At your latest checkup, your doctor told you to lose weight with healthy eating and regular exercise.

Following the doctor's orders, you cut back on pasta and pizza, but it feels like you're starving yourself.

Those low-fat, low-calorie snacks you picked up at the grocery store?

They're are so bland and unsatisfying, you might as well eat a piece of paper.

And your nineteen-dollar-per-month membership at the overcrowded health club?

Well, when you occasionally visit the gym, it always feels like a little torture session.

You lift a few weights and run on the treadmill for a few minutes and then you're ready to call it a day.

Losing weight is tough.

But you know what's even tougher?

Not being able to tie your own shoes or breathe after walking up a flight of stairs.

Nowadays, two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese.

It's especially frustrating if you've been overfat for a long time, going from one weight-loss program to another in search of some "magic" answer that will finally get you lean.

Stop searching for a shortcut because there is nothing mystical about losing weight.

You will be one step closer to a lean-and-healthy body when you realize that weight loss comes down to things like smart exercise, mindful nutrition, getting deep sleep, and managing stress.

How to Lose Weight

Losing weight is not about deprivation or punishment.

I have many successful clients that maintain healthy levels of bodyfat while enjoying a nice, juicy steak, a big bowl of pasta, and a slice of cake for dessert.

It's about finding a sustainable way of eating and moving that works for you and your body.

Follow these key principles to lose unwanted bodyfat and keep it off for life.

1. Focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods

Like smoking, mindless eating is a hard habit to break.

Have you ever tried to resist freshly baked garlic bread or a warm chocolate chip cookie?

It's like trying to resist the urge to check your phone every five minutes!

The foundation of any healthy diet should be whole, nutrient-dense foods.

This means eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, quality proteins, and healthy fats.

These foods will not only help you feel satisfied and energized, but they will also provide your body with the nutrients it needs to function at its best.

Avoid processed foods, sugar, and refined carbohydrates, as these can contribute to inflammation, insulin resistance, and weight gain.

2. Do resistance training

Regular physical activity is essential for maintaining a healthy weight and overall health.

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise.

Strength training is essential for weight loss because it helps to increase muscle mass, which in turn increases your metabolism and helps you burn more calories throughout the day.

It also helps to preserve lean muscle mass while losing fat, resulting in a more toned and defined physique.

The key is to be consistent and make movement a regular part of your daily routine.

3. Prioritize sleep and stress management

Sleep and stress play a crucial role in weight loss and overall health.

When you don't sleep enough, your body produces more of the hormone cortisol, which can increase your appetite and cause you to store more fat, especially around your midsection.

Even worse, when you don't get quality sleep, your body produces more of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite and makes you crave sugary carbs.

Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night, and manage stress with meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises.

Chronic stress and lack of sleep can lead to hormonal imbalances that can contribute to weight gain and make it especially difficult to lose unwanted weight.

4. Practice intermittent fasting

You can’t expect above-average results until you practice mindful nutrition.

Stress eating is more prevalent now than ever before.

Intermittent fasting is a powerful tool for weight loss and overall health.

By limiting the window of time during which you eat, you can help your body burn fat for fuel and improve insulin sensitivity.

Insulin sensitivity is the ability of your body's cells to respond to insulin and use glucose (sugar) for energy.

When insulin sensitivity is low, the body produces more insulin to regulate blood sugar levels, which can lead to weight gain and difficulty losing weight.

Improving insulin sensitivity through diet and exercise can aid in weight loss and prevent or manage conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

Start with a 12-16 hour fast each day, and gradually increase the length of your fasts as your body adapts.

5. Find a supportive community

A big part of losing weight (aka bodyfat), or maintaining athletic levels of bodyfat, comes down to things like exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep, and managing stress.

But did you know that who you hang around with also affects how your body looks and feels?

Weight loss can be a challenging journey, but having a supportive community can make all the difference.

Find like-minded individuals who share your goals and can provide encouragement, accountability, and motivation.

Whether it's through a personal training program, a local support group, or a professional coach who can guide you along your weight loss journey, having a community can help you stay on track and make sustainable changes.

Remember, weight loss is not a one-size-fits-all journey.

