The secret to permanent weight loss can be found in your daily decisions. It's about switching from diets and quick fix solutions to permanent lifestyle change. We all know someone (maybe it's you?) who wants to lose weight but quit after two to four weeks. Results didn't happen fast enough. Or it wasn't any fun. For whatever reason, you gave up. If you want to finally lose weight and keep it off for good, you have to master consistency and small doable changes. Sound clichￃﾩ? Something you've heard before? Well, then why do so many people have trouble losing weight? I'm not belittling anyone who has headed down this path before. Your journey isn't about being perfect, it's about making progress. My goal is to empower you and let you know, it's going to take some time. It's all about decisions you make day in and day out. Weight loss is about feeling in control of your decisions, allowing a little leeway here and there and staying focused on your long-term goal. It's about patience and positivity.
Tweak your lifestyle little by little until you are loving how you live and loving how you look and feel. Come on now, I'm here for you! Here are 55 tips to move you in the right direction.
Weight Loss Motivation
1. Set a small, specific goal. Stick it on the fridge or your bathroom mirror.
2. Use your scale as a gauge to track your progress and not as a body-shaming device
3. Take before and after pictures. You won't believe how much real proof motivates.
4. Buy a new outfit that you want to rock. Hang it where you can see it daily for a visual reminder to stick to your goals. Or reward your small wins with new workout gear!
5. Focus only on losing the next two pounds. Whether you want to lose 10 pounds or 100 pounds, focusing on micro-goals can keep you from feeling overwhelmed. Think two pounds at a time.
6. Try on your jeans once a week to gauge how you are doing.
7. Surround yourself with support. Support can be friends, family, inspirational images, a fitness app, or all of the above.
8. Make a list of what works for you and keep doing those things. Now you have your own little success list.
9. Visualize the way you want to look.
10. Cancel negative thoughts and replace with positive thoughts. Practice the positive and build it up over time like a muscle.
11. Find someone to be your accountability partner.
12. Celebrate your small wins and share your progress with a Facebook post, Tweet or Instagram pic.
13. Practice self-compassion. Stop beating yourself up for missing a workout. Stop regretting what you ate. Practice kindness and understanding with yourself and simply make a better choice next time. Guess what? You are human and that's okay.
Exercise
14. Vary up your workouts. Don't Groundhog Day your workouts. Avoid having each day look the same.
15. Incorporate strength training and focus on specific muscle groups. Avoid exercising the same muscle groups two days in a row.
16. Track your exercise. You can use an app like MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, or you can go old school and write it down on a calendar. Logging your workouts gives you an immediate sense of accomplishment.
17. Warm up. You will accomplish more and stay injury-free.
18. Have a workout DVD ready to go for those days when it's dark, rainy, snowy or cold and you don't want to venture out or to the gym. Now you've got your Plan B in place.
19. Download a new fitness app. Try my free e-book about my eight favorite apps.
20. Aspire to sweat from exercise at least three times a week.
21. Don't overtrain. Signs of over-training include irritability, tension, restless sleep, aches and pains and a decline in athletic performance.
22. Do some bodyweight exercises weekly.
23. Stretch after your workout when your body is warm.
24. Sign up to your first 5K to jog or walk and catch the motivation of a crowd.
25. Try my plank challenge.
26. Master the micro-workout. Even if you only have 10 minutes, use those 10 minutes wisely.
27. Use hand weights and resistance bands at home for some bonus strength-training.
28. Breathe deeply during your workouts. Your muscles and body need oxygen to work effectively.
29. Schedule exercise like an appointment.
30. Do something active with your family at least once a week.
31. Add intensity to your workouts: Add time, speed or effort to your regular workout to take it up a notch.
32. Put your treadmill on an incline and vigorously move your arms while you walk.
33. Join a group fitness class.
Nutrition
34. Eat fiber-rich foods like green beans, broccoli, avocado, bananas, spinach, pears, Brussels sprouts, oranges, apples, beets, almonds, beans, brown rice, flax seeds, bok choy, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower and raspberries.
35. Calories are the holy grail of weight loss. Keep your eye on your portions.
36. Keep a food journal. Tracking keeps you more aware of your choices all day long.
37. Eat clean. Stop eating foods that come in a package and try to eat more foods that come from the earth.
38. Set it and forget it. Make slow cooker meals to eat healthy and keep your life easy breezy. (Well, at least your dinner.)
39. Give up soda and diet soda.
40. Eat healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, avocado and seeds.
41. Schedule planned indulgences. You can enjoy your favorites without any guilt nonsense.
42. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store. Try and reduce the amount of packaged and boxed items in your grocery cart.
43. Have a prep day. Cut up veggies and have them ready to go in the fridge. Make up a batch of brown rice or cut up a rotisserie chicken for salads or a snack. Make some healthy grab and go snacks. Make eating healthy easier for you to do.
44. Add more protein to your diet: lentils, beans, quinoa, eggs, fish and lean meats.
45. Create a fail-safe environment. Make a list of your trigger foods (those you can't stop eating if they are in the house) and don't buy them. Why make it harder for yourself?
46. Try healthier dessert recipes.
47. Drink water all day. Start your day with a tall glass of lemon water. Squeeze about a half of a lemon into your room temperature water. So simple, and yet so good for your body. Read more about lemon water and how it benefits your body.
Lifestyle
48. Love your music playlist. Music motivates. Music YOU love motivates YOU More.
49. Sleep seven to eight hours each night.
50. Stand up more than you sit down. If your job doesn't allow for that, stand up once an hour and try to sit less when you aren't at work.
51. Quiet your mind. Use blocks of your time to unplug, enjoy the silence, recharge and organize your thoughts.
52. Switch from diets to lifestyle change. Diets are temporary and something you are on or off, lifestyle is permanent.
53. Get regular health screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol. If your numbers are good you will want to keep doing what you're doing. If they aren't so good, your numbers will motivate you to change some habits.
54. Spend time in nature to clear space for your mind and stay focused on your goals.
55. Follow some fitness enthusiasts on social media. Are we connected on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram? I'm here for you.
Are you ready to lose weight and not find it again? I'd love to hear from you and your journey in the comments below.