You know why you’re reading this— you’ve made a bold and scary decision to lose weight. You’re doing it for better health and more self-confidence…both you can get from shedding the extra pounds.
But losing weight is not instant, as if you wished on a magic lamp. While we live in a culture where we expect quick results, like fast food that’s ready in five minutes, losing 10-15 pounds doesn’t fit in this category.
Before you start a weight loss plan, you should prepare yourself mentally for the challenge. Remember that losing even 10-15 pounds won’t happen overnight. And give yourself time to adjust to the new you, especially if you’ve tried to lose weight in the past and failed.
Eating Habits
First off, carefully inspect your eating habits. For instance, do you seem to eat more when dining with company than when you’re alone? Perhaps you and your spouse have a routine where you wake up drinking hot cocoa every morning. Maybe even adding those delectable cupcakes you baked for the school bake sale.
Next, based on your current eating habits, decide on specific changes you can make. Maybe you can forget about baking for the school sale and find non-food ways to participate in fundraising. And you can switch to drinking green tea every morning instead of hot cocoa. Plus, if being a dinner guest puts pressure on you to overeat, you can politely leave before dessert or try small amounts of each course to avoid offending the host.
Once you have ideas for new eating habits, make up a day-to-day meal plan. For dining at restaurants and at friends’ homes, continue to stick to your routine as much as possible. Do your best to stay within limits and soon, you will thrive on controlled eating habits. (Sign up for my challenge, it’s FREE)!
Exercise
You should also look at your exercise routine to help you lose weight. Maybe you used to be extremely active, but now spend most of your time sitting, whether at home or at work. Decide on exercise goals, beginning with the length of time you can devote. “I will exercise 1 hour a day,” sounds great, if you don’t have too many other commitments. However, if you’re busy, you may need to adjust to a realistic goal: “I will exercise 30 minutes a day,” may be better.
In any case, exercise in a way that will make it not so routine. Perhaps do 10 minutes doing one thing, 10 doing another and 10 doing another, at the end of your 30 minutes of exercising, you would have created a sort of balance.
Just remember, it will not take place overnight but, if you stay consistent, you will be making good progress in no time flat.
I hope you’ve decided to take the challenge! Remember to check your email after you sign up. I will have a sample meal plan to get you up and running!
Thanks for stopping by and taking a look!
I will see you on the next one!
~Angela