Losing weight can be one of the most frustrating things to work at. We all know someone who has gone through it or may have experienced ourselves the constant ups and downs and carrying the heavy burden that goes along with it.
7 Steps to Reaching Your Goal Weight
It’s easy to feel defeated, let down, and not motivated to keep going when you don’t see the results that you want. And though sometimes the mountain seems impossible to climb, I am telling you that you can do it! By taking some simple steps, you can make weight loss your success story.
- Log your workouts. While logging things can become tedious and something to easily obsess over, logging your workouts is a great way to keep you accountable and stay on track. With the million different apps and fitness wearables out there, logging your exercise is simple. The other additional perk that comes with logging your workout is that you can tangibly see the improvements you are making along the way.
- Log your food. Logging your food is another great way to stay on track and focused to meet your goals. With nutrition apps out there like MyFitnessPal and Lose It!, food tracking is easy. Many of the apps even allow you to scan the barcode, and off you go. If apps aren’t your thing, log your food on paper. It’s important to find whatever works for you and realistically know how much you can eat per day to get you to where you want to be.
- Get a support team. You need to find people around you to be your backbone. Friends, family, coworkers, or workout buddies will help you during the highs and lows of weight loss. It’s not all going to be easy, so when those times come that you need someone there to keep cheering you on, having a support team in place is key.
- Discover how to fill idle time. We all are guilty: bored eating! You have nothing else to do so you find something to eat. And often the choices that you make during idle time are not the healthiest options. Find other ways to fill that down time so that you are not adding in a bunch of unnecessary calories.
- Stop weighing yourself everyday. This is one of the most dangerous things when trying to lose weight. While I encourage getting on the scale routinely for accountability and progress checks, daily is not the answer. When people weigh themselves every single day and tend to not see the numbers drop on a 24-hour basis, depression and frustration set in. Do yourself a huge favor and weigh only every other week.
- Take it easy. While your overall goal may be to lose 30 pounds, make sure that you have smaller markers to get to in the process. Too often we see people go to the extremes when trying to lose weight and not giving themselves enough time to get there. Don’t set yourself up for failure; your overall goal is of course to lose weight, but if you want to keep that weight off and have a much healthier lifestyle, take it slow and do it right!
- Get to the root of the problem. Although this is listed last, it is probably the most important yet most challenging one. And though it’s an uncomfortable topic to bring up, we must talk about it. For every person who struggles with their weight, there is also a deeper struggle that has nothing to do with pounds. And often that reason is a deep-rooted issue that needs to be dealt with. Maybe you find comfort in food, or it’s your outlet for something challenging you are going through. Whatever the case may be, you are the only one who knows that. Work as hard as you can to deal with the root of the issue and find freedom in your weight loss.
Do It for Your Health
There are tons of ways to get to your goal. The most important thing is that you do it for yourself, for your family, and for your health. Here’s to a successful weight-loss journey!
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If you need help getting started NIFS has developed a serious weight loss program for people serious about weight loss. Ramp Up to Weight Loss and Ramp Up at Home is a 16-week membership that includes personalized plans and one-on-one workouts. Click below to learn more about Ramp Up.
This blog was written by Amanda Bireline, Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.