First, you might be asking yourself: What is healthy and unhealthy weight loss? We could create a nutrition plan for you that will help you lose a few pounds quickly. However, the danger is that you'll fall into the yo-yo trap and quickly regain the lost weight, plus some extra pounds, and that's definitely not the Goldenbody philosophy :). Our 6 tips will help you lose weight sustainably and healthily:

1. Count calories as an introduction
What we definitely don't want is for you to spend your whole life counting calories! However, it can be a good start to increase your awareness of nutrients and values. There are countless apps that you can use to track your meals. If you have our Goldenbody app, there is a free add-on app that lists a wide variety of foods and their nutritional values. Very important: Be honest and don't lie to yourself! Enter everything in your data for a week and then take stock. We recommend that you don't make any major changes at the beginning. To know the optimal number of calories for you, you first need to know your daily basal metabolic rate. There are online calculators for this, but please note that they are not always accurate. By the end of the week, you will have an optimal breakdown of what your days look like on average. If you need help analyzing your results, it is best to make an appointment with Goldenbody or another nutritionist.

2. Never go without again
Who doesn't want that? And we want to guarantee you something: If you want to lose weight sustainably, abstinence is not a good strategy. Pasta, chocolate, pizza—all of these have their place, but you have to find the right balance. Ultimately, the calorie deficit counts, and you're more likely to achieve that if you treat yourself every now and then and enjoy it than if you go without for two weeks and then have binge eating episodes that vastly exceed your basal metabolic rate. "Enjoyment" is an important keyword: As soon as you feel guilty, you're on the wrong path. You might find it difficult to treat yourself to a delicious ice cream at first, so start small. If you suffer from binge eating, it could be that your body is lacking something and you're not eating a balanced diet. We offer you a lot of important input on this in our mini-guide .

3. Are you cooking yet?
We're not beating around the bush; when you cook yourself, you know exactly what's in your food and can therefore control your success much better. Make sure your meals are as colorful, varied, and natural as possible. Vegetables and protein should be on your menu every day. A variety of vegetables provide you with plenty of vitamins, fiber, and minerals that are essential for your body. Vegetables also create volume, which fills you up without consuming too many calories. Carbohydrates like potatoes, rice, and whole-wheat pasta give you important energy to perform and should not be missing from any meal. The same applies to healthy fats. Fat has the most calories but is essential for nutrient absorption and should make up 30% of your daily intake. Important : Be sure to choose healthy fats like avocados, almonds, almond butter, walnuts, linseed oil, chia seeds, olive oil, or even fish like salmon, tuna, herring, or mackerel, which all contain omega 3 fats. You should rather stay away from saturated fatty acids such as sausage, fatty meat, fatty cheese, butter, coconut or palm fat or even store-bought baked goods and sweets.

4. Drink
We always hear it: Drink, drink, drink! And yet it's so difficult. It's just a matter of getting into the habit of doing this in your daily routine, so start today! Adequate fluid intake is essential for powerful training, muscle regeneration, and vitality. An adult should drink at least 1.5 liters of water. Don't like the taste of water? Then change that: add lemon juice, try different types of tea, and enjoy them unsweetened. These days there are 1,000 ways to make drinking water enjoyable. So the minimum you should drink is 1.5 liters. If you weigh 58 kilograms, for example, the recommendation is 2.3 liters a day. If you're also doing a strenuous workout, we recommend increasing your fluid intake by 0.5 to 1 liter. Distribution of fluid throughout the day also plays an important role, as the body only absorbs around 0.2 liters of fluid per hour. That's why it's not recommended to drink three liters in the morning just to tick this point off :).

5. Meaningful training
Going to the gym every day might be for bodybuilders, but it's not for us! So what makes sense for long-term weight loss? First of all, you should choose a sport that you enjoy. Because when you have fun, you automatically train harder and more effectively. A combination of strength and cardio training (endurance training) is the most effective. However, the main focus should be on strength training, as this stimulates your metabolism. Muscles use more energy when at rest and therefore increase your basal metabolic rate. Also, build in 1-2 days of rest between training days and then spread out, for example, two strength training sessions and one cardio session throughout the week, and you'll be on the right track.

6. Goodbye Libra
Are you at the point where you weigh yourself every day? Or maybe even once in the morning and once in the evening? Now be honest: Doesn't that frustrate you terribly? There's absolutely no point in stepping on the scales every day. If you do, then we recommend once a week, on the same day of the week and at the same time. But you have to know that muscle mass is heavier than fat. If you train properly and eat a balanced diet, you may gain weight at first. What then happens in your head: You step on the scales, get disappointed, throw all the healthy and sustainable tips out the window, and possibly start another diet, which ends up with the yo-yo effect and you start all over again. It's much better if you take before and after photos of yourself, for example. Always at the same angle, in the same underwear, against the same background. This way, with your new habits, you'll notice a difference after just one or two weeks. You can also keep a measurement log by measuring your chest, waist, stomach, buttocks, and leg circumference every one to two months. If you want to be really precise, our caliper measurement at Goldenbody is an excellent method with which we can give you even more information about your body.

These are our 6 tips, and let's be honest: What do you have to lose? If you've been struggling with various diets from magazines for years and still aren't happy, then it's definitely worth trying these tips for a few weeks. You know what the best part is? Eventually, these tips will become a habit, and you'll finally enjoy exercise and a healthy diet again.