Articles by Philip SumpterThe multitude of diet plans and products has largely failed to address the problems of obesity and weight gain in the western world. Many are too complicated or difficult to follow; so people try them and fail at weight loss.
However, the weight loss tips in this article are different; there are no amazing promises, no “latest fad”. Here you will find some easy-to-follow tips to help you make some lifestyle changes, to gradually and safely lose weight and maintain your healthy weight.
The first step to losing weight happens in your mind. You may have tried to lose weight before and failed, struggled with your weight for many years or put on extra weight recently. Whatever your situation, you have probably developed a pretty negative mind-set about it, and that’s to be expected. What you need to do now is to change that mindset into a more positive and productive one.
Make the decision that, this time, you will be successful in losing the weight, and that you are going to stick at it until it is done. Accept that it may be going to be hard at times, but believe you can persevere and succeed. Forgive yourself for past failures and be determined to succeed.
Next, get a notebook to use as your weight loss journal. This journal will be your friend over the coming weeks and months; use it to record your thoughts, how you are feeling, what strategies you have used, what works best etc. The first thing to write in your journal is your new mantra about weight loss ‘ “I know I can do this, even though it might be hard sometimes, I will succeed” (or something similar). Now write a list of why you want to lose weight. These are your own personal reasons for embarking on this journey. Read your reasons every day to help keep your motivation and commitment strong.
Next, get online and research “healthy lifestyle”. You need a basic understanding of what your life will look like when you have lost the weight. It covers activity, nutrition and diet, relaxation and emotional health. Now, write down 3 things in your life that could be causing you to be overweight. Just three! You might think of things like too many fast food meals and snacks, watching too much TV, not being active enough, avoiding vegetables or any number of other things.
In the next week, you are going to do one thing towards changing the impact of each of these three things has on your weight. So, that is 3 changes to your lifestyle. You might walk for 10 minutes every day; have fast food only one day and eat more vegetables, whole grains and lean meat; park the car further away from your destination so you have to walk; cook more meals yourself. Try to think up creative ways to change those not-so-good habits. Remember, you need to move more and eat less to lose weight, so keep these two activities in proportion.
Each week following, you will repeat the process, choosing 3 more things and working on them, while maintaining or extending your changes from the weeks before. You are gradually changing to a healthier lifestyle; you will notice your weight decreasing, your fitness level increasing and you will start to feel better and more energetic as your weight loss progresses. Remember, move more, eat less.