Lose Weight — Part 1: The Common Case

For people who work in offices, clinics, hospitals, shops, or anywhere else daily life takes them. Some may exercise now and then, some don't. Some go to the gym, run, play a sport, or do any other physical activity. Some may not be overweight at all, but simply feel out of shape, uncomfortable with the way their body currently feels or functions, or unhappy with its general condition.

This category, excepting medical cases, requires less weight to lose and has fewer physical problems to work around. Less pain, easier joint movement, and fewer things that need to be considered before starting.

Every change we make to ourselves, in a way, is a milestone. It means being forced to change habits, many of which have become defining, and trade or replace comfort for something else.

Changes that life requires of us—a different job, a new location, family circumstances and so on—are processed differently from changes we impose on ourselves. Becoming more disciplined, more observant, more caring about things we barely notice, and changing habits simply because we have decided to do so, requires a different kind of attention.

Losing weight is not always easy because it belongs to the latter category. It can be even harder when the goal itself is not appearance, even if appearance is often the most desired part, but to actually live a better life with the body you have.

Change is difficult because it involves paying more attention to what and why you eat, how you sleep, what you do for hobbies or relaxation, how you spend your time, and how you spend that time with yourself.

For every category, in my opinion, there are three ways of doing it.

1. The plunge

You make a large change across all aspects at once. It is the most shocking approach. You change the habits, the food, the movement, the way you use your time—everything you believe needs to change.

2. The steps

You take some actions, then reach a level where you stay for a while. Once that becomes familiar, you take another step, then another.

3. The climb

Small, incremental changes that, over time, change the structure itself through adjustment. I call it a climb because it isn't necessarily steady.

None of them is better or worse than the others. Yet for each person, one may feel more natural than the other two. All three involve the decision to actually make the change, intentionally, followed by the need to adjust and adapt constantly.

Practical advice to lose weight

Whatever category you believe is right for you, start safely and start small, especially with exercise.

Look for movements that work for you without putting existing problems at greater risk—posture, joints, previous injuries and so on. Exercises that involve the whole body rather than trying to isolate one part of it, and develop the basic capabilities the body relies on in everyday life.

Standing up from the ground. Low squats. Hanging—from a rope, a door frame, a bar, whatever is appropriate and safe. Lifting a weight above your head. Getting up from a crunch. Push-ups in their natural form. Walking—as much as possible, and making time for it. By walking, I mean walking from A to B without pause for at least 30 minutes, not simply accumulating steps throughout the day.

Don't overdo any of them, no matter if you plunge or climb. These can gradually bring the body into a state where the joints, mobility, strength and balance find themselves better connected.

In time, you can switch, progress or climb towards more demanding movements—push-ups, jumping squats and so on. The rule remains the same: don't endanger joints or aggravate injuries or other problems you may already have. These exercises require coaching. Minimal coaching, yes.

Moving in a certain way, for long enough, gradually allows you to perfect that movement—to the point where you perform it in the best way for yourself, meaning firstly, safely.

Think about a tribe of hunters. Getting up from the ground in the best way would be learned, observed, or both. The same applies to an iron worker, a miller, someone digging, or someone working the land. The body learns from what it repeatedly does. Minimal coaching, in this sense, means learning to repeat a movement as safely as possible. Then, with enough repetition over enough time, you gradually perfect that movement in the way that suits your own body.

In terms of eating, for me, most of the time, eating habits were either disastrous or excellent. To keep an eye on this, the most natural way for me was, and still is, fasting, 6–18 hours, or even 4–20 hours, with rare exceptions. And if I see myself sliding towards the sweeter side, let's say, I correct the course. Nothing more.

I admit I was never particularly concerned with, or very observant about, my own appearance.

Some would say: simple and easy.