Sustain weight loss habits with these clever tactics
If you want to lose weight, you should run on the tried and tested path – limit the amount of calories you eat and increase physical activities. Sustaining a low-calorie diet and exercising consistently is no easy task. Most of us raise the white flag within a few weeks.
Before you start another weight loss journey, implement smart strategies that will help you sustain eating and exercise habits.
Here are a few clever tactics to consider before tackling those extra kilograms
1. Start where you are at
Trying to lose weight can feel overwhelming – there are so many good behaviours to implement and bad ones to let go of. You don’t have to change all your habits all at once.
The best way to start is to first, assess where you are at and then take one, small step towards your goal. If you have a mostly sedentary lifestyle, don’t start by running a strenuous 5-km route each day. Start small. Try walking for 5 minutes every day. Celebrate your small victories and soon you’ll be on your way to running fast and far.
2. Identify obstacles
What is keeping you from implementing and sustaining healthful habits? Perhaps your struggle to manage stress and find comfort in eating. If you can identify your obstacles, you can find a way to manage them. You could, for example, start journaling, or practice meditation to deal with stress. Managing your stress will help you to not engage in emotional eating.
3. Make weight loss easy
If you want to cook healthful meals, rather than using difficult and exotic recipes with ingredients you must order from India or Malaysia or somewhere else far away, try cooking simple and easy meals. If your new habits are easy, you up your chances of sustaining them.
Set up your environment so that it is easy for you to keep your new habits. For example, don’t put your running shoes in the back of your closet, rather put them at the door so that you can easily put them on and hit the road.
4. Find your motivation
He who knows why he wants to lose weight can bear almost any how. Perhaps you want to improve your overall health or look wonderful in your bikini this summer, whatever your motivation is, make sure it is clearly defined.
The rewards of better health or a stunning bikini body will motivate you greatly to keep at it.
5. Enjoy your habits
Did you know that your brain remembers pleasurable experiences? You will be more inclined to build behaviours around things that make you happy. Choose fruit and vegetables that you like to eat. Enjoy the flavours and textures of your favourite healthy food. Try to limit eating food that you really dislike, even if it is healthy, rather find a healthy alternative.
6. Do it together
Being accountable can help you sustain your habits. Pick people to support you, who will encourage you in positive ways, without shame, embarrassment, or sabotage. We are social creatures, and it is much easier to do difficult things if you don’t go at it alone.
7. Keep track of your habits
Keeping track of your habits will help you stick to your new behaviours. Keep a record of all the behaviours you want to establish, and at the end of each day, you mark which ones you succeeded with. Completing a task and checking it off will release more of the hormone dopamine. Dopamine is the motivation molecule that drives you to seek rewards in achieving goals and enables you to take the effort it requires to be successful. The more dopamine you have, the more motivated you will be to stick to your habits.
8. Change your perspective
If you want to shake those extra kilograms and keep them off, you should be in it for the long run. Your new habits should become a lifestyle. You likely will have an occasional setback. But instead of giving up entirely after a setback, simply start fresh the next day.
Takeaway
The best way to lose weight and keep those kilograms off, is to change your lifestyle. Permanently changing what you eat and how you spend your time, is what’s needed for sustained weight loss. Implement clever tactics that will help you sustain your new habits.
