Setting weight loss goals is great, but the hard part is sticking to the plan and reaching your final goal. Today I want to share 8 tips with you that will set you up for success. Ready to learn how to stick to your weight loss goals? Here we go.
Use Visualization
Visualization is a powerful tool. Close your eyes and picture yourself at your ideal weight. How do you look? How does it feel? How will you feel being able to run around the park with the kids or climbing up those stairs without running out of breath? Paint a clear picture in your mind of the lean you. Make it a habit to visualize this slim and healthy version of yourself daily.
Create Accountability
Sometimes it’s just a little too easy to make bad choices. That chocolate cookie won’t hurt, and it’s not that big of a deal to skip a work out. Before you know it that whole plate of cookies is gone and you haven’t been out to walk for over a week. Accountability will help you keep on track. Find a friend who also wants to lose weight and hold each other accountable. Or ask a loved one to keep you straight. If this sounds a little too intimidating or just isn’t your thing, consider keeping a journal. Just knowing that you’ll have to write down that piece of cheesecake is enough motivation to pick an apple instead.
Make It Attainable
You want to push yourself, but you also want to make sure they are actually reachable. Setting a huge goal like losing 30 pounds can seem almost insurmountable. Instead, start with a smaller goal like losing 10 pounds over the next 2 months. Then set another 10 pound goal and repeat until you reach your weight goal.
Take Breaks
If you have attainable goals and some accountability in place, it’s ok to take a little break every once in a while. Take a break from your workout. In fact, except for low impact exercise like going for a walk, you don’t want to overdo it. 3 to 5 days at the gym is plenty. And it’s ok to have a piece of birthday cake on occasion. Just make sure you work on getting exercise and eating healthy 90% of the time.
Create Good Habits
Which brings us to another great tip. Use this time to work on creating healthy habits. Make going for that daily walk part of your new lifestyle. Make eating three healthy meals a family habit. Not only will it set you up for success now, those healthy habits will also help you keep the weight off long after you’ve reached your goal.
Celebrate
Losing weight is hard work. Don’t forget to celebrate each success. If you made it out for a 30 minute walk each day this week, celebrate with a mini movie marathon. Did you lose your first 15 pounds? Take yourself out to get your nails done or treat yourself to a cute new top. Reward yourself for each success and milestone reached.
Keeping It Real – Don’t Do Too Much Too Fast
Let’s talk about real weight loss. What I’m talking about is losing weight in a way and at a rate that’s sustainable. Yes, you can go on one of those miracle liquid diets for 48 hours and lose a few pounds. But it isn’t something you’d want to (or should) be sticking with for the long run. Plus chances are that as soon as you go back to eating normally you’ll get the weight right back.
Instead I’d like to make a case for slow and steady weight loss. You didn’t put those 30 extra pounds on overnight. Don’t expect to take them off in a matter of weeks. Instead, aim to lose half a pound to a pound per week. Believe me, it’ll still be a challenge most weeks.
The key to slow and steady weight loss is lifestyle changes. The changes you make to your lifestyle today should become habits that will stick with you forever.
Drink more water, cut out high calorie drinks like soda and fruit juices. Cut back on sugar and refined carbs as much as possible. Stick with low sugar fruits, lots of non-starchy veggies and protein. Don’t forget to add a few healthy fats. Yes, they are high in calories, but they’ll also keep you full longer.
Make it a habit to go for a 30 minute walk after dinner in the evening. Or start a yoga class. Make an effort to move around more all throughout your day. Get up and walk around while you’re talking on the phone. Go play with the kids in the yard or ride a bike. Keep in mind that you can move in 15 minute spurts to meet your daily goals.
Small lifestyle changes will start to add up and you’ll see some slow and steady weight loss. And there’s another important reason why you want to keep it real and not try to do too much too fast. The end goal is to keep the weight off. And that will be easier with if you do it slowly by changing the way you eat, the way you move and your whole outlook on life. Set yourself up for success by setting small weight loss goals and working toward them.
