If you are over 30, and you are typical, you have some junk in the trunk. I would like to lose 10-15 pounds myself. The last few decades have seen a dramatic rise in the number of fatbodies. If you are one of those with a "dad body", you need to get out of it, not just to look better, but to feel better, physically and spiritually.
Here are some pointers:
1) Do not do this as a "New Year's Resolution" with a specific weight in mind. Say you accomplish your weight goal, then what? Most people relax their habits and go right back to the habits and weight they were, with maybe a little extra (You just conditioned your body to think you need to store fat for the periodical famine).
2) This is about lifestyle changes, not the specific weight/goal in mind. Unless you are dieting more than 100 pounds, whatever changes you make, you need to do permanently. Your final weight will depend on the lifestyle you choose, the more restrictive you are on yourself, the better physique you will have. Find that happy medium that suits you. If you overdo it on the short term, you will quit and bounce back.
3) Take it slow, the quicker you lose the weight, the more likely you will gain it back with the famine/fat storage cycle. Just one pound per week doesn't sound like much, but it will mean 52 pounds in a year, which is huge.
Habits take time to develop. Most psychologists agree that a certain behavior will take about six weeks to become part of your nature. Take it one step at a time. Say you have dozens of bad habits and are grossly overweight. First, you should start off with the lowest hanging fruit. You have a habit of stopping by the quickie mart on the way home from work to grab a soda and candy bar? Stop that behavior first. That is it. Don't go there on the way home from work. If you keep that up for six weeks, by then you will have made it a habit, and it would be awkward to revert to your old ways. Now, you are ready move on to the next goal. Maybe set a goal to cut out soda pop all together. Do that for six weeks (while continuing to not stop at the quickie mart).
Maybe your friend stops by, and talks you into having a soda. You feel bad the next day, but keep going. You fell off the wagon, but you didn't ruin yourself. Maybe give yourself another week before you pile on another goal. It is up to you. It is about developing and keeping the proper habits.
We all have some bad habits we do and/or good habits we don't do. I would do better if I got up more often during the day, and stopped eating as many sweets. Take a look at your life, and identify the lowest hanging fruit (easiest and most beneficial habits to change) and work on those. Ignore the other habits (for now) until you have mastered the one goal for some time. The point will come that you feel reasonably happy with yourself, and happy with the lifestyle changes you made.
One thing about changing habits, reporting to someone is hugely motivating. On a weekly basis, tell a friend or family member what habit you are working on, and tell them how you did for that week. You may have to report failures, but just do it. This is about changing yourself for the better, which takes time and effort. However, as time goes on, these good habits will become a stronger part of your nature, and you will have changed. As you work on these, you will see benefits that you may not have even considered.
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