3 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

When we think about doctors, we establish an immediate association with health.

For 9 years of my life, I concentrated on putting the ‘Dr.’ in front of my name. During this time, I became the heaviest and unhealthiest version of myself. The high stress levels, intense workload, and long hours completely robbed me of the ability to look after my own health, and I started to resemble what I can only describe as putty.

This downturn in my personal health was part of why I eventually decided to change my job route, as my physical health concerns were contributing to my mental health struggles.

But enough about me. As a doctor, I know a thing or two about health and weight loss. And as someone who lives a hectic and busy life, I know a thing or two about losing weight after acquiring loads of it.

I’m going to break it down into 3 basic things to focus on. These things are doable, sustainable, and altered my life over a one-year period.

1. Meals

You have heard it a thousand times: nutrition is the most crucial component of losing weight.

But dieting is also the first place we all fall off the wagon. I avoided 'dieting,' and especially fad diets for weight loss. And sure, I include keto in this. I focused instead on eating balanced meals.

What to do: Have balanced meals

Carbohydrates, protein, and lipids in each meal. Make a list of the complex carbs you should be eating. Another criterion is to seek the glycemic index (GI) of each carb and eat those that are below 55. Proteins should be primarily lean. Fats should be healthy fats like almonds and avocados.

What not to do: avoid these weight loss killers 80% of the time.

Things on the no-no list:

Simple carbs having a higher glycemic index. Avoid baked products. 6 days of the week. This includes bread (with the exception of sourdough).

No processed meats and ready meals.

Avoid trans fats by avoiding takeaways, fried foods, and (again) pastries.

2. Movement

Exercising daily is one of the most important things you can do for your physical and mental wellbeing.

Now, I realize most of us identify as slugs and couch potatoes in the Netflix era, so I will focus on keeping this piece, again, practical and sustainable. Let’s focus on 2 sorts of movement practices for you to focus on: exercise and activities of daily living.

Activities of daily living

When I was practicing medicine, we considered your capacity to do your activities of daily living as a measure of your quality of life. If you can still tie your own shoelaces and clean your own bum, you still have a reasonable bit of independence and quality of life maintained.

What you do with that time, my friend, is up to you. The world is your oyster!

But back to daily activities. All movement counts towards you being more active on a daily basis. Sweep your floors, play with your children, and go for a walk around the block with your partner. Take the stairs, park further away from the entrance, carry your groceries.

These easy actions keep you not only active but also capable of sustaining your independence into the future.

Activities scheduled as actual workouts.

Minimum 30 minutes each day. These are the types of exercises to get done weekly:

Cardiovascular: 2x per week. Run, cycle, row, or just dance like nobody’s watching. Get your heart rate up and keep it up for a bit.

Interval training: 2x each week. High-intensity interval training is the most helpful exercise method for burning fat in the shortest length of time.

Strength training: 3x per week. Lift something other than your unique physique to enhance your metabolism and start appearing like something like a genuine shape.

3. The mental game

Where the mind goes, the body follows.

The mind is incredibly powerful. How do you harness this power to assure your weight reduction success?

Stress Reduction

Stress induces weight gain. And the type of weight you build up as a result is bloody resilient by nature.

Work an hour less, try some breathing exercises or meditation, and spend that time exercising. We live very hectic and fast-paced lifestyles. Learn to slow down, and your body will start suspecting that you are, in fact, NOT being followed by a predator for 14 hours a day.

Talk yourself into it

We all do well for as long as the motivation is present. But motivation will fade eventually.

Motivation is the ‘honeymoon period’ of a healthy lifestyle. Sooner or later the thrill wears off, and you better hope like hell that you have some nice conversation to fall back on.

We all participate in self-talk daily. Make sure when you start talking, your talks are talking you into the lifestyle instead of talking you out of it. Don’t allow excuses or self-negotiations.

And that’s my easy guide. Following these simple guidelines put me back to lean and mean inside a year. I appreciate the privilege of quality of life by moving daily and fueling my body well for this process.

If this simple approach to recovering your health doesn’t tickle your fancy, and you can’t bring yourself to do it for your own quality of life, allow me to submit just one request.

Do it for the folks who, in the near future, will have to tie your shoelaces. And, you know…