Eating for weight loss is not the same as eating to maintain your weight. And you have to learn how to do both in order to be successful with your weight loss journey and to keep it off. The reason most diets fail is that they do not teach you what you need to do after the diet. I don't like the word diet, but lets face it, anytime to reduce your calorie intake, limit what you eat, reduce your portion sizes, you really are dieting. It's changing your mindset of how you look at the process that will either make you successful or not. Stop thinking of it as a diet and think of it as the beginning of your new journey to a healthier you!
When you embark on a weight loss journey you need to decide how you are going to approach it. Are you going to slowly change one thing at a time? Or are you going to dive in and make drastic changes? It completely depends on you, your personality, and your lifestyle as to which route you should take. I have many clients that choose to work on their breakfast eating habits first, then work on healthy snacks, then work on healthy lunch choices, etc. Slowly making each change over the course of a week or so and then adding something new to change. Some of my clients decide to just jump in to an all or nothing approach, and that works too, as long as they choose to learn along the way about what they are eating, what their body needs, how to boost their metabolism, and more. It is the learning part that makes someone successful in their weight loss journey. Those who decide that they really want to understand WHAT they should eat, HOW OFTEN, and WHY are the ones that keep it off forever.
Now that you have decided to lose weight, and you have either chosen to make small changes or to jump in head first, you will be reducing your caloric intake in order for the pounds to come off. Are you going to measure and weigh your foods so that you learn what your portion sizes should look like? Or are you going to rely on a weight loss system to do all the calculating for you? Again, either approach can work, it is what you decide will work best for you. You have to reduce your calories, increase your activity level and learn how to increase your metabolism to make your body a fat-burning machine to lose weight. And if you decide to rely on a program like shakes or pre-made meals, you still need to learn what to do after you reach your goal weight!
Now lets quickly talk about weight ... the pounds that are going to shed off of your body. I think it is important to realize that I am not just talking about the scale, I am talking about the fat on your body. The measurement of fat that you have on your body is a much more accurate measurement of your health than what the scale says. Get your body fat measured! You may be shocked at what your body fat measurement is and what a powerful piece of information it is to have for motivation! If you don't know where to go to get it measured, ask me, I can do it! :)
If you have 8-10 pounds to lose, you can typically lose it within a month, with dedication. So plan out your weight loss based on 8-10 pounds a month. It is easier to calculate using pounds than body fat percentage. Embark on your journey to eat whole foods, not packaged, reduce your intake of packaged, refined and low nutrient foods, and think simple. Think of fish and vegetables, chicken and salad, stir fry, pork chops and pea pods, etc. There are so many varieties of vegetables and fruits out there to never get bored creating new combinations of roasted or stir-fried vegetables! Think of foods that grew in the ground, were living, and have few ingredients. The simpler the food the better it is for you!
Time has flown by and you have lost the weight, so now what? Well, most people fail in their journey to keep their weight off because they go back to what they were doing before... which obviously didn't work in the first place so why would you do that again?!?! NO, you don't do that. You keep doing what you were doing during your weight loss mode of eating healthy and wholesome foods, but now you get to eat more of them. Instead of 6 ounces of chicken, have 8 ounces and more vegetables. Have some fruit for dessert. Have a larger snack during the day. But not too much more!!! Or you may choose to not work out as often as you were during your weight loss mode. You need to find the balance where you can add in more foods without starting to gain weight back. It is a process, but if you take the time to learn what your body really needs, it is well worth the investment of that time. Using a journal is a great way to keep track of what works for your body too! To look back at a week of journaling and see your notes that you felt full and lost 2 pounds that week, well do that week again if you still have weight to loose. If you look back over a week of journaling and notice that you gained 2 pounds that week, review what you did differently that week and learn from it!
Also keep in mind that it takes 90 days to make something a habit. So a new pattern of eating, making healthy food choices, eating frequently, and all of the stuff you start doing the first 30 days you have to keep up for at least 90 days for your mind and your body to create a habit of it. You will also find that after 90 days (usually only 30 days for most people, but 90 days for sure) you will discover that you no longer crave sugar and simple carbohydrates. Your cravings will be gone, your energy level will be increased and you will feel better than you have ever in your life. Why wouldn't you want to spend 30-90 days doing that?
If you want more information on wellness consultations, body fat measurement and how to create your own 30 day program please let me know! laura@fitnesswithlaura.com
My next entry will be about what eating healthy and having balance in your life means, as you are probably thinking: Does this mean I never get lasagna again? Does this mean I don't get chocolate again? I will answer that next!
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