How to Start Losing Weight Fast in 2021

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the information available. If you want to lose weight, a good start would be to base your diet on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

If you can avoid unplanned or habitual eating, and keep to regular meals and snacks, this will help you to lose weight

If you have been on crash diets for several years or finding it difficult, seek help from a dietitian. Dietitians can guide you to a healthy way of eating that is based on the latest research and tailored to suit your health and lifestyle.

If you are overweight, over 40 years of age, or haven’t exercised regularly for a long time, check with your doctor before you start any physical activity.

Understand your current eating and exercise habits

Once you have made the decision to lose weight, it’s a good idea to understand your current situation — what are your eating and exercise habits?

A good way to do this is to split them into ‘energy in’ (diet) and ‘energy out’ (movement).

What energy (diet) are you taking in?

Take some time to reflect on your eating patterns. Think about:

What you eat.

When you eat.

Why you eat.

Keep a food diary

You may find it helpful to keep a food diary for a week to see if you can identify any patterns or themes in your eating habits.

Food diaries are best recorded at the time (rather than at the end of the day) so there’s less chance that you’ll forget something:

Write down everything you eat and drink.

How you are feeling.

Your hunger level at the time.

Be as honest as possible. Try not to change your habits — tweaking things is the next step.

Your diary might begin to reveal a pattern, such as maybe you choose certain foods or drinks depending on where you are or how you are feeling.

Recognizing habits that lead to weight gain

Some of the food-related habits that can lead to weight gain include:

Night eating — snacking throughout the evening.

Social eating — eating when in a group of friends or family.

Emotional eating — eating in response to your emotions, whether that be boredom, tiredness, anxiety, stress, elation, or sadness.

Distracted eating — eating when doing something else (such as watching TV, working at your desk, or being on social media).

Any themes you identified after completing your food diary can then start to be addressed in a healthier way. Such as –

Read a book, phone a friend, or go for a walk instead of snacking when you are feeling down.

If you eat in front of the TV or at your desk, sit at a table, and focus on the food you’re eating — what are the colors, smells, flavors, and textures? By eating mindfully — you are more likely to enjoy food and will feel the urge to stop eating when you’re full.

What energy are you burning through movement?

The other side of the energy equation is the kilojoules you burn through movement. Not only does being active burn energy, but it also prevents muscle loss, which helps to keep your metabolic rate ticking over at a healthy level.

Keep a physical activity diary

Just like keeping a diary of your eating habits, you could also keep a diary for a week to see how much physical activity you’re doing. Include instances of physical activity that last 10 minutes or more. Break them into:

Organized activities — such as walking, running, swimming, playing a sport, cycling.

Incidental activities — such as gardening, housework, standing at work, or lifting heavy objects.

This will help you to gain an understanding of your current physical activity level and help to find ways to move more.

Make a healthy weight loss plan

Once you understand your current habits, the next step is to plan how you will lose weight.

Try to make your goals SMART — be:

Specific — write down exactly what you are trying to achieve. (For example, rather than — I want to do more exercise, make it specific — I will ride my bike to work on Monday and Wednesday.)

Measurable — use numbers or amounts where possible. (For example, I will eat two pieces of fruit, each day.)

Achievable — it is no point in writing down a goal that you will never reach. (For example, if you know you are unlikely to stop drinking on weekends, a better goal might be — instead of having a glass of wine each weeknight while watching my favorite tv program, I will drink a glass of water.)

Realistic — your goal needs to achievable and meaningful to you. (For example, when I feel stressed, instead of snacking, I will stop and ask myself why I feel this way. I will focus on this thought for 10 minutes to establish whether I am hungry before I eat anything.)

Time-bound — set a time frame for your goal to track your progress. (For example, I will walk to work twice a week by the end of May.)

Remember, the best way to lose weight is to do it slowly by making small, achievable changes to your eating and physical activity habits. You may like to set yourself one or two small changes to work on at a time, only adding to these once these have become your new way of life.

Be kind to yourself, if things don’t go according to plan, keep trying. You may need to adjust your goals or the time it will take to achieve them.

How to stay motivated on your weight loss plan

Once you have a plan in place, be realistic and try to focus on small gains to keep you on track. Some suggestions include:

Don’t rely on the numbers on the scales. Instead, measure your waist circumference — a healthy waist circumference is less than 94 cm for men and less than 80 cm for women.

Notice how your clothes fit — maybe they feel loose, or you now fit into something that was hiding in the back of your wardrobe.

Become confident in an activity you’ve been avoiding (such as being able to keep up with the kids without getting out of breath).

Maybe you have more energy, things take less effort, or you are sleeping better.

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