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A change for a new lifestyle and a new you? Losing weight can be daunting at first but breaking it down into smaller manageable pieces will make it more achievable and realistic for you.

Steady Does it

Remember-weight gain did not happen over night so expect a steady weight loss of 0.5-1.0 kg a week. Losing anymore can lead to fluid loss or protein breakdown (your muscles!). It is the little habits that have crept into your life and caused your weight to rise slowly but steadily over the years. Now, look at ways you can reverse these old habits into new habits and make small but beneficial changes in your life, that are feasible so you feel good about yourself and really importantly-that you can MAINTAIN for life e.g. change butter for hummus, cut back sugar in your tea, park the car further away etc.

Goals

There is no point setting yourself unrealistic goals that you won’t be able to keep. This can stir up negative feelings and make you more likely to give up! ‘It’s just too hard!’-sound familiar?

A Positive Attitude

Adopt a positive attitude throughout your journey and make it a lifestyle change, rather than a quick fix diet. For example, rather than saying ‘I am going to the gym 5 times this week’ and then only making it 3 times, this may trigger a sense of failure when in actual fact you have accomplished something positive! You have exercise 3 times more this week than you did before. Instead try, ‘I will aim to go to the gym 3 times this week and anything else on top of that will be a bonus’. This way it is realistic, achievable and you will feel good about your changes and just as importantly, do it again and again-as it has become a way of life!
Start making healthy choices and focus on foods that will keep you fuller for longer. Set time aside for yourself and get organised. Incorporate exercise into your daily life and change your mindset to ‘I can do this!’

Challenges

Accept right from the start that there will be challenges along your journey. Just like a computer game you overcome these challenges and traps on each level before you can progress to the next level. By recognizing your current position and having a plan to overcome common traps and challenges, you are more likely to be successful and move through it. A challenge is only negative if you do not learn from it. Remember that no one is perfect, you are only human but you do need to persevere. The difference between someone being successful at losing weight and someone who does not is that the successful loser picks him/herself back up after a challenge, and gets back on track. Sure, we all have hic-ups or special occasions that can be tricky to avoid-but as long as you get back on track the next day is what counts.
Make this your year to give yourself some time and change for life. Reflect on your past behaviours and habits and note down what would work well for you and what your challenges are going to be. Small steps along the way will lead you through your journey, just like when you first started to learn to walk. You might have fallen down a few times at the time, but you persevered and make it look easy today!