Are you ready for a permanent lifestyle change that will help you
lose weight and keep it off? Are you tired of yo-yo diets and
fluctuating results? Firstly, congratulate yourself on making a decision
to change. Then follow these detailed steps to enjoy permanent success.
More: Stop Dieting and Learn How to Maintain Weight
More: A Beginner’s Nutrition Plan for Weight Loss
Do not weigh yourself every day. If you don’t want to know your number, have someone else record it for you, like your significant other, or a trusted friend.
Also take measurements. Measure your arm (around the bicep), your neck, your chest, your waist, your hips and your thigh. Some weeks, the scale will not move but the inches will. Take new measurements every six to eight weeks.
Do not let the occasional weight gains or no-loss weeks get you down. Use these weeks as motivation. What can you do differently? Can you add another workout? Did you overeat? Assess and move on.
More: Reach Your Weight Loss Goal in 4 Steps
At Weight Watchers, I learned invaluable tips. For example, we were challenged to sit up straight in our chairs for the entire meeting. This made me realize that I slouched often. Now I am working my core and strengthening my back when I sit.
More: What Affects Weight Gain?
Beware of Weight Watcher’s you-can-eat-whatever-you-want mantra. Although they do push fruits and veggies (they are now zero points), you can still indulge in unhealthy, toxic, and addictive foods.
An occasional fast food trip can easily turn into a slippery slope that ends in failure. After six failed attempts with Weight Watchers, I gained all my weight back, plus more. This was because I allowed myself to continue eating bad foods while on the program.
Although I did lose some weight, I felt terrible, and sooner or later the weight would came back. The few “treats” I allowed myself were ultimately my downfall.
More: 6 Weight Loss Power Vegetables
My first week at Weight Watchers, I lost 5.6 pounds, so I clipped five colored paper clips together. And so forth. Watching your chain grow is fun and inspiring.
More: 5 Liver Health Tips for Weight Loss
For example, I thought dairy was healthy for me. When I gave it up, I lost weight easily. I also lost my migraines, allergies and stomach/digestive problems.
More: 5 Digestion Tips for Athletes
Educate yourself through credible books, documentaries and Internet sites. Here is a list of documentaries to watch:
Here is a list of great cookbooks:
Now fill your home with whole foods and fresh produce. You can do this all at once, or you can take baby steps by slowly removing and replacing these foods each day. You’ll notice a change in your taste buds within a week or so, and it’ll be much easier to pitch the bad foods.
More: 7 Ways to Eat Smart and Lose Weight
An easy way to get good food in your body is by juicing or drinking green smoothies. Buy a juicer or high-powered blender and start each day with a green juice or green smoothie. Getting these greens into your body will help change your taste buds and give you amazing energy and clarity.
More: Try a Plant-Based Diet for Weight Loss
If you want to get serious about going raw, I recommend buying a dehydrator, a nice food processor, a juicer, and a good blender. These changes don’t have to come all at once, but if you really want to dive in, try a juice fast.
More: 3 Plant-Based Power Meals for Athletes
More: Does Beer Affect Your Training?
If your old friends’ main goals are drinking, eating bad food, and lying around doing nothing, then it’s time to find friends who have the same (healthy) goals that you have. If you’re lucky, you may inspire several of your old friends to get healthy as well.
More: 13 Ways to Maintain Your Weight Loss
Surrounding yourself with positive influences makes this journey much easier. Start a monthly clean-eat or plant-based potluck. Make a new Facebook page. Find workout buddies. There are many websites and groups dedicated to good health. Join one.
I enjoy hitting the park on nice days, strapping on my ankle weights and grabbing my hand weights for a nice, sweaty power walk. I also love workout videos. I get bored easily, so I change up my workout DVDs each week. You can get different workout DVDs from your local library.
More: Calorie Bargains to Help You Lose Weight
Increase your metabolism and tone up faster. Find a fat-burning class.
More: Stop Dieting and Learn How to Maintain Weight
1. Write down your reasons.
Why do you want to lose weight? Some reasons could be:- I want to wear skinny jeans.
