stream of advice.  What I’ve noticed about losing or maintaining your weight, is all about finding the proper equation that fits you.
Below are some tips that I have found that helps with weight loss.  By in no means am I an expert, I’m just an average Joe sharing tips that could make it easier for you to lose weight.  Any of these tips could help anyone, no matter where you are.

Tip #1- Don’t Expect Results overnight or even in a few weeks
I knew this but when a few friends just dropped their weight, I assumed it would for me too.  But that’s unfortunately not the story.  It not only takes time but it take a lot of effort.  This journey has def opened my eyes to the whole weight loss world & the struggles people have.

Tip #2- Know what your BMR is 
This is something my husband introduced me to recently.  BMR or Basal Metabolic rate is ” The amount of energy (in the form of calories) that the body needs to function while resting for 24 hours.  This number of calories reflects how much energy your body requires to support vital body functions if, hypothetically, you were resting in bed for an entire day.”  taken from Daily Burn.  Click on the link to read more about this.  And this site has a BMR calculator you can use to figure your calories out.

Tip #3- Use a calorie counter till you can do it on your own  
I’ve been using My Fitness pal app for a little bit but now I’m able to do calculate my food better without the app.  Just like with anything, the more you use it, the easier it will be figuring your calories & what type of foods are best for you.  One of the things I love about this app is how they break down your foods into different categories like fats, carbs, protein, & other nutrients.  And when you sign up, you get an email a few times a week with food ideas, recipes, exercises & more.

Tip #4- Not eating enough calories will stunt your metabolism & slow your weight loss
Most diets I’ve read about over the last few months, always used 1200 calories as there go to for losing weight.  So, I just assumed that’s what I had to do.  But it wasn’t helping me to lose weight, I just stayed at the same weight.  And I was always hungry.  After my husband told me about the BMR and proper amount of calories my body needs (which is 1623 but I aim for 1600), my hunger went away.  In fact, the last few days, I’ve had a hard time getting enough food into my body.  I do feel much better when I did switch.  The reason behind knowing how much calories your body needs & feeding it healthy foods is because if you are way under your calorie intake, you will end up slowing your metabolism down because your body will think it’s in starvation mode.  To read more about this click here Women’s Health

Tip#5- Don’t be embarrassed by your lack of progress or hitting a plateau  
This plagued me for almost a year.  I went from 148lbs. to 230lbs due to my medicines.  Then once I took myself off my meds, I dropped 32lbs. & hit 198.  There I stayed for yr.  No matter what I did, I couldn’t lose or gain.   It was ever so frustrating, embarrassing, & depressing.  Once I got over myself & how I was feeling, I began to make a plan which includes a gym a few times a week, walking as much as I can, eating better, & learning to love my body where I am now.  Once I started doing these regularly, I started losing weight, a little at a time.

Tip #6- One healthy condiment makes all the difference
I hate the taste of chicken.  Ever since I got food poisioning years ago, it grosses me out.  But it’s such a great food to eat so instead of cutting it out completely, I cover it in green salsa.  That is my go to condiment.  Find something you love, that isn’t full of sugar & other crap & use it as often as possible.  I use it on chicken, rice, beans, & eggs.  Plus, it adds a little more flavoring.

Tip #7- Get an encouragement buddy
I can’t stress enough how important this is.  If you don’t have anyone cheering you on, going the a similar journey, or supporting you, it will be hard to motivate yourself.  Having just one person in your corner, does make all the difference.  And it’s always fun to have company along the way.  Don’t have an encouragement buddy, look online.  There are so many different communities you could join.  Or even hit me up, I’m always looking for new buddies to help motivate me & encourage them.

Tip #8- You won’t lose weight till you’re really serious about it……..Whether you lose  or keep the weight on is all about your mental state & where you are in this moment
For me that year that I hit the plateau, I really wasn’t ready to commit myself to losing weight.  I wanted to but I didn’t want to do the work.  So I spent that year sabotaging myself.  It wasn’t till I quit drinking soda & caffeine that I was ready.  Once I did that huge step, I knew I was ready to work hard & get some of this weight off.  I might not be able to get where I want to be ideally, but I know I’ll be able to lose some & I’m ok with that.

Any advice or things that have worked
for you?

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