How to Lose Weight

The first step in losing weight is always believing in yourself. You can tell your family and friends that you're ready to start getting to the gym and exercising, and you can use them to motivate you, but you'll never lose weight if you aren't committed. What I like to tell myself is that if it were easy, everyone would do it. Clearly that is not the case, so you have to be prepared to work hard. A good first step is to find a partner to go with you to the gym. The goal is to hold each other accountable for slacking, and congratulating each other when goals are met. This can be as easy as asking a friend or family member to workout, or going to the gym and asking someone if they'd be willing to "show you the ropes" if you aren't sure what to do at the gym. I would advise asking someone who has similar goals to you. Another option is finding someone in better shape than you, because they can help you get into the shape that they're in. It takes about three weeks for something to become a habit. If getting to the gym is tough for you, trust me that if you keep going it will become an addiction.

The most important part of losing weight is diet. You can spend hours a day working out, but if you leave the gym and head to the fast food restaurant you might as well of just stayed home. For most people (including myself), changing your eating habits are the toughest part about getting into shape. I have some helpful tips in making small changes to your lifestyle. Drastic changes are intimidating, and hard to follow at the beginning of your journey to losing weight. The first step is drinking water. I learned about hydration through an article on bodybuilding.com. It listed important roles water plays for the body:

· Transporting glucose and oxygen into your muscles.

· Serving as a critical component of your brain, blood, muscles, and bones.

· Aiding digestion of food, helping to convert it to energy you can use.

· Removing metabolic byproducts like carbon dioxide from your hard-working muscles.

· Regulating body temperature, especially during your workouts when your muscles generate 20 times more heat energy than a body at rest.

(bodybuilding.com)

You should drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day. This seems like a lot, but if you keep a water bottle near you at all times you'll be able to do it. If water isn't your thing because you like a little more taste, liquid water enhancers like Mio are available at almost any grocery store. Buying a nice water bottle is a good investment because it helps you drink more water and prevents you from using plastic water bottles which is terrible for the environment.