6 weight loss program “musts”
Here are my 6 weight loss program “musts”:
1. Patience
Most individuals starting a weight loss program come into it fire up! As the weeks go by and the work gets harder, individuals will begin to lose their patience and become frustrated and give up. Weight loss is a long game and being unrealistic with your expectations does not change the timing. Nor the consistency of the results. Having a sense of self-grace and recognizing that this will take several months and possibly 2-3 years will set your expectations on solid ground.
2. Track
You must track calories and macronutrients. I recommend starting with calories and progress to only counting macronutrients. By tracking our food, we learn what 800 calorie burgers looks like. In addition, it teaches self-discipline to take 15-20 minutes and record your food. By recording your food, you are far less likely to go over your daily allowance in calories because you are always mindful of your calorie balance.
3. Move
Moving will give you a larger deficit buffer to work with throughout the day. Besides the millions of other health benefits like, lower risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, etc… moving gives us a sense of freedom to do whatever we want and being grateful for being able to go exercise or just walk daily.
4. Team Up
Find some partners that love working out as much as your do! Spouses have a much higher success rate with weight loss programs when they are doing it together. If you don’t have a spouse or partner, there are lots of groups on Facebook and Instagram that cater and serve individuals starting a weight loss program. Join one of these groups and partner up with a couple of people that can help encourage you and you encourage them.
5. Fortify your Mind
This is the hardest part of any weight loss program. After all, weight loss has always been more of a mental challenge than physical challenge. Accept that you may no longer have that many things in common with your current group of friends. It doesn’t mean that you don’t love them or won’t see them again, you both are traveling different paths at this moment.
Get on Meet Up, the group app, and make new friends who are into the new healthy lifestyle you are. Join a couple of run groups if running is something you have always wanted to do. Do not let yourself get isolated. That will create a sense of loneliness and create the perception that weight loss programs are sad and lonely in your mind.
Compare doing a weight loss program to deciding to go to college after getting married and having a family in your early 30s. It will be more difficult than if you were 18 with no responsibilities.
Accept that there will be times that you will want to quit and give up. Understand those feelings are a part of the process. By fortifying your mind, you will never give up because you understand that the difficulties are lessons being taught in that moment that is bigger than just you.
6. Trust the System
A great weight loss program has been tested and laid out strategically. Your coaches are going to have you do certain task, habits, and routines in a certain order to expedite the weight loss process the most efficient way possible.
There will be minor setbacks from time to time. But the system itself was designed with setbacks taken into consideration here and there in mind. Adjusting your calorie intake or trying to take “shortcuts” never work and will only add that much more time onto your weight loss program.
As an owner, if there were a faster method to help individuals lose weight safely, I would use it so we could be available for new clients quicker.
In conclusion, you are paying a team of professionals to figure out how to fit your workout in your busy work week. If there is one thing we are good at, we are experts at structuring your activities around lifestyles, work schedules, and screaming kids!
Just relax. Enjoy the new education and lifestyle you are learning!
