Do you have a plan to reach your fitness goal? If you listen to the weight loss industry, you\u2019ve been told over and over how easy it is to lose weight\u2013just take this pill, follow that diet or buy this piece of equipment and everything will melt away in a flash. Just imagine how much is spent each year on weight loss products and services and yet we\u2019re still overweight.
\nIf you struggle with weight loss, as most of us do, you\u2019ve figured out just how hard it is to lose weight. The question is why is it so hard and is there anything you can do about it? There\u2019s no short cut to weight loss, but you can make the process easier with a plan that allows you to make a few simple changes but deliver big results.<\/p>\n
Complex Problems, Simple Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n The idea behind weight loss is simple\u2013burn more calories than you eat. 1. Your Attitude.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re only on a health kick to lose weight or look a certain way, it will be hard to lose weight permanently. Why? Because, what happens if you don\u2019t see results quickly enough? You give up. Weight loss is a great goal, but unless you have something else to motivate you, what\u2019s to keep you going if the scale doesn\u2019t budge? It takes time to lose weight\u2013how will you motivate yourself in the meantime? 2. Each of your workouts.<\/strong>\u00a0If you don\u2019t workout consistently enough, it\u2019s hard to lose weight. Yes, it\u2019s possible to lose weight through diet alone, but you\u2019ll likely hit a plateau. You don\u2019t need to spend hours in the gym; you only need to set up a reasonable workout schedule that you can follow each week. It\u2019s not about killing yourself with workouts\u2013it\u2019s about finding something you like and that you\u2019ll continue with for the rest of your life. You have to be willing to be more active on a regular basis\u2013not just for a week here and there.<\/p>\n 3. Your Eating.<\/strong>\u00a0Changing the way you eat is another thing you\u2019re going to have to do for long-lasting weight loss. You need to be willing to replace unhealthy foods with healthier choices most of the time. That means: 4. Your Lifestyle.<\/strong>\u00a0If you want a healthy life, you have to be willing to change how you live. It doesn\u2019t mean changing everything overnight, but simply being open to new ways of doing things. Some things you might need to change for a healthy life are: 5. Your Surroundings.<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes, you can\u2019t control the things around you. At work, you may be surrounded by temptations\u2013sweets, vending machines and the like. That\u2019s just one thing you have to deal with, but what about your home? Surround yourself with things that will support you in your efforts to get healthy. Set up an environment that encourages those healthy choices and reminds you of them\u2013just walking into my kitchen and seeing that bowl of fresh fruit is often enough to remind me of all the healthy choices I\u2019ll need to make that day.<\/p>\n 6. Your Support System.<\/strong>\u00a0While getting healthy may be something you\u2019re doing on your own, it\u2019s a big help to have a support system. At the very least, family members who understand what you\u2019re doing and maybe willing to participate or help; If you have a spouse who wants to continue eating the kinds of foods that tempt you, you need a plan to deal with that so you can still reach your goals and keep your relationship together. Try to surround yourself with like-minded friends people who support what you\u2019re doing and avoid those people (like that co-worker who always offers you a donut even though you refuse on a daily basis) who don\u2019t. A workout buddy or training in a small group is also an excellent idea for support.<\/p>\n 7. Your Spiritual and Mental Health.<\/strong>\u00a0If you have other reasons for being overweight\u2013past hurts that you\u2019ve used food to deal with, depression or other problems, it\u2019s hard to lose weight. For many of us, food is a comfort and something we\u2019ve relied on all of our lives to help us deal with emotional problems. If that\u2019s the case for you; pinpointing those behaviours and what drives them is important for becoming aware of what you\u2019re doing and why. Be willing to learn why you make the choices you make and to confront them.<\/p>\n 8. Your Goals.