- I want clean arteries.
- I want to rid myself of migraines.
- I don’t want to get cancer or heart disease.
- I want to feel my best.
- I want to have more energy.
- I want to be around for my loved ones.
2. Record your starting weight and measurements.
Most of us hate the scale, but it is a necessary tool in this journey. Hop on the scale, write down your weight, and record it once every week or every month.Do not weigh yourself every day. If you don’t want to know your number, have someone else record it for you, like your significant other, or a trusted friend.
Also take measurements. Measure your arm (around the bicep), your neck, your chest, your waist, your hips and your thigh. Some weeks, the scale will not move but the inches will. Take new measurements every six to eight weeks.
Do not let the occasional weight gains or no-loss weeks get you down. Use these weeks as motivation. What can you do differently? Can you add another workout? Did you overeat? Assess and move on.
More: Reach Your Weight Loss Goal in 4 Steps
3. Hold yourself accountable.
If you lack self-control, join a weight-loss program such as Weight Watchers as a means to keep you accountable. Having a receptionist weigh you in once per week (and having to pay for it) can keep you honest. Plus, you will get to meet others who are on the same journey.At Weight Watchers, I learned invaluable tips. For example, we were challenged to sit up straight in our chairs for the entire meeting. This made me realize that I slouched often. Now I am working my core and strengthening my back when I sit.
More: What Affects Weight Gain?
Beware of Weight Watcher’s you-can-eat-whatever-you-want mantra. Although they do push fruits and veggies (they are now zero points), you can still indulge in unhealthy, toxic, and addictive foods.
An occasional fast food trip can easily turn into a slippery slope that ends in failure. After six failed attempts with Weight Watchers, I gained all my weight back, plus more. This was because I allowed myself to continue eating bad foods while on the program.
Although I did lose some weight, I felt terrible, and sooner or later the weight would came back. The few “treats” I allowed myself were ultimately my downfall.
More: 6 Weight Loss Power Vegetables
4. Take a “before” photo.
It’s not fun taking the before photo. However, it does provide constant inspiration. I taped mine to my refrigerator when I first started my journey. I even taped a copy inside my pantry. Once you get to your goal weight, seeing the difference from all your hard work is indescribable.5. Set up an anchor.
An anchor is something that continually reminds you how far you have come. There are several options from which to choose. I like the paper clip chain because I can make several to hang on my refrigerator, in my closet, in my food pantry, and even in my car (to remind me to make good choices when on the run).My first week at Weight Watchers, I lost 5.6 pounds, so I clipped five colored paper clips together. And so forth. Watching your chain grow is fun and inspiring.
More: 5 Liver Health Tips for Weight Loss
6. Educate yourself.
Knowledge is power, and once you find out what you’ve really been consuming, it will be easier to stop eating it. You will quickly become disgusted and even angered over the facts that have been hidden from you for many years.For example, I thought dairy was healthy for me. When I gave it up, I lost weight easily. I also lost my migraines, allergies and stomach/digestive problems.
More: 5 Digestion Tips for Athletes
Educate yourself through credible books, documentaries and Internet sites. Here is a list of documentaries to watch:
- Food Matters
- Forks Over Knives
- Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
- Killer at Large
- King Corn
- Food, Inc
- The Gerson Miracle
- The Beautiful TruthHere is a list of books to start reading:
- The Eat Clean Diet, Recharged by Tosca Reno
- Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
- Eat Right, Live Longer by Dr. Neal Barnard
- The Food Revolution by John Robbins
- Whitewash – The Disturbing Truth about Cow’s Milk and Your Health by Joseph Keon
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever
- The China Study by Dr. Campbell (stars in Forks Over Knives)
- Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko
- The Green Smoothies Diet by Robyn Openshaw
- Overdosed America by Dr. John Abramson
Here is a list of great cookbooks:
- Thrive Foods: 200 Plant-Based Recipes for Peak Health by Brendan Brazier
- Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals That Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet by Christy Morgan
- The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Gluten-Free Vegan Cooking by Julieanna Hever
- The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn
- The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook by Dr. John A. McDougall
