Lose more in 2024! Ditch those dieting habits that are holding you back from losing weight and keeping it off long-term.
Let's revisit those resolutions you made on New Year's Day. I bet you got all excited to make changes to your life in the hopes of losing weight and being healthier, only to become overwhelmed a week later with all the things you agreed to change.
Real weight loss sustained over time requires motivation, devotion, and dedication to making and sticking with what, how, and when you eat food.
Don't worry, you can lose weight without:
counting calories
point systems
giving up foods you love
feeling bad about eating bread or carbs
joining a gym or fitness program
working with a nutritionist or personal trainer
weight loss medications or injections
It's also very unlikely you will lose weight and keep it off without working with a weight loss coach. Can you lose weight? Yes! Will you keep it off without accountability? Probably not. Motivation and accountability are two crucial elements of weight loss.
Weight Loss Coaching
Weight loss coaches offer a unique perspective to weight loss. They are not nutritionists, personal trainers, or medical professionals. Yet they understand how emotions affect food decisions, weight loss and creating healthy habits.
Weight loss coaches:
help clients clarify and identify their weight loss and wellness goals
identify bad habits related to food and disordered eating
hold clients accountable for completing tasks to achieve their goals
help clients understand what motivates them to start/stop eating
Sometimes, weight loss coaches are also educators, and peer support specialists. They may also do the following:
teach skills for mindful eating
teach clients to recognize when they are hungry or full
teach clients to trust their guts and bodies
help clients love themselves
teach stress reduction exercises
It's easy to get excited about losing weight. Imagining how much better you will feel once you shed unwanted belly fat. It's a lot harder to stay motivated and committed to new behaviors and healthy habits to maintain weight loss.
Before you read the following list of weight loss tips, ask yourself the following:
What new behaviors am I willing to start today and still be doing in six months?
Does my current lifestyle support the health changes I want to make
What am I willing to give up in order to lose weight
Am I committed to making long-term lifestyle changes?
Okay, here's the much anticipated list of weight loss tips. A word of caution, don't make too many behavioral changes right away. Get really good at 1-3 changes. You can always add more later.
ditch your diet
stop labeling foods as "good" or "bad"
give yourself permission to eat all of the foods you love when you are hungry
stop eating foods you love when you are full
only eat foods your tummy likes
get 7-8 hours of sleep per night
let go of things you can't control
savor each bite and enjoy the moment
pay attention to how it feels when you move your body
if your stomach wants to hurl after eating a certain food, stop eating that specific food
take a probiotic at least once a day
focus on waist to hip ratio, not BMI or numbers on a scale
cut out stress as much as possible. Life is too short.
consider limiting the amount of processed foods you eat per week
consider limiting trips through the drive-thru
plan out your meals for the week on Saturday/Sunday
go grocery shopping on a full stomach
only eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full
consider increasing your steps by 500 per day
consider using My Fitness Pal to help you see what foods you are eating/ how many calories each day
stand up and walk around your living room during tv commercials
be kind to yourself. Weight loss is a process of multiple consecutive marathons, not a single 50 yard dash
Sara Minges is a Weight Loss Wellness Coach, Creator of The Goddess Plan, Founder of Wonder Woman Rising, and a body positivity poet. She's also a formerly licensed therapist with 24 years of experience as a wellness and family coach. To book Sara for a future talk, workshop, or poetry event, send an email to sara@wonderwomanrising.com