The New Year is here and it’s time to relook and reevaluate goals in our life. One of the main things that we all look to do is lose weight, get healthy, and feel good about ourselves. It feels like it’s a clean slate, what happened last year can be put behind us and we now start over. We have the opportunities to align our goals with how we feel and what items in our life need change. The biggest thing about this goal is to stay motivated throughout the year not just for the first couple months of the year. Keeping this as a life changing experience and not falling back on bad habits. Here are some key ways to stay motivated to lose the weight and keep the weight off. If you are able to combine a proper diet with training at a gym, you will begin to see results much faster than if you strictly
One way to stay motivated is by setting small goals that you can measure throughout the process that add up to the larger goal in the end. For example, I will drink 68 oz of water a day and make sure to drink one glass when I get up to start my day and one in the evening and incorporate greens into at least two of my meals a day.
Download a food journal app, these are super beneficial in tracking what you eat and how much you are eating they also track your sleeping habits and water intake. We may think we are only eating certain items throughout the day but by tracking these in a journal and logging items will help to see what is actually being consuming instead of what you think you are throughout the day. My fitness pal is great they have a huge food list that shows exact calories, I like to use my Fitbit app because it shows all these items in one place, workouts, sleep, food, water etc.…
Having a family and children it’s hard to keep snacks and meals the kids usually eat out of your diet but try to get healthier items for the whole family to enjoy and eliminate the processed foods altogether.
Move past items that come from your pantry and head for the fridge for healthier alternatives. The items that are stored within your fridge tend to be unprocessed. When I open the fridge for a snack, I look for items that will satisfy me but are also healthy, like hummus and veggies, Greek yogurt, and even string cheese, berries, and apples.
Look up new recipes and try new foods! Eating the same food, the same way every day tends to be boring and you may find yourself falling off track! I love to look up items on Pinterest they have an abundance of recipes that look amazing that I have never tried before. Most of them are easy to make and don’t require a lot of prep time but offer the types of foods I would like to incorporate into my diet that also crowds pleasing for the whole family!
The best way to continue to stay motivated is by having a network of people that are like-minded especially the people closest to you! Your significant other is a great place to start taking a walk or run together, join classes together. So, if you both stay motivated you both to feed off each other it becomes the competition to stay on track. Family and friends are also great networks of people to utilize as resources as well!
By eating every 3-5 hrs, keeps your body going and helps to keep hunger at bay so you don’t grab something that is not so healthy when you think your starving especially between work and home while you’re making dinner you don’t start snacking on items that fall into the not so healthy category.
Prep your meals and snacks, cut up your veggies and store them in an airtight container so when you look for something to snack on you grab those and don’t have to think about doing much work. Pe-pare your meals every three days for lunch so it’s all ready to go when you step out the door in the morning and you’re not having to rush to make something for lunch, which could lead to eating out if you don’t. Keep items that are pre-cooked like veggies and quinoa, Trader Joes has some premade items that are divinely made from brown rice, quinoa, barley and veggies that mix things up and are not hard to prep.
Re-organize your pantry and remove the items that trigger you to overeat and are not healthy for you. For me the temptations are cookies, fruit snacks, cereal and chips, I could eat a whole bag of chips by myself. Re-align them with nuts, granola, and protein bars.
When your running errands remember to pack a healthy snack for yourself, so you’re not tempted to run through a drive through once you get hungry. Items good for that are apples, carrots, cucumbers homemade trail mix or health bars. These items are quick to grab, and you can eat them on the go without having to do much.
I say we all need a cheat day or meal to keep us sane when we need it. By not allowing yourself to eat the foods you really enjoy only makes for not wanting to eat healthy in return and could set you back to your old ways.
Eating out doesn’t need to be hard look up a restaurant’s menu beforehand to see if there are items that you can you eat. Also going in prepared will eliminate the temptation to order something that is not so good on the menu.
Even if you have a setback keep pushing forward towards the end results instead of throwing in the towel completely. Keep on pushing yourself to succeed!!
Keep your diet goals set in place and allow yourself to make mistakes but also to learn from them and continue to push yourself to reach your end goal. Hopefully, some of these ideas will help to keep you on track with losing the weight!
If you find that diet and exercise are too difficult for you at this time, you should consider hiring a personal trainer or seeking medical advice for surgical options. Weight loss surgery is very common among those that suffer from extreme weight gain. After weight loss surgery, additional surgical procedures can be provided including body contouring to reshape the new you after surgery. Body sculpting is very common for those that choose to take the surgical route, consider all these options as you prepare to make these life changing decisions and better your health for good.
