Here’s the deal, weight is a consistent part of the conversation when it comes to our health. We all think about it all the time, and the reality is that we should. To some extent.

Our weight can reveal big indicators of our health. It can tell us whether or not we are at risk for various health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or sleep apnea. For women our weight can even have an impact on your fertility.

That’s a handful of things to consider when it comes to your health and weight.

Usually I’m not the type of person who will tell someone to be conscious of what their weight may be. That’s because I feel society puts way too much pressure on a woman’s weight, and that’s a big factor that leads to a lot of insecurities that we learn to have about our bodies.

And I’m not in favor of that at all.

However, as I get older, I’ve come to better understand that knowing what your weight is, and wanting to be at a weight that you are comfortable with, doesn’t have to have a negative connotation to it. In fact, you can have a very healthy relationship with your body no matter what your weight or body size may be.

Which made me realize that depending on what your health, wellness, and fitness goals may be, knowing your weight may be necessary in order for you to achieve those goals.

Now before we go any further, I want to make something very clear. While you should do your best to maintain a healthy weight, your weight does not equal your beauty or power. This post is not going to favor one weight or body size over the other.

Everything in this post is going to provide you with ways that you can take care of your body, and possibly lose weight, if that is a health goal of yours.

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Before we dive deeper into this post, I want to share a quick story with you.

I’ll be honest, my weight is something that I have struggled with my whole life. I go to the doctor every year (like I should) and my weight has never been a concern for my doctor, so naturally it shouldn’t be a concern for me either. Right?

Well I guess in hindsight that’s true, but the reality is that, that’s not the case.

I’ve always felt so uncomfortable in my own skin and it’s always been the result of my weight. It didn’t help that I had people in my life who made me feel as though I needed to be a certain weight, in order to look at certain way, in order to be beautiful.

Complete bullshit I know, but I was young, super insecure, and knew nothing about how to love and care for my body properly.

For years I just ignored this huge insecurity of mines, thinking that one day it would pass. Then I discovered the power of exercising, and the way practicing self-care and self-love can improve my overall health.

That’s when my relationship with my body weight and size began to change.

5 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

1. Drink plenty of water

Trust me when I tell you that this is literally the best thing you can do for your health. Whether you want to lose weight, improve your immune system, or even change your eating habits, drinking water is the way to go.

I know water isn’t always the most appetizing, but it’s such a crucial part to our health. Water helps our bodies function properly. This includes the function of our digestive system, transportation of nutrients, and of course it helps with flushing out body waste.

So how can it help you lose weight?

Well it turns out that drinking water helps to boost your metabolism. This is important because our metabolism helps to turn the foods that we eat into energy for our bodies, which helps in burning calories. Drinking water also acts as a natural appetite suppressant.

This means that it helps to curb your appetite so that you don’t engage in over eating, or eating for reasons other than hunger. This is super important because a big factor for weight gain and loss is deeply rooted in our eating habits.

The more disciplined you are in choosing healthier food choices, the easier it will be for you to lose weight, and maintain a healthier weight. This is something that can easily be accomplished by simply drinking more water.

2. Move your body

It’s no secret that one sure fire way to lose weight, care for your body, and above all maintain a healthy weight, is to move your body. Naturally you’re going to associate this with exercise, and while exercising is very important for your health, it’s not the only way to move your body.

There are a ton of activities you can do to move your body and lose weight, including activities that you love. You can dance, do yoga, go to the mall or on a walk, and even clean your house and lose weight!

You lose weight by burning calories and turning fat into muscle. You burn calories and build muscle by training your body. You train your body by simply getting it use to moving. Which means yes, you can work on strengthening your ab muscles, tightening your booty, and burning calories by spending an hour cleaning your house.

The key to doing low intensity forms of exercise is to be consistent. If you’re not the type of person who is going to exercise daily for at least 30 minutes, you need to make sure that you are doing things throughout your day that requires you to move your body in order to get that cardio workout in for the day.

And being a couch potato does not count (sorry)!

Moving your body also helps the body shed water weight. Our bodies retain a lot of water, and can add extra weight to your body. The easiest way to drop water weight by sweating. Yes, that’s right, whenever you sweat you are releasing water from your body, another reason why exercise is important for your overall health. Especially for weight loss goals.

