Sooner or later, that first 80-degree day of the year is going to come along and that’s going to give way to the eager anticipation of summer. That’s also a point in the season when we become more keenly aware of our bodies. That charged feeling of anxiety over how we’re going to look in our swimsuits this season can become palpable at times, and our common response is to rapidly embark on some crash diet or workout regimen that we found online promising to quickly get us some measurable results in weight loss.
If a little bit of weight loss will suppress those levels of anxiety and help you to feel more confident sauntering around the beach in that bathing suit this year, you’re probably wondering what’s the best strategy for shedding those unwanted pounds. For most of us, that’s a combination of changing our eating habits and logging more time in the gym which, as you can probably guess, increases our chances of losing weight faster.
With those goals in mind, we share a few of the marquee strategies that have worked for many people who want to lose some of that winter body fat before the sizzle of summer arrives.
Adopt the Right Mindset!
Let’s look at our minds first. For years we’ve let social media have a lot of influence over us in terms of what we think we need to look like in order to declare ourselves successful, happy, and worthy of love.
Is it any wonder why society has so much anxiety about physical appearances?
Stop consulting social media as if it’s an oracle and explore what body positivity means to you. Everyone in our society deserves to have a body image that is positive, no matter what social media and popular culture is presently promoting as the “ideal” physical appearance.
Take steps to build a healthier narrative around your physical appearance. One way that this can be achieved is by simply creating a list of positive affirmations that you keep written on a note card on your nightstand to read each night before going to sleep. Trust me! Affirmations can be remarkably effective.
Here’s a few examples:
I am naturally slim
I believe in my ability to lose weight and keep it off
I deserve to have an attractive body
The instant any negative thoughts about your physical appearance creep into your mind (which will happen), counter them with your affirmations. Remember, social media should be a resource for motivation, inspiration, and connection. If you feel miserable about yourself every time you close a social media app, it may be time to chuck the habit.
Don’t Focus Exclusively on the Scale
When all is said and done, how you feel in your own skin is paramount and if weight loss is your goal, that’s a process that must occur over a certain length of time. One of the best ways of making progress during this length of time is to put less emphasis on that wildly fluctuating number that shows up on your scale as your sole indicator of progress. When you’re making day-to-day lifestyle choices that are based on a dynamic number, you will find it difficult to be consistent with anything in your life.
Find the Right Workout
If you are definitively not enjoying your workouts, the odds are already stacked against if you hope to achieve any level of measurable progress. Exercise doesn’t require doing something every day that you find loathsome, unenjoyable, and, worst of all, unfulfilling. There are myriad options available to us in terms of finding the right type of workouts for our lifestyles from personal trainers to online yoga classes to cardio-kickboxing. Our bodies are all unique and we respond to certain workouts in our own unique way. It doesn’t matter what your fitness goals are or how hard you want to work out, there's an exercise regime out there that will work for you.
Hire a Fitness Professional
From New York to London: Society is discovering that they can get on the fast track to rapid weight loss and better fitness by finally hiring a personal trainer (PT) or certified fitness professional. Hiring a fitness professional is obviously going to cost a few bucks, but one of the reasons for the booming popularity of PTs is the expertise they bring to the table in helping their clients avoid common obstacles that often impede our progress and their skill in designing a workout regime that’s specifically tailored to the unique lifestyles of their clients.
One PT from Canary Wharf (London) told me that newer clients were coming to her with very specific goals - “just tell me what I need to do to lose 10 lbs. in the next 8 weeks!” is not an uncommon request this time of the year she said. PTs are helping their clients achieve these results by evaluating what kind of exercise activities their clients enjoy and then using that information to design a workout regime that’s fitted to those activities. Their instilling a sense of confidence in their clients that they’re doing all they can do to reach their fitness goals.
Plus, there’s much to be said for not having to rely entirely on your own willpower to soldier through a workout and there’s that element of accountability when you’ve committed to a session with a personal trainer.
Get Enough Sleep!
Isn’t it amazing how society can become so laser focused on losing weight that they forget the real foundations of well-being, like remembering to get enough sleep. It’s a crucial component of living a healthy lifestyle, and it’s also verifiably effective for losing weight. I know it’s hard for most to believe, but there is scientific evidence that shows a direct link between getting adequate sleep and losing weight.
7 to 9 hours of sleep is the goal, but many of us aren’t getting the proper amount of sleep. Just remember that weight loss maintained with proper exercise is a key to improving our sleeping habits.