Most of the weight loss tips and articles that you read are aimed at women. Even if it’s not directly said, it’s often implied with photos, language and other touches.
Perhaps this is because women are more comfortable, or certainly more used to talking about their weight and their image worries. Or maybe it’s because society places such a lot of pressure on women to look a certain way. But things are changing. These pressures are being applied to men more and more often. We’re comparing ourselves to celebrities and men that we see online. We’re worried about how we look and trying harder to conform to a standard that we think is expected.
It’s not all negative, however. Men today are more likely to take better care of ourselves. We’re looking for ways to lose weight, to gain fitness and to keep ourselves healthier for longer. It’s working. We’re living for longer, and staying more active in later life.
If you want to lose weight, the first thing that you need to do is ask yourself why. Do you want to lose weight to look like celebrities or sports stars? Are you struggling with confidence? Or, do you want to lose weight so that you can live a longer, healthier life, with fewer illnesses and concerns?
Losing weight for the right reasons is great. If you are overweight, losing a few lbs, or more could help you in multiple ways, improving your quality of life. But, if it’s because you’ve been comparing yourself to other people, you are feeling pressure from outside sources or your confidence is low, losing weight might not be the answer. It’s always a good idea to understand your motives before you get started. But, if you are ready to start losing weight, here are some tips to help you.
Focus on Problem Areas
A balanced diet and exercise is the best way to hit your targets and get into shape. But it’s not always that easy. Some problem areas seem to stick. No matter how hard we try, the weight will not shift. This can really knock your confidence, and make you doubt yourself and your progress.
There are, however, other things that you can do to help. There is a great solution for man boobs if that’s something that you are worried about, and a trainer could help you to devise an exercise plan to target other problem spots specifically.
Get Some Support
Losing weight is hard, there’ll be days when you want to eat everything you set your eyes on, and your willpower totally deserts you. Support is crucial. Many people find that joining weight loss groups makes life easier, but even connecting with people in similar situations online can give you people to talk to when you need a boost.
Support is also key when it comes to exercise. Someone to workout with will keep you on track push you and stop you from plateauing or taking things easy. If you’ve got a friend that would come with you great, but getting to know people at your gym, joining running groups or speaking to a trainer can help.
Hit the Gym
You can’t lose weight from dieting alone. Even if you did manage it, you’d gain it all back easily, stop seeing results quickly, and you wouldn’t become fitter and healthier.
If you want to lose weight consistently, and healthily, while increasing your strength and stamina, exercise is key.
There are plenty of ways to exercise without hitting the gym. You might enjoy outdoor running, or even walking, swimming, hiking, home workout videos and more. But, if you are new to exercise, or you struggle to stay motivated, then going to the gym can help. Many people find it easier to exercise in a setting that has been designed for it and enjoy making regular gym trips a part of their routine.
Join a Team
You might not have been on a sports team since you were at school. Many of us haven’t. But team sports are fantastic. They are a great way to exercise, gain muscle and increase your fitness levels. Being part of a team will also give you new friends, social contact and plenty of chances to have fun.
Look for beginners teams in your local area, or get back into sports that you enjoyed at school.
Walk to Work
The best way to lose weight is to make it easy. Develop healthy habits, that are a regular part of your day, that you don’t think about. Make healthy eating normal and try to fit exercise in where you won’t notice it. Walking to work each day can help you to burn more calories, strengthen your legs, improve your posture and core strength. It can even boost your mental health and give you some quality time to yourself.
If you can’t walk the whole way, park further away than you usually would, or get off the bus a few stops earlier.
Find Exercises That You Enjoy
Exercise isn’t something that we all enjoy. If you hate the gym, you won’t go. If you hate running, you won’t go. So, look for something that you enjoy. Look at what’s on in your local area, and don’t be scared to try something completely different.
Get Your Family Involved
It’s hard to eat healthily when the rest of your family are pigging out. So, try to introduce healthy habits to the whole household. Spend time planning weekly meals and writing shopping lists, and try to cook from scratch as much as possible. This gives you a chance to create all of the meals that you and your family love while making healthy swaps to create healthy meals.
Ditch the Beer Belly
A big problem for men as they start to get older is the beer belly, and unfortunately, it’s one of the last places that you will lose weight. Looking at your alcohol intake, swapping beer for wine, and spirits with low-fat mixers, and try not to drink at all for at least a few days every week.