Weight Loss Goals: How Real People Slim Down and Keep it Off
To achieve your weight loss goals, learn how real people slim down and keep it off. Amy Hendel is a health expert and author of Fat Families, Thin Families. Here, she shares how people lose weight for good, with success strategies from real people.
First, a great quotation from actress Valerie Bertinelli:
“I’ve come to the realization that once you lose the weight, you don’t all of a sudden get happy,” says Bertinelli in People magazine. “Sure it’s easier to put on clothes, but I’ve lost the weight so many times thinking ‘Oh, if I just weighed this much I’d be so much happier.’ I know now that I still have to work on that other stuff that has nothing to do with weight.”
Losing weight won’t solve all your problems…in fact, weight loss can create new ones (such as jealous friends, partners who don’t want you to change, etc). But, it’s important to achieve your weight loss goals and slim down - and keep it off - which is why I’m profiling Hendel’s success strategies for losing weight from real people! Click on the book cover for more info about Fat Families, Thin Families.
Weight Loss Goals: How Real People Slim Down and Keep it Off
“If you read most of the People magazine ‘loser stories’ then you’ll see that most of these women and men have a ‘reality moment’,” says Hendel. “Then, they begin sensible eating programs and daily exercise.”
Here are some of her tips for achieving weight loss goals and slimming down:
1. Strategize to deal with different situations so that you control the food - and it doesn’t control you. Try smaller plates, flavored waters, always bringing a salad (veggie or fruit) or healthy dish to a party so you know there will be something you can comfortably eat. Call restaurants ahead of time to hear a menu so you’re not surprised and order food a certain way (eg, salad with dressing on the side, grilled with sauce on the side, berries and some sorbet for dessert)
2. Use a buddy or support system - many people who keep weight off do it as couples or a family, or even enlist co-workers to join in the effort. A support system can be a great way to achieve your weight loss goals and slim down for good.
3. Lose the word diet. Instead, adopt the words “lifestyle change.” This is not a temporary change - it’s a final decision to “change for good.”
4. Plan ahead. Think about what you’re eating in a given day in terms of calories and “the right fit of food.” Planning ahead can be an effective way to achieve your weight loss goals and slim down for good because it keeps you in the ”lose” phase or the “staying off” phase.
5. Eat more high-volume foods. Vegetables are high in fiber and water, and low in calories. Also, fulfill your daily value of fruit servings even if it means drinking 100% orange juice during your meals (OJ isn’t just for breakfast!).
6. Use a scale. To achieve your weight loss goals and slim down for good, weigh yourself on a regular basis. Also, use body measurements and clothing size as guidelines of achievement.
7. Don’t be easily derailed. People who slim down for good don’t let one bad choice or one bad day de-rail their efforts. For most “chronic dieters”, letting one day’s transgressions snowball into a “total dietary break out” is the death toll.
8. Subscribe to health or fitness magazines or blogs. Reading about how to achieve your weight loss goals and slim down for good can increase your motivation. Also, consider buying books on weight loss - people who lose weight and keep it off keeping educating themselves!
9. Exercise daily. Increase your daily activity as much as possible (this should go without saying, but so many of us don’t exercise at all!).
10. Lose the emotional pull of food as a primary way to relieve anxiety/stress. An effective way to achieve your weight loss goals and slim down for good is to replace food with other behaviors and rewards.
11. Focus on your health. Losing weight for health reasons seems to be a huge motivation. Vanity seems to be secondary. Also, losing weight for your kids is a strong motivation to achieve your weight loss goals.
12. Take it one day at a time - but pre-plan. Time your meals and include treats, but remember that they’re meant to be occasional pleasurable moments - not daily habits (this is something I’m struggling with right now! I’ve been eating my double chocolate chunk cookies every night for the past two weeks…and my jeans aren’t happy).
13. Journal. Many people who achieve their weight loss goals and slim down for good chart their daily meals, exercise routines, and feelings. This keeps their motivation high.
Amy Hendel is a health expert with experience as a medical news correspondent for national television shows and a magazine columnist. Often described as a “lifestyle coach” or “health & wellness advisor”, she trains and counsels patients with her own unique blend of nutrition, fitness and psychology. Visit her at HealthGal.com.
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