If weight loss were easy, taking the weight off -- and keeping it off -- wouldn’t be the undertaking it is for so many of those hoping to drop pounds and get healthy. However, you can set yourself up for weight loss success in a number of ways, including by understanding that long-term weight loss is a journey filled with highs and lows. Physical challenges, momentary setbacks, unexpected insights and daily successes are all part of the journey.
Make a Commitment
Successful weight loss comes from fundamental changes in lifestyle. Your day-to-day lifestyle is essentially a set of behaviors, which means you have to exchange your old behaviors for new, healthier behaviors. Making a lifestyle change can be overwhelming without the conviction and motivation of a personal commitment to back your actions. Only you know what motivates you to want to lose weight. What you see in the mirror, the example you set for your children or the desire to be as healthy as possible are a few possible motivators. Whatever your motivation, it has to have sufficient influence over you to help you make the commitment to change your lifestyle, and stay committed.
Set Weight-Loss Goals
Weight-loss goals establish your intentions. They’re a yardstick by which you can measure your success as you move forward on your journey. Setting achievable goals is crucial to your ability to succeed. Losing 1 to 2 lbs. per week is considered safest and best for long-term weight loss, so having a goal of losing 20 lbs. per month isn’t realistic, or healthy. Write your goals down, giving thought to both your long-term and short-term goals. Short-term goals may include walking a certain number of miles per week, while a long-term goal could be to run a half-marathon by a certain date.
Develop a Program
Any time you attempt to change your behavior, be prepared to encounter hurdles. Having a detailed exercise program and nutrition plan provides you with a strategy to reach your daily, and therefore long-term, goals. Even if you skip your workout or make less than healthy food choices one day, you know that all you have to do the next day is make decisions that fall in line with your program. Every weight-loss journey is marked by plateaus, where the weight stops coming off despite the fact that you’re working hard and eating right. That’s the time celebrate how far you’ve come by adjusting your exercise program to accommodate your increased fitness level.
Overcome Setbacks
Adherence to exercise and diet plans can help you overcome minor, daily setbacks, but what about setbacks that last longer, such as the extra stress and calories through the holidays, or periods of personal crisis that compel you to return to your old behaviors? Rather than concentrating on criticizing self-talk, keep in mind that the journey to successful weight loss isn’t made in one straight line, from point A to point B. Remember that you can — and should — begin again. Reassess your motivation, level of commitment, goals and strategies if you find yourself succumbing to old habits on an ongoing basis.
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