Follow these no-nonsense tips for guaranteed long-term weight loss success
Losing weight can take a lot out of you, physically, emotionally, mentally. And many times, once the weight is off, you assume it´ll never return. But the sad truth is that we easily pack on the pounds soon after because we fall back into the same negative habits as before.
If you’ve lost some weight, follow these 5 smart tips to keep the extra weight off for good.
1. Don’t diet
Dieters gain back their weight within 6 months to a year. Some even gain more than they lost after they stopped dieting. Some even develop an eating disorder (like binge eating or bulimia) after a restrictive diet. So instead of following some 10-week eating plan, why not change your entire outlook on food?
What do I mean by dieting? Following the latest fad diet or undereating and overexercising.
In this 1-hour live class, I talked about 5 of the most common mistakes that dieters make that drive them to overeat and how to fix these issues. Change these and you are on your way to food freedom (a.k.a. eating the way you want to eat instead of how your cravings make you eat).
You can watch the recording of this class here.
You don´t need to diet to lose weight long-term
While you definitely don’t need to diet in order to lose weight, you do want to change your meals to be balanced and nutrient-dense. This is where the phrase “nothing changes if nothing changes” comes in. You can’t expect to achieve different results in your wellness or weight loss journey if you don’t change anything about how you live your life.
Analyzing what, and most importantly, how you currently eat will help you determine what you need to change.
Use the Food and Lifestyle Journal below to bring light to the eating habits that block your weight loss success.
Think about what you can add to your meals to be healthier, instead of taking away.
Perhaps you love pasta. You don´t need to deprive yourself of pasta to lose weight. You can for example add a side salad while reducing the amount of pasta you eat instead. Maybe you want to add some protein to it too to keep you full for longer. This way you increase the nutrient density, fibre, and satiety index of your food, while you can still eat your favourite pasta dish. (Satiety index: a measure of the degree to which particular foods give a feeling of satisfying hunger.)
You can also add fruit slices to your cereal, salad to your pizza, slices of cucumber and tomatoes next to your sandwich, and side vegetables to any of your favourite meat and carb dishes. Or you can switch from a coffee shop iced mocha to a coffee you make at home in a protein shake, or from soda or fruit juice to fruit-flavored water.
Small changes make a big difference
Small changes make a big difference so don´t try to change everything at the same time. Make one or two small changes and when that´s easy to do add another new habit.
Over time, make it a habit to eat nutrient-dense foods rich in fibre, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins, like fruits, vegetables, beans and pulses, whole grains, seeds and nuts, eggs, meat, and fish. These give you the nutrients your body needs, they keep you feeling full for longer, and they contain fewer calories than processed foods.
Use aromatic vegetables like onions and garlic, as well as spices and herbs to make your food look, smell and taste delicious. You can also use condiments to add flavour to your dishes.
Check out my Pinterest Boards for healthy recipes. I´ve collected a lot of recipes and useful articles there.
But also eat your favourite foods (more about this at Cravings).
Try to really focus on what you’re eating
Most of the time, we’re too busy or tired to notice how our food even tastes. This is one of the worst habits you can have because it forces you to eat more than your body needs and leaves you feeling bloated and heavy. Instead, make sure you appreciate and savour your food; its texture, temperature, flavours, and smell.
Taking in the whole experience of eating allows you to enjoy your food more without having the need to overindulge and eat more than your body needs.
Never underestimate the power of water
Drinking enough water daily keeps your body hydrated, fills you up (sometimes we think we feel hungry when we´re actually thirsty), and helps your body and mind work properly. You can add vegetable or fruit slices to your water to make it more interesting.
2. Move your body, strengthen your muscles
To be in a calorie deficit requires making SMALL changes to your diet and your workout routine. Find new ways to move your body every day, like going for a walk in the evenings, sneaking in a mini workout in the morning, or finding new fitness classes in your area.
As we age, we lose muscle mass. That´s why it’s crucial to start strengthening your muscles to prevent fatigue, loss of balance, and weak bones. Also, muscle tissue burns more calories, even when you’re not working out, than fat. Yet another reason to pump those muscles.
Pick an activity you enjoy, like walking, swimming, hiking, yoga, gardening, weight lifting, tennis, or biking, and start at your own pace. You can also mix and match, so you don’t get bored. To make things even more fun, get a workout buddy, or join a gym and start meeting new people. After a while, exercising will become a natural part of your daily routine, and you’ll even start to look forward to it.
3. Accept the setbacks
Social events
There will be days when you’re faced with tempting situations, like a party at work or going out with friends. If you can plan ahead, then you’re one step ahead of the game. For example, you can check the menu in advance and choose a healthier option. But if you would rather have something indulgent, no problem. Just use the tips from the previous section. Eat a smaller portion of your high-calorie food, (maybe you can share it with someone) and add a salad or side vegetables to increase the fibre and nutrient content of your meal.
Cravings
There will also be cravings that gnaw at you until you can’t take it anymore. More often than not, cravings are never really about the food. They can be a signal that your body lacks a certain mineral. For example, when you crave chocolate, what your body may be saying is that it’s lacking in magnesium.
While I recommend eating mostly delicious meals prepared from whole foods, it´s also important that you don´t deprive yourself of your favourite not-so-nutritious foods. If you can´t have something, you want it even more. So when you crave something, eat a normal portion of it. If you really want it, you will eat a much larger portion of it sometime later or you will eat a lot of other unnecessary foods that won´t satisfy your craving.
Emotional eating
Cravings could also be a reaction to boredom, a stressful day, or an emotional problem you’re going through.
If you struggle with emotional or binge eating, my How to stop eating your feelings workbook will help you discover what you are really hungry for and break free from these frustrating habits. This is key to achieving long-term weight loss success. Check it out below:
You can also work with me 1 on 1 to find your blind spots, design a plan of action, access the End Emotional Eating self-study course and have weekly coaching calls with me to be able to finally break free from your food struggles. I can help you with emotional eating, stress eating, habitual overeating, food obsession, constant dieting, yo-yo dieting, and negative body image.
If you would like to learn more about the coaching program feel free to check out the details here and consider booking a free 60-minute discovery call with me. During this call, you will describe your food challenges and the goal that you would like to reach and I’ll tell you if I can help you. You can also ask me about the coaching program.
4. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family
People who believe in the same things as you make it easier to enjoy a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle. They support you and believe in what you’re doing, and sometimes even take the time to be your workout buddy or prepare meals with you. And, in turn, they become your accountability partner so that if, and when, you slip up, you have someone that provides understanding and support.
5. Adapt new healthy habits for long-term weight loss
In addition to your diet and exercise, think about other healthy habits you can adapt into your life to help you reach long-term weight loss success.
For example, developing a healthy weight loss mindset, sleeping more, reducing stress, working on a better relationship with food and your body, learning to tune into your body´s hunger and fullness signals, and identifying your eating patterns and routines leading to overeating. Maybe when you get home from work you go straight to the fridge even though you are not genuinely hungry. Perhaps you feel like you deserve treats in the evening after a long, tiring day. You might have developed the habit of grabbing a snack from the coffee room at work when you are bored, procrastinating something you don´t want to do, or feeling stressed.
These habits can all affect your long-term weight loss success.
You can learn more about these habits and many more in the 20 Simple Habits to Lose Weight Without Dieting free ebook, which is written specifically for those who have always struggled with losing weight. You can download it below:
Let me know which tip or habit was the most helpful for you to lose weight for good, i.e. to reach long-term weight loss success.
Check out my weight loss course below too for long-term weight loss success.
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