Question: I have a problem with weight issues. I have fat legs and arm and belly fat too. I really want to work on removing this because I believe that it can be a boost to my self-confidence. However, despite exercising and dieting, it doesn’t seem to be making much improvement.
However, I understand that this could be due to my extreme impatience and I don’t know what I can do to stop this quick weight loss mindset.
I only have time to work out at night, and I have been jogging on the spot for one hour every day. Is this effective? Is there any way I can change this to make it more effective?
Solution:
Thank you very much for sharing your question with myself and the readers of this site!
First, I want to talk about your quick weight loss mindset. A positive attitude is everything when it comes to losing weight. I understand that we all want to solve our problems quickly. It seems so much easier knowing that our efforts will pay off by next week.
However, our bodies need some time to burn fat. As effective as exercise and eating well may be on burning excess calories, it cannot help you shed a significant amount of weight in such a short period of time.
In order to combat this, I strongly suggest that you keep a workout journal. Write all the small achievements that you have attained in it.
You might have lost one pound this week, write that down and date it. You might have resisted the urge to eat two slices of cake and chose to only have one, go ahead and pen it down.
Writing small achievements like this can go a long way in reminding you that weight loss can be achieved, if you move forward by taking small baby steps. Also, whenever you feel demoralized, you can take a look at your workout journal and look at your progress!
Take a look at some pointers I share in having a strong motivation to exercise. The tips might seem simple, but if you really follow it through, you’d notice a great deal of difference when you work out.
If these tips don’t help, think back to a time when you had a problem in your life. It could be minor like a quarrel with a close friend, or something more major like severe financial crisis. Ask yourself how long did it take for you to solve that problem. I’m sure that it didn’t happen overnight.
The same goes for weight loss. You need to keep at it and work hard, only then will you see results.
On the topic of weight loss, I hope that your main goal is to lose weight to feel better, and not because you have poor self-esteem.
Eating well is the first thing that you must do in order to lose weight. It does not mean starving yourself. However, you should be sure to have meals that are rich in protein, fibre and drink plenty of plain water.
You also need to have healthy carbohydrates in your meals for energy. Stay away from sweet foods and avoid oily foods as these will definitely threaten to put on additional calories.
If time allows, do try to break up your meals into smaller ones spread throughout the day. Suppose you usually have three meals a day, strive to have five or better six! It might be tedious at first, but it will pay off.
Take a look at healthy breakfast recipes for some tips on how to prepare a healthy breakfast, that can be prepared for other meals in the day too!
As for exercise, jogging on the spot can be wonderful for losing weight, but, you might get bored. So I suggest experimenting with other forms of exercise as well! You could try jogging around your neighbourhood or cycling perhaps.
You might even want to try taking up a sport like tennis or swimming as this can spice up your workouts and also keep you healthy and burn unwanted calories from your body.
Understand that this will take some time, and you will achieve your goal in a few weeks or months, depending on how you work out, whether you consciously eat properly and so on. Most importantly, never give up.
I hope this helps!