My Top 10 Weightloss Tips That Actually Work!
samcglynn July 15, 2011
There are hundreds, if not thousands of weight loss ideas on the web and all can be successful if followed rigidly. But what about those of us that struggle with following the rigid routines of dieting, exercise and a healthy life style??? Well, take a look at the following steps and tips and I hope that they work for you.
Number 1 – Renewal Phase A Time For Change
If you are reading this you have obviously entered a phase of renewal, which is telling you that you have to make a change. Maybe there is a wedding coming up. Maybe you are struggling with work. Whatever it is, hold onto it and use it for your goals. Entering this renewal phase means that you really need to assure yourself that you need to change and change for good. Don’t just say that I need to be 5kgs less. Actually acknowledge that your lifestyle is not what you want it to be and that you need to change (For Good!)
Number 2 – Educate Yourself
Educate yourself on dietary guidelines and the RDI (Recommended Daily Intake). A lot of weight loss is not about the diet and the exercise, but, educating yourself to make informed judgements on your health. You can download a copy of the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council’s Nutrient Values and Dietary Intakes for Australia and New Zealand HERE or view The RDIs via direct download HERE. Reading and interpreting packaging information is another important skill for everyone to be able to understand if they are to manage their weight and lifestyle appropriately. You can learn more about reading labels HERE. Calorie counting is something that anyone who wants to manage their weight well, will also have to learn.
Number 3 – Commit to Change and Plan/Set Goals
Now that you have educated yourself a little more on nutrition and the guidelines, commit to the change by creating a detailed plan to manage your weight. A good plan should start at your current daily intake and then slowly step you down to your desired point of health/fitness. Let’s say for example, that you are currently eating 16,000kJ of energy per day (Which is just under 2 times the recommended daily intake level). Don’t go straight into trying to only eat the recommended 8700kJ because you will fail. Try for week one to get your energy intake down to 14,000kJ and then 12,000kJ for the second week and so on until you are happy with where you are. You should also try and do this for the rest of the nutrients.
Also plan a weekly timetable that will show where you will exercise. Changing the eating part of your lifestyle is only a small part of this change. The main result will come in the exercise regime that you will need to partake in if you are trying to lose weight. Set yourself small goals to achieve throughout the week. If you have had little or no exercise for some time, this may mean that you simply start with playing with the kids for 30 minutes after work. For others this may mean walking around the block after tea. Once you have established that routine of consistent exercise, build upon it. Swimming is a great way for people to exercise without putting stress on inflamed joints and can often be fun too. You may also like to join a gym and get personal training advice from a personal trainer. Commit yourself to sessions with your trainer and you will succeed. The motivation that they can provide far outweighs the problems that you could encounter without them.
The final part of this section is about remembering. Remember that it took you a long time for your previous habits to come to fruition. Therefore, it will take you some time to get out of them. Don’t think that you will be able to lose weight and be able to sustain it in 6 months. This is behaviour change and may take years but stick with it! For more on goal setting click HERE.
Number 4 – Work on Resilience
Resilience is one’s ability to fight off those negative influences on our lives and to be able to bounce back against whatever is thrown at us. For a lot of us weight gain has been about a particular event or issue that has occurred in our lives, which has then thrown us into the comfort of eating; feeling full and satisfied. But bouncing back at these things and building your resilience is not just about coping with issues, but, dealing with daily life.
Often we are succeptable to illness and fatigue because we don’t sleep well. We can also feel lethargic because we don’t eat well. Another one is feeling repressed because we don’t deal with issues when they arise. The list could go on and on. But what if you knew how to build your resilience to make these changes occur and to be able to deal with anything that may be thrown at you…? I recently attended a conference on building resilience by the Resilience Institute of Australia to which the keynote speaker had just let us know that he had just been diagnosed with brain cancer and was told that he would only have months to live. He then added that it was 8 years ago that he was diagnosed and talked about the two paths that he could of taken. The first path would be to mope and be upset and conclude that it was the end for him. The second path, which he took, was to be optimistic, seek help and be positive about life in general and all the wonderful things in it. If there is one thing that you must do, go to the site and read some of their content. Click HERE for more.
Number 5 – Be Prepared to Have Setbacks
No matter who you are, you are going to have setbacks at some point along this change process. It might be an injury to your leg or a death of a family member. Whatever it is be prepared for it and teach yourself ways to deal with particular issues or events. I really like to the ‘Two Road Choice’, where you can take the road to destruction or head back to well-being. Right down the things that will happen to you if you take the destruction road and highlight the benefits of getting back on the well-being road. You can then set smaller goals for you in those times where things seem a bit tough. But don’t forget your resilience from above.
A lot of the time, when people have setbacks, they want to stop. Stop everything and just mope around and not do a thing. Deal with this by having a critical friend. Husbands and wives are often great examples of this, but be prepared to hear what you don’t want to hear. If you have a pre-arranged agreement with them, that they are to tell you when they think you are dropping off from your program and focus it will help. Otherwise they may just sit there and not say a thing because they love you for who you are and not what you look like.
I’d also like to show you a rather motivating commercial regarding smoking (but the same applies to exercise and healthy eating). Have a look at the commercial HERE.
Number 6 – Reward Yourself Wisely
Well, you’ve been working hard for three weeks and are starting to see a change in the mirror. Maybe someone at work commented on your figure? Hey, why not celebrate! For goodness sakes, you’ve earned it. But don’t go out for tea and don’t go and get a bottle of wine. Simply take yourself shopping for new clothes. It is one of the best motivators for you and you’ll see the difference in the types and sizes of clothes that you are now able to wear. Plus, if you have been sticking to a training regime and not over-indulging on your Daily Intakes, then you should have saved heaps of money anyway.
Number 7 – No Fast Food At All
Often when we are busy we get fast food to quickly feed the family. This is a huge error in your judgement and has been caused by so much deliberate advertising and marketing campaigns by major fast food distributors. Now that you are educated on your daily requirements, look up a fast food chain’s dietary information for their foods. You will now notice how much fat and unhealthy ingredients are in them. Some burgers contain almost 2 times your daily intake requirements (and that’s if they are not cooked in oil). You have to give up the takeaway food. No questions asked.
Number 8 – Talk, Talk, Talk
Talk to everyone that you know that you are on a ‘Health Kick’. Tell them what you plan to do and how you are going to do it. Ask a friend if they’d like to go for a swim or walk with you. Get your family involved. Challenge them to get fit and healthy with you. Once you’ve finished talking to everyone about it, do it again. They will essentially provide the motivation and support for you to make this life change.
Number 9 – Seek Medical Assistance
Some of the time people, no matter how hard they try, cannot lose the weight. In these cases it is necessary to see a doctor to assist. They can offer amazing medical procedures and medicines that can assist you with weight control and loss and they are the experts in understanding how our bodies work.
Number 10 – Eat a high protein diet exercise more often with sneaky little tricks.
Protein is great for building body muscles but can also work hard on weight loss. High protein diets in conjunction with low carbohydrate intake works really well towards weight loss. Your body needs energy, which is gets from carbohydrates to function properly. If you decrease the amount of carbs that you take in and keep the protein high, then the body must use another source to maintain the replenishment and growth of your muscles. But what does it use? Well it uses fat. The body then converts the fat into energy and with regular cardiovascular exercise, allows the body to burn off fat. So please look more into high protein diets.