What works for one person may not work for another, especially if you have food allergies like lactose intolerance.

Experiment with different approaches, listen to your body, and be patient with yourself.

Focus on progress, not perfection, and celebrate every step forward.

With these principles in mind, you can create a sustainable, healthy lifestyle that supports your weight loss goals and overall well-being.

But, I was thinking, it goes further than that.

I think the most common behavior for long-term success is GRIT.

The ability to stick with it.

Stick with it when things get tough.

Play the long game and stick with it for life.

Here's another suggestion for success:

Approach a weight-loss program (weight loss meaning fat loss) with a "burn the bridges" mentality.

Take a "no retreat" approach to finally hitting your number-one goal.

When you burn the bridges, you are bound to succeed because there's no turning back.

Your "fat" clothes? Donate or recycle them.

Your so-called "friends" that encourage you to overeat and drink too much? Spend less time with them.

Burn the bridges and don't look back.

I mean, wouldn't it be refreshing if you could finally lose that annoying belly fat?

The dangerous visceral kind that is serving absolutely zero practical purpose.

Excess abdominal fat is literally and figuratively weighing you down.

Unwanted fat is slowing you down too.

Imagine if you could finally eliminate your problem for good?

Remember, just like exercise and nutrition, your mindset matters and it's something that needs to be worked on regularly.

How you think affects how much fat you have.

Creating your "Ideal Body" (the leanest and strongest version of you) is more about what's feeding your thoughts versus what's feeding your body.

Mindset is a very powerful thing that can work for or against you.

Let me explain.

There’s a strong link between what you think and the outcome you achieve.

In other words, what you think affects how you feel.

How you feel affects how you take action. And ultimately, how you take action (or not) creates your result.

When you feel good and motivated and take action on all things health and fitness, you get a positive result.

And of course, the alternative is also true.

So, if you’ve been struggling, make sure to check in on your thoughts.

Or, to go jedi-master-Yoda on you, "Watch what you FEED your thoughts."

Are you feeding your thoughts with negative news, fear, and scarcity?

Are are you feeding your mind with gratitude, abundance, and happiness?

Do your thoughts support the outcome you are looking to achieve?

If not, remember that you’re in control and you get to choose your thoughts.

Be sure to choose the ones that serve you.

This is why I teach these daily lessons.

Some lessons are tough love.

Others are inspirational.

But most are actionable strategies you can implement today, to help you become the best version of you.

One last thought.

Limitations or constraints are often thought of as a problem, but they can be a blessing too.

They force you out of your comfort zone.

They make you simplify, adapt, and create instead of doing what you’ve always done.

And challenges also force you to focus on what really matters.

So when you’re feeling pressured, like so many people are right now, perhaps you’re being driven toward a breakthrough.

Let those challenges push you toward a better solution.

Yes, you may have to be creative or innovative with how you manage your business, how you interact with your family or co-workers, how you exercise.

But for those of us that don’t default to being innovators, this may unlock that potential inside of you.

My suggestion is to NOT attempt to change your circumstances.

Instead, use that energy and those constraints to create a better solution or system.

A better approach.

Sure, you may not want to hear a different way of thinking about things, but I know that everything I’ve ever done, which I’d consider a "breakthrough," was inspired by challenging circumstances.

I’d think of the problem as if it were a puzzle and I needed to find a new way to solve it.

And in each case, when it seemed like there was no way things wouldn’t get harder, by thinking about the problem at hand differently, the new solution would inevitably be easier and better than before.

I believe it was Plato that said "necessity is the mother of invention."

If so, and I know it has been for me, this may just be your opportunity for a breakthrough.

When you replace bad habits with good ones, you are in effect re-educating your mind to accept this upgraded lifestyle as your new normal.

So you can maintain a lean and athletic body for the long-term.

To your success,

Coach Joe

Joseph Arangio helps 40+ men and women get leaner, stronger, and happier. He's delivered over 100,000 transformation programs to satisfied clients around the globe. If you want to lose weight from home, with the best online age-management personal trainer, or you want to visit the best longevity personal trainer in the Lehigh Valley, you can take a free 14-day trial.