The secrets of successful weight loss
Many of us would like to achieve successful weight loss. In fact, according to statistics, 58% of women and 68% of men in the UK were overweight or obese in 2015 - and these numbers are predicted to increase dramatically.
The media is constantly bombarding us with the latest approach to successful weight loss, and there are as many different approaches as there are different types of fruit and vegetables.
If your crazy project is about successful weight loss, here are my top tips to ensure it:
- Spend some time thinking about your goal. What will it get you? Keep drilling down until you find a motivation that is really compelling for you. So often we give up on goals because we weren’t really invested in them and we hadn’t fully bought into the benefits of them, which allows old habits to creep back in. For example, you might answer the question “why do you want to lose weight?” with “To look better”, but what will looking better get you? More confidence? What will more confidence get you? It could make you more likely to embrace new opportunities in life, which could in turn lead to more fun and excitement. It’s worth spending some time on this, as when faced with temptation you can draw on these benefits to keep you on track.
- Make your goal weight loss goal specific. For example: I want to lose 14lb by the 1st November. You can then break this down into weekly goals to establish if this is feasible. My recommendation is not to aim for more than 1lb or 0.5kg a week as anything beyond this can be hard to achieve week on week.
- Consider how your goal will affect the people around you – your partner, your children, your friends, your work colleagues. How will they react to your different approach to food and exercise? Will they be offended if you turn down food or drink? Will they try to sabotage you? Will you have to modify the food you have in the house? Thinking through these issues before you embark on your weight loss plan will enable you to have strategies in place to deal with them.
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- Work with a coach if you are serious about achieving your goal. It’s very difficult to make lasting new habits and remain focussed without having someone else by your side, committed to your success. It’s really beneficial to set aside some time each week where you can monitor your progress, talk through your challenges and celebrate your success with someone who is professionally trained to coach you.
- Write down your goals – and don’t just focus on a weight loss goal. Successful weight loss is about adopting new habits around food and lifestyle. You should be setting goals around new habits too. For example: cutting down on caffeine, building up an exercise regime, making time to relax.
- Review your progress weekly in order to keep on track. It can be hard to sustain your motivation for monthly goals, so break them down into weekly goals and set a time each week to review what is going well, and what needs more focus.
“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in day out”
- Reward yourself for success. As I constantly tell my clients, rewards are all about making you feel positive about yourself. It’s very difficult to make positive changes when you are feeling negative about how you look or feel
- Be prepared to put in some effort. Unless you make some change to your habits and lifestyle you cannot expect any change in your weight or body composition. Be consistent until you see results. Don’t embark on a weight loss plan as a short-term fix. Instead see it as a way of improving your health - for life.
- Appreciate that we are all different and what works for one person won’t necessarily work for the next. Work with a Nutritionist to find out what could be the underlying cause for your weight gain and discover the right diet for you.
Find out more
Convinced by our secrets of successful weight loss? Do you live in London? Emily is our Bridge To Health London based Nutritional Therapist, and she has been working with weight loss clients for nearly 15 years, and has coached hundreds of people to change their habits around food, exercise and health. Please feel free to book an appointment with Emily at 07967 639 347 or via email at emily@bridgetohealth.co.uk. Or simply book an appointment directly. She will be happy to see you at our Ealing clinic.
