6 Easy Tips to Help You Stick to Your Weight Loss Plan (For Good This Time)
By Space Coast Daily // March 6, 2021
Losing weight is hard, but often what I find harder is locating accurate information, creating that plan, and then maintaining the resolve to see it through. We have all been there, starting the New Year, or season with the best of intentions and then never really following up. Year after year, we make the resolutions, that THIS will be the year, but it just does not work out.
Why is that? Busy routines and lifestyles, as we so often tell ourselves? Or is it just excuses and self sabotage? Let me share my 6 easy tips to help you make exercise and a commitment to fitness a part of your daily life, and transform both your body AND your worldview!
Do Your Research, But Not TOO MUCH of It
With the nature of the information age, and the millions of blogs and professionals shouting from all the corners of the internet, it is easy to overwhelm yourself with information and do none of it.
I personally believe in reading from trusted sources (one of my favourites is Fitwirr) and then cross-checking the information with just one or two other places. Study on what you want to achieve, what your body needs, and create a plan that works for you. The motivation to lose weight has to come FROM yourself FOR yourself. If you can manage that, you’ll stick to it, and achieve your goals. No excuses needed.
Start Small, and Build Up
Be realistic! You will not drop 30 pounds in one day- or week- of exercise, just like no one can run a 10K on their first attempt! Take baby steps, and build yourself from the foundation up.
Start with easier or shorter workouts, and then go harder by increments. Create manageable goals: think about losing that first pound and work upwards! Look for workouts you might enjoy (like running or Zumba or combat fitness or even HIIT). Find what works for you and then scale it up!
Not all exercises are created equal, nor are they one size fits all. Work hard but also work smart!
Show Up, Even When You Might Not Want To
The toughest part of starting any new habit, or kicking any bad ones, is the consistency required. It’s simple for a day or two, when the experience is still shiny and new, but the real goal is to stay focused and on track when the going gets tough and repetitive.
A good trick to keep yourself going is just to promise yourself to show up! Create a dedicated workout time, or gym space- or even a workout buddy for accountability’s sake- and go even when you don’t feel like it.
Sometimes showing up and facing the dread of working out is more than half the battle. The workout is never as bad once you start it. Promise yourself you’ll try it for five or ten minutes, and if it doesn’t help, you can stop; but chances are once you start you’ll keep it going for much longer, and work towards your goals.
Ditch the All or Nothing Attitude
It’s easy to envision an extremely specific goal, and then give up the minute it goes wrong. Like if you had set an alarm for 6 AM to workout but you wake up at 7 AM. Or you plan to go for a run, but it’s raining.
It’s easy to say you will just start from tomorrow, but TOMORROW is nearly always a lie to make you feel better. Instead, ADAPT. Do a shorter workout than you had planned if there is a time crunch, or do a different exercise- jog around in the house if you must- but do not push it off to a later date. There really is no time like the present.
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Get Used to It
Your workout should be just as part of your routine as brushing your teeth or taking a daily shower. When it is as habitual as eating breakfast, you will not need to think about it, or dread it as much. In fact, if you take a break- and sometimes it is even good to, if it’ll help you keep at it for longer!- you’ll find yourself missing that post workout glow and feel-good endorphins.
In a few months, as you get stronger and more in shape, exercise will become a regular part of your day, and you’ll even find yourself looking forward to it.
Celebrate the Milestones- All of them!
The last and MOST crucial step is celebrating your achievements. It is easy to get discouraged when your body doesn’t transform itself overnight or on day two of your workout. Remember, it took you a while to get out of shape, so of course it will take time to reverse the “damage”.
The thing to do is intermittently note down your measurements, for both your weight and body. It might be slow going, but as Confucius said: “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.”
Celebrate every inch and pound lost, or muscle gained, and know that if you keep going, there will be NO stopping you. Success is at the end of that road, as long as you’re willing to walk out to meet it.
