Don’t Overdo Your Diet

When you first begin figuring out how to eat healthy and watch your calorie intake, it’s a great feeling as you start to lose weight. It’s awesome to see the number on the scale drop down and to ultimately see the figure in the mirror change. Getting to a healthy weight will not only look great but help you to feel better as well - you will have more energy to do things and you will be able to be more involved in life.

While it’s great to see the numbers falling and to see the figure change, it’s important to do it safely and not overdo it. You should not be losing too much weight too fast. Losing more than 2 pounds of weight a week is not recommended. If you’re losing more than 2 pounds a week, then you are likely doing more damage to your body than good, and it’s also likely that you’ve made a change in your lifestyle that will be hard to maintain over the course of your life. Slow and steady is maintainable.

Once you’re down to a weight that is healthy (in the not obese range), then you should slow down any weight loss that you’ve completed. When you’re well overweight, it’s easy to lose weight quickly by cutting down your calories. You may have been eating 4000 calories a day before you started dieting, and then you cut that down to 3000 calories a day. You’ll see the pounds come off quickly when you’re able to make that type of change. 

It’s also sustainable because 3000 calories is a lot of food when making good food choices. Going from 3000 calories to 2000 calories will be harder as you’ll start having to eat less food, not just making healthier choices. For many men, less than 2000 calories will be less than they should be eating to maintain a healthy (not obese) weight. Women generally have a lower caloric intake need than men, so figure out what that number is.

If you’re at the point where you’re trying to lose weight when you’re already at a healthy weight, be sure to do it slowly, and don’t overdo it. You don’t need to see a six pack to be healthy. You also don’t need to have the most ripped body ever. While you may want that, it’s also hard to maintain. Many of the people you see on social media that have that type of a physique are maintaining a low body fat for a short period of time, and there is a good chance that they’re overly obsessed with that look. 

Choose a healthy weight that you can maintain, and stick to that weight. That doesn’t mean that you can’t change the overall look of your body through exercise and continuing to eat right. However, you shouldn’t try to shoot for a weight that is so low that it’s no longer healthy to maintain. You need to be mentally in place that you feel good about yourself and your body, and physically as well.

If you’re dieting to such a degree that you no longer feel that you have energy or that you are able to maintain what you’re doing, then you need to reassess. Your physical and mental health should not be compromised but the diet that you’re trying to maintain. It’s not worth getting to the point that those are going to be an issue for you. If you’re already at such a point, then seek help to address the issue. Your mental health is more important than a number on a scale or the look you see in the mirror.

As you look to lose weight and go on a healthy diet, do so safely. Don’t overdo it, and make sure your mental and spiritual health guide you along the journey. Being healthy in all facets of life is important.