The challenges of modern life make it difficult to maintain a healthy, attractive-looking figure. Solutions for weight loss have never been so abundant, but many lack a comprehensive strategy, and people who try them usually don’t achieve long-term results.

Our medical team has been working with overweight patients for many years, and we know which strategies have the highest chance of success.

In this article, we’ve compiled the best practices to jumpstart your weight loss journey and maintain optimal weight. Note that they give the best results when combined - one strategy alone won’t lead to sustainable weight loss.

Jumpstart Weight Loss: 12 Best Practices

The backbone of any weight loss plan involves two seemingly simple lifestyle modifications: eating fewer calories than we expend and being physically active. However, most people who try losing weight with fad diets and exercise fail or return to their overweight status soon after their weight loss regime ends.

These 12 best practices should help you reach and, more importantly, maintain your desired weight.

1. Implement Realistic, Long-Term Diet Changes

People who want to lose weight often make the mistake of implementing radical changes to their diet, eliminating entire food groups from their menu. Quick-fix diets may help shed excess pounds, but in most cases, they return.

A more effective approach includes making small dietary changes. A long-term eating plan (as opposed to a temporary diet) should follow these rules:

• Eat a filling breakfast with protein – This will ensure satiety until lunchtime and prevent snacking between meals.
• Have half a plate of vegetables (e.g., a salad, grilled or boiled veggies) for every lunch and dinner - They provide fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and micronutrients that improve metabolism, help lower blood sugar, and offer other health benefits.
• Reduce processed, fried, and sugary food - Eliminating junk food is the healthiest option, but often results in frustration that drives people to binge on these forbidden fruits. Make slight changes such as reducing the amount of sugar in coffee, eating fast food only on special occasions, and replacing processed sugars with healthier alternatives (e.g., dates).
• Make your portions smaller - Overeating is a common habit of many overweight people - one way to avoid it having frequent, smaller meals.

The key to an effective weight loss plan is to set realistic goals and make manageable changes that add up over time.

2. Only Eat When You’re Hungry!

This ground-breaking strategy sounds like common sense, but not many people abide by the rule. Anxiety, psychological problems, stress, the availability of processed foods, and their addictiveness drive many people to overeat.

Recognize the habit as a problem and set a goal to eat only when hungry. The strategy goes hand in hand with adopting healthier eating habits.

3. Prepare Meals in Advance

Busy people often resort to processed, high-calorie foods because healthier meals take more time to prepare. If this contributes to your weight issues, prepare meals in advance. Devote a few hours during the weekend to preparing larger quantities and refrigerating containers of:

• Cooked grains and legumes
• Washed fruits and vegetables
• Chopped onions and carrots
• Grilled meat
• Blended, homemade salad dressings

This way, preparing a healthy meal when you return late from work on a weekday takes only 5-10 minutes.

4. Drink Enough Water

Staying hydrated plays an essential role in weight management. Scientists explain that we often eat when thirsty because the brain mistakenly interprets the information as hunger. Drinking plenty of water at regular intervals signals fullness to the brain and reduces food cravings. Water also stimulates metabolism, helps the body remove waste, and increases the effectiveness of workouts, contributing to weight loss.

Note: For more tips on how to improve your metabolism, check out our guide to the metabolic diet, which includes nutrition tips and lifestyle improvements.

Health experts recommend at least eight cups of water daily to stay hydrated and support weight loss efforts.

Some health enthusiasts recommend other water-related weight-loss tips, such as starting the day with a cup of warm water to offset the intake of higher-calorie beverages later in the day. Your morning water can also include a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice or slices of cucumber to improve the flavor.

5. Use Weight Loss Supplements

Natural weight loss supplements are a great way to enhance your weight loss efforts. Vitamin C, magnesium, chromium, and vitamin B provide many health benefits and may help shed pounds* when combined with other weight loss tactics.

Our team recommends two excellent supplements to jumpstart your weight loss efforts. Elevate helps reduce cholesterol and burn fat, and Digestive Support Supplement improves digestion and energy, helping people achieve their daily exercise goals.

Note: Learn more about 14 proven products for weight loss that can help you slim down.

6. Use Occasional IV Treatments for Weight Loss

Our bodies need various nutrients for essential biological processes. A chronic lack of essential vitamins and minerals may lead to disorders that ultimately affect our weight. IV therapy is a staple treatment in hospitals, but many people use it today to replace lost nutrients due to stress or exertion and increase nutrients that help metabolize fat.

IV therapy for weight loss contains a curated selection of nutrients targeted to improve conditions that may hinder weight loss.* The ingredients include vitamin C, B12, magnesium, L-carnitine, glutathione, and MIC – essential amino acids that help break down fat.

7. Implement More Physical Activity

Regular physical activity helps reduce weight and significantly lowers the risk of chronic diseases. Health organizations recommend engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense activity per week.

If you don’t have experience with exercise, start by increasing the level of your everyday activities. Walk to short-distance locations, take the stairs instead of the elevator, go for brisk 30-minute walks in the evening, etc. Many people find fitness tracker apps help to remind them to exercise and monitor their progress.

8. Pair Exercise with Fat Freezing and Muscle Toning Treatments

When paired with exercise, innovative cosmetic treatments can help speed up fat burn to reach your ideal figure.

CoolSculpting is one of the most popular fat reduction treatments today. It uses fat-freezing technology to reduce fat in the target area by up to 25% without downtime and shows results after 10-20 days.

CoolTone also helps contour the body. It doesn’t reduce fat, but firms muscles and tones the body, providing impressive contouring effects to people near their target weight.

Note: Learn how CoolSculpting differs from CoolTone to find the right treatment for your goals.

9. Get Enough Sleep

Research has established a link between a lack of sleep and weight gain. Shorter sleep reduces leptin and increases ghrelin, leading to increased appetite and higher body mass index.

Health experts recommend at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep every night to help regulate bodily functions related to weight management.

10. Take Time to Relax and De-stress

Like the lack of sleep, stress also leads to hormonal imbalances that may result in weight gain. To counter the effects of a busy life and stress, employ proven de-stressing techniques in your everyday life, such as:

• Yoga
• Regular exercise
• Relaxing breathing techniques
• Relaxing music
• Meditation
• Hobbies (art, cooking, socializing)
• Weekly massages

11. Lose Weight Gradually

Unrealistic goals and setting short deadlines often lead to failed weight loss attempts. Health professionals recommend losing four to eight pounds monthly and setting an initial goal of 5% weight reduction.

Depending on your current weight, it may take you months or longer to reach your ideal weight. However, gradual weight loss has a higher chance of providing long-term results. It also provides more flexibility, allowing you occasional lapses in your regimen without significantly affecting the end result.

That means that one day of eating more calories than planned is fine. You can resume eating healthily the day after without feeling that the whole diet is ruined, which may trigger further overeating.

12. Consider Medical Weight Loss Programs

If you fail to see results after a period of following the above strategies for weight loss, talk to a medical weight loss professional. A hormonal, psychological, or other medical issue may be preventing you from shedding pounds.

At Vibrant Vitality Skin, our medical professionals provide various medical weight loss treatments depending on the patient’s metabolism, hormonal status, and other unique biological, psychological, and lifestyle factors. The program typically includes modified lifestyle habits (diet and exercise), counseling, supplements, and medications.

Note: Read our article on how Semaglutide works. It is a new, highly effective injectable medication for weight loss.

Conclusion

Many overweight people fail to lose weight because they apply the wrong strategies and aim for quick, unrealistic results. Find out what are the most common weight loss myths and follow our recommendation to reach your desired beauty and health goals.