Weight Loss
Weight Loss
People set out to lose weight for a variety of reasons; some for health and medical reasons and others for purely aesthetic reasons as thoughts shift to bathing suit season. No matter what your motivation for considering a plan for weight loss, it is important that you understand and accept the fact that it will not come easily, regardless of the program you choose to follow. There’s little doubt that it took you an extended period of time to gain the weight, thus it will take some time and effort for it to come off. There is no silver bullet and no magic diet pill you can take, regardless of how convincing the commercials and testimonials may sound. With every person being so unique, you can try all the commercial diet programs out there, but without the will and the commitment to making changes in your behavior, any success gained from a mass-marketed diet program will likely be short lived.
The first step on the road to successful weight loss (success being defined as weight that is kept off for more than one year) is to take a good look at your personal habits. You should consider your eating habits, taking into consideration the times you eat, the company you may be keeping when you eat, your portions, and the types of foods you typically gravitate toward. Another consideration in this thought process is to take a good look at how active you currently are. When was the last time you exercised? When was the last time you intentionally decided to forgo the elevator and take the stairs? Do you spend most of your work day in a sedentary state? If you find the most exercise you get in a typical day is walking from the living room to the fridge, it’s time to think of ways you can sneak more movement into your day. Once you’ve evaluated your current lifestyle (we suggest writing it down; you will be amazed after a few months to look back and see how far you’ve come), don’t look to make drastic changes and think you can decide to run a marathon on Saturday afternoon to compensate for your months of sluggishness. A more practical way to start is to jot down 5 simple things you will commit to doing for the next 30 days. Out of these five things, you should have two relating to how you will change what/when/how you eat, two things relative to how you will get some exercise (think outside the box! commit to walking the dog a few times a day, park at the furthest most parking spot at the mall, take the stairs when you can, etc). Your fifth commitment on this list should be to get plenty of sleep each night. Without being properly rested, your body cannot function effectively and you will find it hard to adhere to the changes you are trying to make. A fresh mind and body are essential to living a healthy life.
If you don’t currently have one, invest in a pedometer. A pedometer is a very inexpensive way to keep tabs on how much you are moving. While taking 10,000 steps a day is recommended in order to maintain good health, you will be surprised how far off this mark you may be. Once you get over the initial shock and understand how little we really do move around, even on days when we feel like we are running errands, transporting children, walking around the office, etc, you will feel the inexplicable urge to ‘beat the pedometer’ and it then becomes a personal challenge. For more tips on how to incorporate more movement into your life, check our site often for ongoing suggestions.
Committing to lose weight is a large undertaking (no pun intended), but when you have decided ‘enough is enough’ and are truly ready to make the change, it will happen. Small changes will yield big results over time. Losing weight and becoming healthier will extend your life, improve your self image, and improve your quality of life, and for that, your family and loved ones will thank you.
