Best Way To Lose Weight

Losing weight has been such a trend, worldwide, and for the longest time now. And it is understandable as to why. This is because losing weight is a means of promoting a better life. With better and improving physical health, one can actually feel better and have a better outcome in life. But with this such a big topic, there has been a lot said for it. A lot of research, blog articles, magazine articles, videos and more have been established in helping people lose weight. However, what is the very best way to lose weight? Is it through pure diet? Is it a super-food? Is it a specific exercise. Well, to be very honest, the best way to lose weight is the tried and true diet AND exercise. No gimmicks, no lies. No marketing and no capitalization. Just the good ol’ fashioned way : diet and exercise.

The reason I say this is that there are a lot of headlines claiming that ‘this is the very best way to lose weight’ or ‘the new discovery of —will make you lose weight fast’ and more. But in reality, years and years before we even got to this point : we were primitive. We had to hunt and actively (and physically) gather our food. We would have to put in the effort to survive. And we should apply that same concept here if we want to lose weight.

The thing is with classical diet and exercise : you not only lose weight, but you effectively lose the weight. Many of the times, we see that we go through 2 weeks of a specific diet only to gain all that weight back. This is ineffective. This is not how it is supposed to be. With a regular and consistent diet : you are able to lose the weight progressively and continue to keep the pounds off. This in turn requires you to be dedicated and responsible in your diet. Any diet that tells you to completely cut off a food group (sugars, protein, carbohydrates, fat etc.) is not effective. Your body requires all the food groups to sustain itself and to effectively metabolise. But they need different levels of different food groups. Therefore, go back to the basics. Reduce the “bad” food groups and increase your intake of the “good” food group. Have more fibre, healthy fats, protein and slow-burning carbohydrates. And do not starve yourself. Try the 80:20 method. 80% of the time, you are eating healthy meals while 20% of the time, you allow yourself to indulge in your favourite foods. Because although health is very important, you still need to enjoy your life and enjoy the different blessings of life. Another thing to do with your diet is to stock up on water. Drink water all the time. It will help with weight loss, its liquid magic.

In terms of exercise : you do not need the fancy gym. Like I mentioned, the early humans had to hunt for their food. And although we do not need to actively hunt for our food (unless you want to try it), we can apply other methods to put in the time and effort for physical activity. This includes taking 30-60minutes out of your day to actively work your body. This may include cardio, strength training, weight training or yoga. You can do all sorts of exercises. Do what is fun for you. Do what is catered and feels best for you. Dancing is an exercise, cleaning the house is an exercise, taking the pets out for a walk is exercise. As long as you are moving your body and using that energy.

Of course, for certain weight loss ideals, some of the factors of diet and exercise need to be modified. For example, to lose belly fat then you could cater to more core-strengthening exercises etc. But the key point that I want to make here is that you cannot deny the effects of classical method of diet and exercise. It has always worked in the past and it will continue to always work. You just need to be patient and persistent. Active living is not a trend in reality, it is a way of life. Therefore, just like any way of life : you have to put in effort and make it apart of your daily regime.

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Article is written by: 

Fatin Najwa binti Daud, is a medical student studying at IMU Malaysia. She is a freelance writer of this blog at Zaahara. Interests include music, art, sports and travel.

-Photos are taken from google images

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