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Written by Megan Ayala. Last Updated: February 9, 2024
People all around the globe struggle with weight loss. Studies from 2016 show that Americans looking to lose weight increased to 42 percent in 2015-2016 from 34 percent [1].
One of the surprising things to note from the study was that obesity rates were increasing along with the interest in losing weight. These numbers are backward.
With more people motivated to lose weight than ever before, fewer people should be obese. What’s the reason?
According to Dr. Lu Qi, the director of the Tulane University Obesity Research Center in New Orleans, people aren’t pursuing weight loss in effective manners [1].
It’s easy to want to lose weight, but it’s much more difficult to accomplish. Not only that, but studies show the way you lose weight is likely to have a crucial impact on how well you can keep it off [2].
People who lost weight steadily throughout their weight loss journey were much more likely to keep the excess weight off.
This is why it’s so important to identify a healthy weight loss plan that delivers gradual results.
Because of this, you need to identify a plan that’s going to deliver effective results. Here is a free weight loss plan for beginners that should do just that.
A Quick and Easy to Follow Free Weight Loss Plan For Beginners
1. Speak To Your Health Care Practitioner
First things first, you’ll want to speak with your doctor. It’s important to figure out your medical condition before making any drastic changes in your diet or exercise routine.
That way, you can identify any underlying conditions that could make it dangerous for you to exercise a certain way.
You also want to ensure you don’t have deficiencies that you need to work on correcting with diet or supplementation.
2. Start Counting Your Calories
At the most basic level, losing weight requires you to consume fewer calories than you are burning. It’s important to understand this as you formulate a diet plan.
If you aren’t counting calories, you aren’t likely to achieve the weight loss you desire. After all, you won’t know whether or not you are burning more calories than you are taking in.
While this is certainly tedious, it’s 100 percent necessary.
RELATED READING: Is MyFitnessPal or Lose it! Better for Counting Calories?
3. Plan Out Your Diet
When you are looking to come up with a diet optimized for weight loss, you’ll want to plan it ahead of time. One of the biggest issues that a lot of people run into when they are looking to lose weight has to do with improper planning.
When you don’t plan your diet and meals ahead of time, you’ll find yourself throwing together a quick meal full of empty calories and carbs.
Give yourself some time on the weekend to come up with a list of meals that you will be making throughout the week. Healthy meals don’t have to require too much of your time either.
With basic appliances like an air fryer or even an Instant Pot, you can prep and cook meals in a matter of minutes.
4. Avoid Dieting
This may sound counterproductive, but it’s not. The concept of dieting is one of the reasons so few people achieve their desired weight loss goals. Dieting is a good way to lose weight quickly.
However, it’s generally not sustainable. It’s not designed to be. Because of this, a lot of those that jump from diet to diet tend to experience good results that fade.
If you follow a restrictive diet, you’re unlikely to stick with it. Some diets would be unhealthy to stick to for longer periods. They are designed to end at some point.
Instead of dieting, you want to make lifestyle changes. You want to improve your nutrition by eating more healthy whole foods that are nutrient-dense.
You don’t want to follow fad diets that help you lose weight fast but put it back on just as fast when you stop.
Keys For a Healthy Diet Optimized For Weight Loss:
Cut Back on Simple Carbohydrates
One of the first things you need to do when you are looking to optimize your diet is cut out simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are typically empty calories.
They are not only empty calories with little to no nutrients, but they also spike your blood sugar levels. This can directly contribute to weight gain.
Therefore, if you want to do something that can have a direct and immediate impact on your ability to lose weight, you’ll want to cut out simple carbs.
These carbohydrates can include sugars, cereal, white bread, and more.
Instead, you’ll want to pack more complex carbohydrates into your diet. These are foods that do cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, but not nearly as big of one because they generally contain a lot of fiber and are slower to digest.
Eat More Healthy Fats
A lot of people who are looking to lose weight and burn fat think fat is the enemy. While some fat can be bad for you, that’s not the case for all fat. There is a lot of fat that is considered “healthy fat.”
Healthy or good fats are monosaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. Both of these fats are essential to various bodily processes. This includes losing weight. Monosaturated fats can prevent fat from developing around the stomach area [4].
By eating more healthy fats, not only will you be supplying more essential nutrients to your body for a faster metabolism, but it will also keep you fuller for longer periods. This can keep you from having the urge to snack in between meals and at night. Eating a meal full of healthy fat is filling and it can keep you from consuming too many calories throughout the day.
Drink More Water
One of the main things that you need to do when you are looking to lose weight and improve your diet is to drink more water. Believe it or not, drinking more water can contribute to weight loss [5].
While it’s not going to directly lead to fast weight loss, it can do things to your body that can contribute to losing weight. These include making you feel much more full.
Suppressing your appetite can keep you from overeating. It can also help to boost your metabolism.
Another thing it can do is keep you from consuming too many liquid calories. If you are someone that is used to drinking soda and other beverages that contain calories, it’s an easy way to minimize your caloric intake.
It can also boost fat burn throughout your body helping you shed more stubborn fat.
5. Exercise
Exercising is the second part of the equation when it comes to losing weight. If you want to lose weight, you need to have an optimized diet and exercise routine. If you are missing either one of these, you won’t get the results you’re seeking. There are plenty of different ways to burn fat and excess pounds with exercise.
Here is a good and easy plan to follow that should get you consistent results.
- Cardio
One of the core elements of exercise that you need to focus on for weight loss is cardio. Cardio is not only good for losing weight, but it’s also essential for heart health. You want to be incorporating enough cardio into your daily life to improve your weight loss efforts. Cardio can directly lead to your losing weight.
According to this chart, someone who is 160 pounds burns 15.1 calories per minute while running [6]. It’s easy to see why this is effective in helping you lose weight.
There are plenty of other cardio activities you can incorporate into your weight loss efforts, but running is the most basic.
You could simply walk, dance, or even use a rowing machine. Cycling is another good way to get high-intensity cardio into your training sessions.
- Strength Training
Another important element of an effective workout routine for weight loss would be strength training. You want to incorporate a lot of strength training into your weight loss efforts because it can turn your weight loss efforts into overdrive.
When you work on building muscle, you can burn fat and calories.
It’s important to have a balanced approach to working out. You want to do a lot of strength training in addition to your cardio exercises. Strength training can include bodyweight exercises or free weight exercises.
Regardless, you want to build lean muscle. Muscle can help you burn fat and increase your resting metabolism.
Summary
The truth is, losing weight is a difficult task for most. However, it doesn’t have to be. By following this free weight loss plan, you should put yourself in a good position to succeed.
There are two things you need to focus on when it comes to losing weight successfully. That is, optimizing your diet and exercise. If you can get your diet and exercise routine optimized, you will be primed for weight loss success.
The best thing you can do is find a nutrition program that works for you.
Don’t be someone that jumps from fad diet to fad diet. Try to incorporate more healthy foods into your diet and you’ll find it much easier to stick with healthy eating.
Are There any Weight Loss Plans or Apps that are Free?
Losing weight can be especially hard if you’re doing it on your own. Fortunately, there are some weight loss apps out there than can help you stay on track – either through a free trial, or some even have completely free versions. Here are a few that we recommend:
References:
- https://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/news/20191113/more-americans-trying-to-lose-weight-but-few-succeeding
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.21925
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/carbohydrates-and-blood-sugar/
- https://www.weightwatchers.com/uk/food/strategy/science/fat-loss-foods-healthy-diet
- https://hub.jhu.edu/at-work/2020/01/15/focus-on-wellness-drinking-more-water/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/running-burn-calories-per-mile
