Healthy Weight Loss-How to start and Maintain

Hey Everyone!

I'm SO happy with how that first week went, were you?? I know some of you were a little discouraged with not getting as many points as you'd hoped, but I'm still so proud of everyone who submitted points! You're starting, and hopefully looking at your points will help you see areas where you might want to focus your weekly goals. Also remember that the points are only intended to help you reach the main goal of this whole thing, which is to get you to a healthy, maintainable weight. And that's what we'll focus on this week, how to have healthy, sustainable weight loss. 

(A lot of this post will be a combination of posts I made the last go-round, so bear with me if this seems redundant!)

DIET, DIET, DIET!

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As I said on my "Someday Skinny" page, I feel that for me personally, weight loss is about 97% diet and 3% exercise.  SO, when I'm giving people advice about where to start, especially if you feel like you're really starting from scratch like I did, I usually suggest they start by putting a significant amount of their focus on what they're eating.  In my experience, I've seen much faster and more noticeable results by focusing most of my planning and dedication on diet.

Just to be clear, I'm using the word "diet" as a noun, not a verb! I'm NOT saying, "you have to go on a diet", or "you have to diet". I'm saying you need to adopt a healthy diet. Eat clean, healthy and in reasonable portions 80% of the time!

A great way to be aware of and control what you're eating is to count calories or keep some sort of food journal. 

I realize that calorie counting is hard and tedious, but I highly recommend it if you've never done it before. Free apps like MyFitnessPal are a great way to help you realize exactly how much you're eating and help you decide how much you should be eating. Most people are surprised to find out exactly how much they're consuming vs. how much they need. When I first started counting calories, I learned that in order to MAINTAIN my current weight, I should've been eating about 1800 calories a day.  I was completely surprised to find out I was actually averaging between 2500 and 3500! Most people need a deficit of about 500 calories a day to lose weight. That could be a daily candy bar, or Blizzard, or shake! It's so important to understand the calorie load of the foods you're consuming!

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Remember to make the calories you are eating healthy ones! Stock up on fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Most vegetables are so low calorie, you can eat very generous amounts and stay within your calorie goal. Try to substitute unhealthy ingredients in some of your favorite recipes for healthy ones.

If you've counted calories before, and are just plain sick of it, keeping a daily food journal is another great way to be aware of what you're eating. Writing it down or taking pictures of your food are other ways to be able to look back at exactly what you ate. I know a big pitfall for me is thinking I had a good eating day and then looking back and realizing, "oh yeah, I had seconds of dessert" or, "I guess my veggies didn't take up most of my plate like I thought". 

I've seen so many people on diets walk around chronically hungry. In my opinion, if you're hungry, you're not eating a healthy diet. Remember, you're trying to create this for the long haul. You can't walk around hungry all the time! If you're hungry, eat something healthy to keep your blood sugar up and your metabolism going, but try to have that snack before you get hungry. On the contrary, I know I'm doing well when I feel satisfied all the time.I've heard from several people once they've gotten started that they feel like their meal plan is too much food and that they don't even want their snack when it's time for it.

There's A LOT to say in this diet section but I feel like a lot of cleaning up diet just takes time, learning and trial and error. So if you feel overwhelmed or discouraged because you're trying to eat healthy by tomorrow, take a step back...we'll get there one step at a time! Simply trying to be aware and conscious of what you're eating makes a big difference!

BE ACTIVE

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 Most people find it easier to eat right when they stay active. Try to go for walks or do a light exercise circuit around the house every other day or so. My 3 year old LOVES taking turns on my yoga mat with me doing push-ups.  Especially if you're starting the way I'm suggesting, you don't have to set aside two hours of kid-free time to work out!  I used to work 12 hour night shifts with a girl who was extremely fit and she would do quick workout routines she'd found on Pinterest during her breaks.  You'd be surprised where a few 10-15 min. exercise sessions will get you!

DRINK MORE WATER

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I feel like diving into all the health benefits of drinking water would take all day, when really the only thing that needs to be said is just do it!  It's KEY to weight loss and overall good health! 

Try to have a water bottle with you all the time!  It sounds lame but my water drinking habits changed drastically when I got this cool, cute water bottle I actually felt kind of cool toting around.  If you think that might help, try it! 

SET GOALS AND MAKE A PLAN TO ACHIEVE THEM.

 I've found that I very rarely have success without a well thought out plan!  You need to know what your goals are and plan how you're going to get there.  Make a menu plan and a workout plan. This is SO important to help keep you from falling back on bad habits or convenient, but unhealthy meals. I've found that for the most part, if I don't plan a time to exercise, it doesn't get done. Even if the plan is fitting in wall push-ups while the kids are in the tub! Have a back-up plan in case you have one of those days where it's 6:00 and you haven't even started yet! 

This is a good outline to follow when making goals:

1. Your goal

2. How you plan to carry it out

3. What you'll do if you have an "off" day to get back on track

BABY STEPS

Each of the subjects I just discussed are things I tried to address when making the point system. Personally, I feel like following the guidelines the point system creates is a fool-proof way to lose weight. Like I said, this competition is about weight loss, not points, but I think maximizing the point system will get you there!

Don't get discouraged by setbacks, we ALL have them! I remember during one of my attempts at weight-loss (in the midst of my fast food days), I was so proud of myself because I actually went into the produce section of the grocery store and bought grapes and bananas. Well, come to find out from one of my very health conscious friends, grapes and bananas are "the two fruits at the top of the glycemic index". Basically according to her, the most unhealthy fruits I could've bought. I was very discouraged and went back to the comforts of fast food not long after that. Remember everyone is at a different level. You may eventually get to where you're eating a completely clean diet with organic everything but for now, give yourself a chance to make mistakes and learn what works best for you.

When you start to get discouraged, look back on where you were a week from now. Have you eaten better than you did last week? Have you learned some healthier recipes? Have you eaten homemade meals all week? Were you even consciously making an effort to be healthier this time last month? Be proud of yourself for the healthy decisions and efforts you are making. No matter where you start, it's going to take time to learn what you need to know to get to where you want to be.

This is an excellent article about getting started and overall weight loss. You can earn an extra point this week if you comment and let me know you read it and something you learned/want to incorporate from it!