Yes it takes some patience, but it will be well worth it in the end. Because the end goal is a healthier, more active version of you. Someone that can run around with the kids at the park. Someone that’s setting a great example for her loved ones. And yes, someone that fits in that pretty new dress.
Life Happens – Don’t Give Up On Your Health Goals
You’re on a roll. You’re eating healthy, you’re getting into a workout routine and the pounds are starting to melt off. Then life happens. You get sick, your schedule changes, you’re tempted by your favorite treat. The reason really doesn’t matter. The truth is that you fell off the wagon and ate some unhealthy food and didn’t make it to your weekly workout.
When stuff like that happens it’s easy to give up. A day of eating junk can turn into a week and then a month. A few days spent without going for a walk, a run or a trip to the gym turn into weeks. Don’t let that happen. When life happens – and it will –refuse to give up on your health goals.
The key is to get back into your routine as quickly as possible. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Instead, make it a priority to jump right back in. Get back to your healthy eating habits and get your body moving as soon as possible. Even if it’s just a little exercise here and there during a super busy time, make the effort to do what you can. Every little bit helps and every small step is a step in the right direction. 15 minutes at a time can make a big difference in the long run.
It helps to be prepared for potential pitfalls. For example, if you know things will get super busy at work and you won’t have time to head out for a healthy lunch or to go on your daily walk, make some plans the day before. Pack your lunch just in case you end up working through your lunch hour. At the very least you’ll still have a healthy meal.
Do little things to help you keep on track. Things like walking around during phone calls, a 15 minute mini- workout or a walk before work. Try doing some simple stretches before bed. Little things like this will add up and help you relieve some of the stress you’re under.
Keep some healthy snacks and plenty of water with you so you can make smart choices when hunger strikes. If time is precious and you just don’t have the extra hour or two to head to the gym or go for a walk, do little mini workouts throughout your day. Do some stretches, a few push-ups or walk over to a colleague’s desk instead of calling him.
Remember, every little bit counts and each step you take to a healthier you is a step in the right direction.
Stop Making Excuses
If you want to get down to a healthy weight, you have to stop making excuses. You know what I’m talking about. It’s that little voice in the back of your head that tells you that you deserve to eat that doughnut because you’ve head a rough morning. Or the one that tells you that it’s too cold to go out for your nightly walk. We all have that little voice in our head. We also all have a choice each time that voice speaks up. We can listen to it, or we can choose to ignore it.
Ignoring that little voice and not making excuses isn’t easy, particularly in the beginning. But here’s the good news. As you start to ignore it more and more often and go work out, or say no to the high-sugar, high-calorie treat, the softer that little voice gets.
Don’t Let Yourself Down
Here’s what it comes down to. Anytime you listen to that little voice or are making an excuse, you’re letting yourself down. It’s time to stop doing that. Now is the time to honest with yourself. Realize what you’re doing is sabotaging your success and Stop It! You’re important and so is your health and well-being. If you haven’t believed that yet, now is the time to start putting yourself first because no one else will.
Whenever you’re tempted to skip a workout or indulge in an extra treat tell yourself that you won’t let yourself down. Put on those walking shoes and head out for a workout. Make a smart choice about the food you eat. Skip the soda and reach for a bottle of water instead. Don’t let yourself down.
You Are Worth It
You are worth the effort and hard work it is going to take to get down to a healthy weight. You are worth a healthy body that will support you in all endeavors for years and years to come.
We often focus on getting thin and more attractive for other people. Instead, do this for you, because you know deep down that you are worth it. It’s a much stronger motivator and no matter what happens with relationships along the way, your goal won’t change.
You Deserve The Best
You deserve a long and happy life. You deserve being able to go to any store in the mall and find a cute outfit that fits. You deserve being able to go on that beautiful hike in the mountains. You deserve having a fun game of tag with the kids in the park. You deserve to be the person you already see inside yourself.
Stop making excuses and remember that you are worth it, you deserve the best and don’t even think about letting yourself down.
Getting Back On Track – How To Pick Yourself Up After Falling Off Your Diet
No matter how motivated and dedicated you are, chances are good that you’ll fall off your diet at one point or another. It may be because you had a rough day at work and fell back into the old trap of making yourself feel better with food.
