How many “things” have you bought over the years to lose weight? You will not find any suggestions here about diet pills, exercise programs, or weight loss clubs. Most of these end up being temporary “quick” fixes. I heard these do not work often while working at a diet camp for four summers. I am offering suggestions on creating a new healthy lifestyle that can lead to permanent weight loss.
Here are the seven steps.
- Face the truth by stepping on a scale, looking at your entire body in the mirror without clothes (nude) or just a bathing suit, and learning about the harmful effects that extra weight has on your health.
- Visualize the body you want in detail. Spend some time envisioning it so it becomes an easily recallable image in your mind. If need be, use an image of a “real” person you admire who is close to your age.
- When you need motivation, visualize the image you created of your desired body.
- When you need extra motivation, remember the weight you saw on the scale, the body you saw in the mirror, and the information you acquired on the dangerous impact of extra weight on your health.
- Use these motivation techniques to get yourself to learn about nutrition and exercise, join a gym, start or finish a workout session, eat healthy food, limit meal portions, give up junk food, stop food binging, and create a new lifestyle!
- Reward yourself with something other than food each time you reach a significant milestone or goal. Plan a big reward that allows you to enjoy your new slim body when you achieve the weight amount and body image you envisioned.
- Ignore condescending comments from fat friends, advertisements about weight loss products, and defeatist thoughts.
Tips
- Give your brain and body time (3-6 weeks) to rewire and recalibrate to create new healthy habits, taste sensitivities, and lifestyle pleasures. Use the above motivation techniques to get through this period.
- Do not expect perfection. Only full-time bodybuilders who sometimes take unsafe pills can achieve that. Instead, go for nearly perfect and better than most people at any age. 😀
- If you’re extremely overweight and you’re concerned about having saggy skin afterward, do not worry because there are surgical procedures to fix it. Make that your next goal, if needed.
- If you mess up and eat some junk food or miss an exercise session, do not waste time beating yourself up. Just jump right back in where you fell off. Each time you force yourself to pass up the junk food or go to the gym, regardless of how you “feel,” you’ll gain strength. Soon, neither will be an issue.
Use these steps and tips to lose weight permanently and create a new and exciting healthy lifestyle.