I want to lose weight! Where do I begin?
Are you frustrated? Are you thinking about losing weight once again? Are you hesitant because it has not worked out in the past?
Do not fear, perhaps you did not have these important elements before.
Read more to find the secret ingredients to weight loss.
There are 4 essential elements needed in order to ensure your success:
Mindset
Belief
Preparation
Plan
Mindset
I interviewed Kaylee. She lost 100 lbs step by step over 2 years. She said, “Mindset is key. I have tried many times to lose weight in the past and failed. This time I had motivators. I read an inspirational book that resonated with my story on losing weight. Also, I got a scare from my boyfriend. He thought I should be checked out for diabetes. Honestly too I was unhealthy and unhappy. I was out of breath, had heartburn all the time and had constant fatigue day and night.”
All the weight loss tips in the world will not help if you are not ready. True? What is your motivation? What is your why for losing weight? This is different for everyone. Are you coming from a place of desperation or inspiration? Are you “sick and tired of being sick and tired” or do you want to lose the weight to look different for a wedding or a HS reunion?
Write down your reason why. Your why will be your motivation that gets you going. The why will be the driving force! Make a poster of your reason why and keep it within view so when the going gets tough, and it will, you will be able to hold on to the reason why you are losing weight.
Belief
Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you can do this?
When I hear one of my clients say, “I wont lose weight”, I absolutely believe them because they do not believe they will lose weight.
Makes sense! Our minds are very powerful!
Belief is paramount. Our beliefs come from our past experiences. As far as weight loss, it may mean you tried before and did not lose the weight or maybe lost the weight but gained it back and you may be labeling it as a failure. It is not a failure. The past does not always mean that it will be true in the future. That was the past. The past experience can inform you on how you will do things different. You only fail if you give up!
Theodore Roosevelt said, “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
Preparation
In addition to preparing mentally (mindset and belief), it is important to prepare a time to start the weight loss journey. It is called a journey because diets do not work. It is just a quick fix and studies prove that those who go on a “diet” mostly gain the weight back plus more. No one wants that! Make sure it is an appropriate time. For example, may not be the best time to start prior to a big event or with many distractions in your life. Also need to prepare your environment. Get rid of the tempting, unhealthy food in the house. Get your gym bag ready in the car or have your walking sneakers available. Finally, it is important to enlist your support team.
Plan
As Stephen Covey stated in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Habit #2 -Begin With the End in Mind. What this means is to envision what you want in the future and work and plan towards it. In order to be successful with weight loss it is very important to make a plan and map out how you will get there. The best way to do this is by planning very specific and measureable goals. For example, “I will walk 15 minutes 3x this week.” This goal is specific and measureable. A food goal may be, “I will document all food and drink for 5 days. ” Goals will keep you on track. Goals can covert the thoughts you have in to action Learn how to set SMART Goals, http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20558029,00.html .
Written goals are important because they give you focus, keep you undistracted, helps with overcoming procrastination and help measure your progress.
Beginning the weight loss journey is the most difficult. Once you got this down, the rest will be easier. These 4 essential elements will help anyone who wants to lose 5 lbs or over 100 lbs. You can do this!