It could be that you were invited to a friend’s house and she served some delicious homemade cake. Or maybe you “took a break” over the holidays to indulge a bit in all your favorite treats.
Perhaps you got sick and needed some comfort food to make you feel better. There are hundreds of reasons why we get off track of our goals. Let’s accept that it’s going to happen. No need to beat yourself up about it. What’s important is what you do next.
How are you going to get back on track and keep this cheat meal or that indulgence day from turning into days and weeks of eating junk food, undoing all the hard work you’ve put in so far?
Forgive Yourself
First and foremost, there’s no sense in beating yourself up. What’s done is done. Forgive yourself and vow to do better in the future. Without forgiveness you’ll beat yourself up for “failing” instead of just taking the next step forward. That’s all you need to do to be successful. Just keep on moving forward!
Flush Out The “Bad” Stuff
Many convenience foods and sugar in particular can be quite addictive, making it hard to get back on track. I find it helps to eat very clean for at least a day and drink as much water and herbal tea as possible to flush out the “bad” stuff. It makes it easier to get right back on track and stick to your meal plans. Whole foods, homemade foods and things that come from nature are always better choices than anything from a box.
Recognize Triggers
After you’ve gotten back on track, take a look back and see if you can figure out why you slipped up. What caused you to reach for that tub of ice cream or why did you cave into eating that pizza after having the best intentions of sticking to a grilled chicken salad? Emotional triggers are huge saboteurs of an otherwise healthy eating plan.
Recognizing what’s causing you to give in will help you avoid future slip ups.
Make A Plan To Avoid Future Slip Ups
Speaking of which, come up with some scenarios on what you can do next time to stay on plan.
For example, if you were meeting friends for dinner and ended up ordering the pizza or burger because you were just too hungry to consider getting the salad, have a snack before you leave the house.
If you’re so busy that it was easier to pull through a fast food drive through then think about planning ahead a little better.
If you had a bad day and found yourself reaching for the pint of Chunky Monkey in your freezer then consider not even bringing it into the house.
I hope these tips help you get back on track and reach your weight loss goals.
Reaching Weight Loss Milestones – Don’t Forget To Celebrate Your Success
If you have more than just a few pounds to lose, it’s not going to happen overnight. It took a while to put on the extra weight, so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that it will also take some time to take it back off. But that can seem a bit discouraging at times. One way to stay motivated is to set different little mini goals or weight loss milestones. Don’t forget that each time you reach a milestone you should celebrate your success and how far you’ve come on your weight loss journey.
When you set your milestones is entirely up to you. It partially depends on how much weight you have to lose. If you’re motivated by rewards, you may want to set plenty of little milestones along the way. It’s easier to make and meet smaller goals – like 1-3 lbs. The more realistic the goal the easier they are to reach, too.
Each pound lost is a success. Celebrating after every 5 pounds might be a good starting point. It’s a big enough goal that you have to really try to get there, but it won’t take you ages. You don’t want to have too much time between milestones so you don’t lose steam along the way.
I recommend you don’t use food as a reward. You don’t want to reinforce bad eating habits by using food as a reward. Instead, thing of other fun things. Get a new book, buy a new outfit, get a massage or buy some new makeup. Mani/pedi anyone? Even simple things like taking some time to just curl up on the couch with a cup of tea watching a movie can be a nice reward. Pick something that you want and that makes you work for that next weight loss milestone.
Another fun option is to make a poster similar to the ones used at fundraisers. Mark down each pound you lose and have it hanging up in your bedroom or bathroom. It will be a nice visual reminder of how well you’re doing and how much weight you’ve lost already.
Recording milestones and celebrating each one is a powerful motivator. Don’t be shy about sharing your success with others. Having your loved ones celebrate with you and cheer you on can be very helpful. Making your weight loss journey “public knowledge” also helps to hold you accountable. You’ll be even more motivated to keep going and stick with the program if you have to admit to your family that you’re giving up.
Keep going, stay motivated, set some milestones and celebrate your success.