After the holidays, most of us start the new year with a goal in mind: I need to start a diet! Christmas and New years and usually times to celebrate, so who among us can say they’ve eaten a little too much?
Remember that losing those extra pounds isn’t just important so you’ll get a nices figure. What you should keep in mind is to also improve your health. Talk to your doctor before starting a new meal plan. This way you’ll be also get more motivated as you’ll know you’re in the right track.
Here are a few steps you should follow, before starting your diet.
1. Set goals – it’s important that you set realistic goals, both short and long term. This will give you the strength to keep on track, especially in those days when you feel that you are falling short. You can start by thinking how much you’ll actually need to lose in order to feel good about yourself. Then, break that goal into weekly ones, and take it one step at a time.
2. Commit your plan – besides setting goals on your mind, you should find a way to make you commit to them. Consider talking to the people who are close to you, and ask them to help you monitor your progress.
3. Set up a diet journal – weight loss is all about calories. If you’re starting a diet to lose weight, then you need to keep track of them. Your goal should be to spend more calories than those you ingest, thus creating a calorie deficit. Nowadays there are several mobile applications to help you do this.
4. Manage your energy balance – if you’re doing it correctly, then you are also incorporating exercise into your diet plan. If so, you need to figure out your energy balance, so you’ll know how many calories you need to ingest.