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019ve set impossible goals, you are guaranteed to fail. Weight loss becomes hard to achieve if you feel like a constant failure\u2026who wants to feel like that? If that\u2019s how your weight loss experience is, it\u2019s no wonder you keep quitting. The key is to set small, reasonable goals. So what is reasonable? That\u2019s going to be different for each person depending on your genetics, eating habits, exercise, and metabolism to name a few. You\u2019re better off setting a long-term goal (whether it\u2019s to lose weight or compete in a race) and then focusing your attention on daily or weekly goals. Your weekly goal might be to get in 3 cardio workouts, minimum. Pick things you KNOW you\u2019ll stand a realistic chance of achieving so you\u2019re always successful. It can be as small as you like, as long as it\u2019s reachable.<\/p>\n 9. Your Flexibility.<\/strong>\u00a0You hear a lot about lifestyle changes, but it\u2019s daily choices that really test you. What happens if you have to work late and you can\u2019t get to the gym? Or what if you get stuck in traffic and miss your fitness class? Any number of things can happen in a day that may throw you off track. The trick is to be flexible. It helps if you\u2019re always prepared\u2013keep some runners in the car so you can stop off at the park for a quick walk. Keep some food handy so if you get stuck in traffic, you get a snack in before your workout. Often people skip workouts because something comes up and they simply aren\u2019t ready for it or they aren\u2019t willing to give themselves other options\u2013can\u2019t do 45 minutes? Why not just do 10 minutes? Something is always better than nothing.<\/p>\n
\nThis can be accomplished by replacing a couple of sodas with water and adding at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Sounds simple\u2026and it is. If it\u2019s that simple, why can\u2019t we seem to do it? There are a number of factors that contribute to our weight gain that you already know. But it\u2019s not just about finding time to exercise or choosing the salad over the burger\u2013it\u2019s about genuine commitment to make healthy decisions every day\u2026.regardless of what\u2019s happening in your life. If you\u2019re not ready to make some changes, losing weight will be hard. Below are 10 things you\u2019ll need to look at in order to get yourself on a healthy track.<\/p>\n
\nFind more reasons to be healthy\u2013having more energy, dealing with health problems or just feeling stronger and more energetic. Keep an exercise log and write down every single success, whether you\u2019re losing weight or not. This is one of the reasons our trainers will use a program card to record your weekly workouts; you can then look back at how far you have progressed!!<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Keeping a food diary
\n\u2022 Spending more time in the grocery store reading food labels
\n\u2022 Spending more time preparing your own meals
\n\u2022 Understanding proper portion control
\n\u2022 Making conscious choices about what you put in your mouth.
\nFor permanent weight loss, you need to pay attention to what you eat and make good choices more often than not. Usually a structured diet eventually ends, but healthy eating never stops\u2026there will never be a time when you\u2019re done eating healthy. You might feel you\u2019re sacrificing the good stuff (pizza, fast food, etc.) and your life won\u2019t be fun if you can\u2019t have those foods. Guess what? You can still have them\u2026just not whenever you want. Are you really ready to make these changes? Are you ready to stop giving your body the most convenient thing available (and often the most fatty) and, instead, spend time planning what and when you\u2019ll eat? Because that\u2019s what it takes to really lose weight and keep it off.<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Daily Routines. You may need to get up earlier to prepare your lunch or squeeze in a workout, use your lunch hour for exercise or go for a walk after work instead of watching TV. Exercising on a daily basis changes your entire day, so sitting down with your schedule to see where those changes need to happen is your first step in establishing an exercise habit.
\n\u2022 Limits. You might need to set new rules for yourself limiting how much TV you watch or how long you sit at the computer, how many glasses of wine you have. You\u2019ll need to pay attention to how you spend your time and where you\u2019re out of balance so you can add more movement.
\n\u2022 Your Cupboards. I\u2019m the kind of person who will eat an entire bag of crisps if they\u2019re in the house. That means I don\u2019t keep them in the house and if someone (your other half\u2026) brings them home, re-locate them elsewhere. If you want to be healthy, you may need to get rid of those foods you just can\u2019t resist.
\n\u2022 Your Schedule. If you\u2019re not willing to sit down and change the way you live each day to include exercise, time to prepare meals and time to nurture yourself with sleep, it\u2019s hard to lose weight. People use busy schedules as an excuse not to be healthy\u2026are you one of them? If you\u2019re not ready to take responsibility for the schedule you\u2019ve created, it will be hard to lose weight.<\/p>\n