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3. Eat the right foods

Unfortunately, our weight always comes back to the foods that we eat. Let me start off by saying that I am a firm believer in the idea that you can eat whatever your heart desires, and still be in good health. The key to doing this is to eat those foods in moderation.

You can’t expect to eat cheeseburgers and fries all the time, and drop anywhere from 10-15 pounds in a month. Why? Because the reality is that we are not feeding our bodies foods that have the necessary nutrition to help our bodies function and thrive to the best of its ability.

And trust me, I love burgers and fries, and if I could I would probably eat them all day. But we have goals to achieve people, and that means we need to be conscious of the foods that we are eating too much of, as well as too little of.

The rule of thumb that I like to follow here is simply to ensure that I’m eating just as much fruits and vegetables as I am anything else. This means for every cheeseburger that I have I make sure to eat a handful of vegetables and fruits as well, which are packed with a lot of water, which we know helps promote weight loss.

You also want to do your best to avoid processed foods. I know that this can be hard but it really does make a difference in your health. A good compromise for this is to make a habit out of buying fresh foods, and actually cooking your meals.

That way at least you’re aware of the indigents you are putting in your food, and what you’re essentially feeding your body. You can also physically see the foods you’re eating that may or may not be helping you reach your weight loss goals.

4. Check your weight weekly

Time to address the elephant in this whole post. I know often times those of us who are uncomfortable with knowing that number on the scale do everything in our power to not have to look at it. Ever.

Well guys I’m here to pop that bubble of comfort.

If you want to lose weight you have to face that fear. In other words, you have to get comfortable with stepping on that scale and seeing that number at least once a week. Checking your weight weekly allows you to able to see the way that number either change or remains the same based on everything you are doing physically, and eating throughout the week.

For example, if you’ve been eating a cheeseburger a day, vegetables only three times out of the week, and exercising only two days out of the week, chances are that number is not going to decrease. An adjustment needs to be made.

Such as eating one cheeseburger a week, vegetables every night, and exercising four days out of the week. You may find that number start to go down. Simple changes like this can make all the difference in your weight loss goals

By weighing yourself weekly you’re able to make the necessary adjustments to help that number decrease, or remain where you are happiest and most comfortable. Most importantly, please choose to love yourself no matter how big or small that number may be.

A number is just a number, but real changes in your health start with the way you care and love yourself from the start.

5. Write down everything

Finally, another thing we all may not like the idea of doing is to write everything down. Write down what you ate for the day, how much water you drank, other drinks you may have had, and of course how much physical activity (and what kind) that you engaged in.

This seems so overwhelming but trust me when I tell you that it can help you lose weight. This allows you to see everything that you are doing in a day, which essentially are the habits that you may or may not have, that are helping you reach your weight goal.

This is so important because often times we just do what we think needs to be done in order for us to reach our weight goal. The scary part about this is that we don’t really give a second thought as to whether or not that’s an effective practice for us as an individual.

We just do it because we feel that’s what absolutely needs to be done. This can be hurtful because when it comes to losing weight, something that works well for someone doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you.

In other words, you have to get to know your body.

You have to discover what habits and practices are most effective for you personally, if you want to see your desired results. Weight loss is very much the same way, you have to discover what helps you not only lose weight but keep off the weight, in order to know whether or not it will in fact help you reach your goals.

So, write everything down and see what’s helping you and what’s not. Then make the necessary adjustments, if needed, and practice remaining consistent with what is proving to be effective for you.

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Conclusion

The take away here is that weight loss can be difficult, and if you don’t have a healthy relationship with your body the thought of it can be very daunting. While your weight does not define your beauty, your power, or your worth, it can reveal a lot of important information about your health.

When it comes to your health, if your weight has the potential to contribute to any negative health problems, you want to do your best to reverse this process. The only way you’ll know whether or not you’re at a health risk of any kind is by making your weight something that you are aware of.

Most importantly the overall goal with our health and wellness is to be happy and comfortable in our own skin. Our weight can hold us back from feeling this way, so the most logical way to fix this is by learning how to be comfortable with our bodies, weight included.

It’s not easy, but its’ also not impossible.

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable so that you can improve your health for the better. The first step is to change the relationship that you have with your body, so that you can change the way you love your body. The rest will all fall into place naturally.

-Xo

Kimora