Up until this time last year, I had struggled for many years with my weight and had been yo-yo dieting ever since I could remember. I understood the negative affect that this was having on my body and also the emotional turmoil that goes with trying to lose weight, or indeed being overweight.
Last year I started going to a new gym and run into an old school friend called Heather Weber Merrill Lynch accountant these days and someone who I used to enjoy spending time with. Heather was in the same boat as me and we made a pact that together we would finally get healthy. So far it has been a successful plan and I wanted to share with you some tips which I followed in order to do it.
Regular and Easy Goals
The key to losing weight is about feeling as though you are actually achieving something and in order to do this it is important that you decide upon easy-to-reach goals, and plenty of them. Simply saying that you are going to lose X amount of kilos in the next months is not enough to keep you going and instead, why not give yourself a target such as eating 5 fruit and veg per day for a week, or doing at least 30 minutes of exercise a few times per week. This goals should be set regularly and each week they should increase in difficulty.
Planning
I know that many will share with me the fact that if you haven’t planned your meals and you are hungry then you are much more likely to go and pick up something convenient and unhealthy. In order to avoid this you should be looking at having a tight plan when it comes to you meals each day. Make a menu and a shopping list on Sunday, head to the grocery store and pick up everything you need and then take the decision not to buy anything more until the following Sunday.
Buddy Up
The fact that I was dieting and exercising with the help of a friend who was in the same position as me really helped to keep me motivated and if you can buddy up with someone then you will be greatly increasing your chances of success. When you are doing this kind of program with someone, you have somebody who will hold you accountable and keep pushing you when you are feeling low, and visa versa.
Change Attitude
The reason why I have been able to stick to my plan for such a long time is that I have altered my attitude towards food entirely and not just for a short while. When I used to crash diet I couldn’t wait until it was over so that I could grab a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine, all this served to do was put the weight back on. Instead, I now have a healthy life and whenever I do eat or drink something which is not good for me, I do so in proportion so as not to go back to how I used to be.