Surely all of us know how to lose weight. Eat healthy, be active — basically burn more calories than we take in. Knowing how to lose weight is the easy part. It’s the motivation, self-control and daily habits that keep us from reaching our weight loss goals. We live in a world filled with temptation, and that makes weight loss more of a mental challenge than a physical one.
The only way to take weight off and keep it off is through consistency in your eating habits, activity level and mental well-being. You do NOT need to be perfect, but your lifestyle should consist of 80% or more of healthy habits. To start off, make a plan because a goal without a plan is just a dream.
Here are a few inspirational weight loss tips to get you started!
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1. Your mental health is your number 1 Priority
Your mental health is probably the most important tool in reaching your weight loss goals. Weight loss isn’t a physical challenge, it’s a mental challenge. You have to stay positive, love yourself, and focus on being grateful for your body and what’s it’s capable of. When we practice feelign gratitude, we can really attract just about anything we want.
2. Stop comparing your body to others
Stop comparing your body to others – every individual’s body is unique. You cannot be that other person, so why not be the best version of yourself? If you try to compare your body to your friend’s, to what you see on TV and in magazines, or to the girl next to you on the treadmill, you are setting yourself up to fail. Life is way too short to spend another day at war with yourself. Make your goals realistic and you’re more likely to succeed.
3. Make a reminder list
As women, we tend to forget the importance of eating healthy other than just weight control. We get so focused on our appearance that we forget about our health, but the two go hand in hand. Instead of thinking “I don’t want to eat that because I want to lose weight”, think “I don’t want to eat that because it will upset my stomach, make me feel sluggish and irritable, and make my workout harder in the morning because it will bloat my stomach”. There are so many benefits to eating healthy. Make your own list and keep it out where you can see it.
4. Change your environment
Changing your environment during stressful or boring times of the day is one of the easiest things you can do to prevent eating when you’re not hungry. Most of us have a certain time of the day when we are prone to food cravings and binging. For me that’s in the late afternoon, usually 3 or 4 hours after lunch. Know when your “weak times” are and change them! Use those hours to do something that keeps your hands busy, and mind distracted. If you can’t change that part of your day, at least set aside 10 minutes to listen to music, go for a short walk, or call a friend to break it up and have something to look forward to. Small changes can make a big difference.
5. Flavor up your water
We all know that drinking lots of water aids in weight loss, but it sure does get boring! Dice up and freeze a month’s supply of organic fruit like raspberries, strawberries, oranges, lemons, limes, or any other fruit you’d like and add it to your water bottles. It flavors it AND keeps it cold. You could also freeze lemon juice in ice cube trays and pop them in there. It’s the little things like this that make your workout and drinking water more exciting!
6. Make drinking enough water a habit
Use a permanent marker on one or more of your water bottles to give yourself water goals throughout the day. Keep it at your desk, in your car, on the counter, or wherever else it’s handy and sip on it during the day, trying to stay within your goal. This will give you an idea of how much water you’re drinking and what times of the day you tend to not get enough.
7. Motivational jars for weight loss
What a unique and fun way to stay motivated! Each marble or pebble is a nice visual reminder of what you’ve accomplished. Just about any glass jars will do, and you could substitute the marbles for other small items, too.
8. Stretch while watching tv
Stretching is the one thing that I always forget to do. ALWAYS. I have to set aside time and plan it, otherwise I neglect to do it. Unfortunately, you don’t realize the importance of it until you get injured. And if you’re injured, it’s nearly impossible to stay active and lose weight. My solution to that is making stretching part of my TV time towards the end of the night. Get up during the commercials and make it a point to stretch until the end, and then repeat for the next.
9. Put leftovers away before eating
If you are like me and tend to go back for seconds even though you’re not hungry, put away your leftovers before you sit down to eat. It’s unlikely that you’ll dig into the fridge for another bite, but if you have it sitting out on the counter it’s hard to resist. Why tempt yourself?
10. Prepare for your workout the night before
Some of us (ME) just aren’t morning people. It’s not easy being motivated when you’re half asleep. This is why you should do everything you can the night before to make getting ready for your workout easier. Set aside everything you’ll need (shorts, sports bra, shirt, socks, shoes, iPod, head phones, gym card, etc.) and put it all in one place for the morning. I even go as far as filling up my water bottle and storing it in the fridge the night before. You might even consider sleeping in your gym clothes sans the sports bra.
