5 Steps to Successful Weight Loss

Are you tired of trying one diet after another?

Are you constantly on the look out for the newest miracle diet?

You lose weight but it always finds its way back often packing extra pounds with it?

Are you ready to finally do what it takes to successfully lose weight?

Read 5 simple steps to successful weight loss:

1. Prepare to succeed.

Just like the old saying goes, If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You’ll be surprised at how easy losing weight seems when you are prepared.

One of the most important steps in preparation is discussing your weight loss plan with your physician. A lot of people skip this step I urge you not to.

Decide right here and right now to be willing to do whatever it takes to lose weight once and for all. Develop a winning attitude. Your determination to succeed will be the key to you finding the motivation to keep on going when times get rough.

Forgive yourself of your past failures. Learn from them. What did you do right? What could you have improved upon? This will give you insight to what behaviors you need to change.

Be prepared for temptations and have an alternative plan. This is especially important to overcome emotional eating. Instead of grabbing the bag of chips or cookies, you can take a walk, call a friend, read a book, clean your house, do some gardening, take a bath Just divert your attention to anything but food.

Support is a key factor in successful weight loss. It’s good to know we are not alone.

And we’re not, as the overweight population seems to be growing daily.

Studies have shown that online support is just as effective as live support groups.

Stock your kitchen with healthy foods. Choose foods you like. You won’t stick to any plan if you’re forced to eat things you don’t like.

2. Know how your body loses weight.

Your body is composed of muscle, fat, water, bone, organs and tissues. When we gain weight we gain fat. But weight loss can be from fat, muscle or water.

For weight loss to be successful you need to lose fat and increase your muscle. Muscle shrinks with lack of activity and will build up with increased activity. A point to remember is that muscle will never turn into fat and fat will never turn into muscle.

Our metabolism is determined by how fast (or slow) our body burns calories. Muscle burns more calories than fat thus increasing your metabolism. This results in your body burning more calories – even while you are resting. The final outcome allows you to eat more and maintain your weight loss.

Skipping meals and going on very low calorie diets decreases your metabolism. Weight loss is usually due to losing fat or water which is why you gain the weight back.

On the other hand by eating small meals every two to three hours the reverse happens You INCREASE your metabolism.

Keep in mind that a pound of muscle takes up LESS room in your body than a pound of fat does.

Drink 64 or more ounces of water per day. This not only makes you feel fuller, water flushes out impurities and improves muscle tone.

3. Identify Barriers.

Barriers to weight loss fall into four distinct categories:

External Barriers – Time, Lack of Support and Society.

Dieting Barriers – Portion Control and Starving Yourself.

Physical Barriers – Sedentary Lifestyle and Lack of Sleep.

Psychological Barriers – Attitude, Self-Talk, Unrealistic Goals, Awareness, Impatience, Emotional Eating and Fear.

Figure out what barriers you have and devise a plan to defeat them.

4. Set Smart Goals.

A S.M.A.R.T. goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-limit.

Specific – You should be able to describe every little detail so clearly that a 10 year would understand it.

Measurable – Answer the questions how much, how many and how long. You need to be able to tell when the goal is reached.

Attainable – Set small goals that you know you can reach with no problem. Setting your goals in 5 pound increments is easy and each time you lose 5 pounds you’ll be building your self confidence. Losing 5 pounds sounds more attainable than losing 100 pounds.

Realistic – Your subconscious needs to know that the goal is actually attainable for it to help you stay on track. Losing 30 pounds in 30 days is not a realistic goal. It’s best to aim for 5 pound weight losses each month. If you lose more than your goal then you’ll have reason to celebrate! (Just not with food.)

Don’t set a goal like I’ll never eat chocolate again. Believing you can never eat something again sets you up for failure from the beginning.

TimeLimit – Set a realistic timeframe for you to reach your goals. Such as “I will lose ten pounds by … (a specific date).”

For the best results, write down your goal and read it to yourself several times every day. According to numerous studies your chance of success is 80% greater when you have written your goals down.

5. Choose a plan that fits your lifestyle.

Find a plan that you can live with. If you can’t live without bread and pasta a low carb diet isn’t for you. If you hate to cook don’t choose a plan like the Mediterranean diet that focuses on freshly prepared meals.

In order to lose weight and keep it off you need to find a plan that you can live with for the rest of yourself.

Find a plan that minimizes your hunger and satisfies your taste buds. Find a program that will teach you behavior modification skills and help you to establish lifelong habits.

A healthy diet does not contain excessive quantities of fat sugar or salt. It will provide you with the nutrients your body needs to function at peak efficiency.

The real secret to losing weight – isn’t a secret at all. Eat Less, increase your activity level and you will lose fat, gain muscle and feel great.