My 5 Tips for Someone Wanting to Lose Weight

I’ve had some people come up to me who have noticed my progress, and want to talk about losing weight, or in the middle of their diets, and say things like, “I want to do what you did“, “I’m so hungry all the time“, or “I bet you don’t eat anything good [read: bad for you / delicious].”

I can first assure them that I do eat delicious food, and sometimes it’s not good for me (sweet potato fries? chocolate? pizza? gelato? yes, please), but it’s the consistency in which I’m approaching this which makes a difference. I can’t assure them they’ll have the same results as I did, especially when their approach and everyone’s journey is completely different, but I think hearing it from someone who has done it helps!

Here are 5 tips I would like to say to anyone who’s ready to make a lifestyle change towards the healthier:

1. Track what you’re eating for a week, before you make any changes to what you’re eating. You may find out some really interesting things about yourself: when you get hungry, what your trigger/overeating foods are, what foods you seem to be eating because they’re around the house or in the bread basket at the restaurant, and when. Track your exercise for the week and generally how you’re feeling throughout the day, too. Did you overeat on something or perhaps ate when you really weren’t hungry? Make a note. Feeling stressed or overwhelmed, and ate something? Be honest with your tracking (no one will see it but you!) You may or may not continue to track throughout your lifestyle change, but understanding what the status quo is from the start is a powerful tool. Read more in How I Food Journal.
2. Examine what you really love to eat.  Make some choices about what you really love and what you’d miss in your life when you’re looking at designing your eats moving forward. You’ll miss some things more than others, you’ll crave some things more than others, but it probably won’t be every thing you’re eating now. Find a way to allow yourself some indulgences while on plan so you don’t feel like you’re getting off track when you do eat them. I don’t have a “No list” myself, but there are some things I don’t enjoy as much as others, no matter their calorie count. Read more in Eating what you Love, Loving what you Eat. 
   
3. Figure out what kind of exercise you like to do, and do it. But not to lose weight – you probably will in the end, but that shouldn’t be the reason you show up at the gym. Exercise because your body will be in a better state because of it, not so you can justify eating calories (Read more in Breaking the cycle of “deserving” or “earning” food). Do you think you don’t like any kind of exercise? I call bull. Try them all. Group classes, dance classes, running, weight lifting, walking, bicycling, yoga, badminton, tai chi, CrossFit, hiking, swimming; anything and everything! Give them all a good try until you find something you like. Schedule your exercise time out for the upcoming week (I put mine on my Google calendar).
4. Practice stateless “dieting.” Don’t beat yourself up for a slip-up and treat every day and every meal as “on-plan.” Every day, every meal, you’re given the chance to move forward in your progress. One meal, one day, one treat, one overeat, one vacation won’t kill that progress, but the overall momentum has to be in the right direction. Don’t take a bad meal or even week as a reason to go back to bad habits. Make sure your good eating habits are the driving habit.
5. Start today. Seriously. Start immediately. There is always time to make excuses for why it’s not a good time, or why you can’t do it. But you’re wrong. Stop making excuses and get started!

What do you think of my tips? Any resonate with you? 

See other Motivational Saying Posters I made :).