Lauren's Corner

Five Steps To Achieving Your Weight Loss Goals.

Making the decision to lose weight is extremely personal and should be yours alone. No one can make you lose weight. Often external pressures can make matters worse and can sabotage your weight loss goals.

Of course, this does not mean you are in this alone, it just means that before you undertake this task, you should have a definite outline and follow these five steps for a successful diet and weight loss program.

Step 1: Get In The Mind Set For Weight Loss.

Timing is everything when it comes to starting your weight loss program. Take immediate stock of your life. What challenges are you facing right now? Too much stress - whether it be work related or personal relationships can get in the way of successful weight loss goals. It may be a good idea to clear something things up and create a good healthy balance in your life. It take a lot of will power to change old habits, so make sure you have clear focus with your matters at hand.

Step 2: Set Realistic Weight Loss Goals.

Successful weight loss takes time. Try to set small, achievable process goals. Climb the mountain slowly. Perhaps the first week you will resolve to eat a healthier diet by cutting back on your fat and sugar intake, nothing to hard for you to accomplish. Then make a plan to set aside 20 minutes per day, 4 times in the week to do some type of exercise.
Do not set outcome goals for yourself. (i.e. I will lose 50 pounds in 3 months.) An outcome goal for proper weight loss is a sure fire way to set yourself up for massive failure.
Speak to your closest family and friends about your weight loss goals, most likely they will be happy for you and will be happy to lend support and encouragement.

Once you have your short term goals set, rate yourself on your confidence level for sticking to them, use a scale of 1 -10, with 10 being the most confident. If you fall below the confidence of 7 then try and reset your goals to something more realistic. Ask yourself what makes you eat? Everyone has certain food triggers. Be honest with yourself. List your personal food triggers and try to stay away from them. Some examples of food triggers might be: habit snacking between meals, stress eating, mood eating, etc... Remember, you are making important lifestyle changes for long term weight loss. Your goals are just the first steps in the right direction.

Step 3: Envision Your Weight Loss Success.

Your state of mind and personal image of yourself is everything when it comes to successful long term weight loss. Envision yourself doing healthy, vibrant things like running a 5k race, skiing down a challenging slope, think of yourself in great form fitting clothes, picture your body toned with muscles flexed looking fabulous! This step of achieving your weight loss goals is extremely important. Having a strong mental image goal is something to strive towards and will keep your mindset focused on weight loss and your will power intact.

Step 4: Choosing The Right Weight Loss Diet Plan.

If all the other steps seemed easy to follow then this step might be the most challenging and confusing. The market and media is literally flooded with all types of weight loss and diet books, philosophies and programs. The most important thing to remember is to do your research and choose the weight loss program that is most balanced nutritionally and will fit in most easily with your lifestyle habits. A diet plan that is too hard to follow or that falls into the "Fad Diet" category will shatter your weight loss goals. Until you have mastered the art of correct diet protocol and exercise it is easier to start with a Balanced Nutritional Diet Plan. Often all the thought and hard work at creating meals is done for you. It would be a great idea to look into any of these Diet Plans, they are top in their field and have record results with a majority of people. Chef's Diet and Diet To Go.

Step 5: Accepting Minor Setbacks.

Anyone who has successfully changed their lives will tell you that life does have setbacks. If you experience any setback, do not give up! Most forward, start fresh! Healthy Weight Loss is a slow, steady and long term process. Now that you have resolved to lose weight, set your Realistic Weight Loss Goals, choose your Diet Plan and ask for the encouragement of family and friends. You are on the high road to your successful weight loss goals!

Have A Healthy Day!