- The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon
- Going Raw by Judita Wignall
- Live Raw by Mimi Kirk
7. Give your kitchen a makeover.
Get rid of processed foods and any other garbage that you know is bad for you. Be aggressive. Are you addicted to this food? Does it hold you hostage? Remove it and never allow it back in your home. Not only is it making you fat, it’s hurting you from the inside. Throw it out.Now fill your home with whole foods and fresh produce. You can do this all at once, or you can take baby steps by slowly removing and replacing these foods each day. You’ll notice a change in your taste buds within a week or so, and it’ll be much easier to pitch the bad foods.
More: 7 Ways to Eat Smart and Lose Weight
8. Give your dinner plate a makeover.
Decrease (or remove) your intake of animal protein (meat/dairy), and dramatically increase your intake of vegetable, fruits, leafy greens, raw nuts, beans and seeds. Both protein and calcium can be found in whole and plant-based foods.An easy way to get good food in your body is by juicing or drinking green smoothies. Buy a juicer or high-powered blender and start each day with a green juice or green smoothie. Getting these greens into your body will help change your taste buds and give you amazing energy and clarity.
More: Try a Plant-Based Diet for Weight Loss
9. Start eating more raw foods.
Aim for at least 51 percent of each meal to be raw. You won’t believe how easily you will start dropping excess pounds. This is because raw foods have all of their living enzymes still intact. While you can still get nutrients from cooked veggies, you won’t get those living enzymes.If you want to get serious about going raw, I recommend buying a dehydrator, a nice food processor, a juicer, and a good blender. These changes don’t have to come all at once, but if you really want to dive in, try a juice fast.
More: 3 Plant-Based Power Meals for Athletes
10. Decrease or eliminate alcohol consumption.
Alcohol can make you fat. Not only is alcohol a toxin, it can also ruin your progress. Either stop drinking altogether, or enjoy the occasional cocktail or glass of red wine (stay away from the sugary concoctions). Measure out your intake and stop after one or two glasses. Avoid becoming intoxicated as this not only harms your body, but also makes you want to eat unhealthy foods.More: Does Beer Affect Your Training?
11. Take it slow.
It takes years to become overweight, so don’t expect it all to come off in a few months. Gain it slowly, lose it slowly. If you want it to last, take your time and do it right. Don’t rush the process. Instead, enjoy the journey. Learn from the bad weeks and celebrate the good weeks.12. Surround yourself with positive people.
What you are about to do may save your life. If your friends aren’t on board, or downplay your new lifestyle, get new friends. I know this sounds harsh, but it can make or break your goals.If your old friends’ main goals are drinking, eating bad food, and lying around doing nothing, then it’s time to find friends who have the same (healthy) goals that you have. If you’re lucky, you may inspire several of your old friends to get healthy as well.
More: 13 Ways to Maintain Your Weight Loss
Surrounding yourself with positive influences makes this journey much easier. Start a monthly clean-eat or plant-based potluck. Make a new Facebook page. Find workout buddies. There are many websites and groups dedicated to good health. Join one.
13. Start a manageable workout routine.
Find something you love to do. I prefer exercising outdoors, but I also love my local YMCA. The classes are fantastic: Zumba, Yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, Running, Power Walking, Nordic Walking, etc. This is also a great place to meet new, like-minded friends.I enjoy hitting the park on nice days, strapping on my ankle weights and grabbing my hand weights for a nice, sweaty power walk. I also love workout videos. I get bored easily, so I change up my workout DVDs each week. You can get different workout DVDs from your local library.
More: Calorie Bargains to Help You Lose Weight
14. Believe in yourself.
Don’t set yourself up for failure before you even start. Stop calling yourself weak without giving yourself a chance. Change your outlook to a positive one. Stop selling yourself short. Believe in yourself. Believe that you will be successful, and it will happen for you. Your past does not dictate your future. This will work. Increase your metabolism and tone up faster. Find a fat-burning class.
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