Literally millions of people around the world will be making weight loss one of their main resolutions for 2019. Sadly, many will never even get started on a weight loss plan, more will simply cheat or quit entirely and other’s simply won’t achieve the goals that they have set for themselves.
Let’s face it, losing weight is not easy and it is even more difficult to stay dedicated to a plan on a long term basis to achieve the ultimate goal of meeting your ideal body weight.
These tips from DadQuarters will help keep you going throughout the rest of the new year and achieve your goals. They include:
Top 6 New Year’s Resolution Weight Loss Tips
1. Choosing a Weight Loss Plan
There is not sense in choosing a weight loss plan that you know you will not be able to follow for an extended period of time. Choose a plan that matches your personality. If counting every calorie that you consume will drive you insane, opt for a low carb diet that allows you to eat protein and fats in larger quantities and keeps calorie intake to a minimum. If you know that you cannot live without your carbs, chose a plan that includes limited amount of carbs.
You can even integrate different types of plans. Kick starting a diet with a low or no carb diet is great way to achieve quick weight loss and follow this with a more controlled and balanced eating plan to help you maintain your weight loss and keep the pounds slipping away.
2. Choosing an Exercise Plan
No weight loss plan will succeed and deliver the best results unless you get up and start getting active. Intermittent training is currently the rage and shown proven results at shaving of centimeters in a very short period of time. Starting a sport or activity that you can enjoy is a great alternative to slaving away at the gym.
The ultimate is to employ a personal trainer who will keep you on track as well as challenge you to ensure that the weight keeps coming off. Combined with a calorie controlled diet or low carb diet, the right exercise plan or daily physical activity will drive you towards your weight loss goals as well as improve your fitness and overall health.
3. Find a Buddy
As mentioned above, millions of other people will have made weight loss their new years resolution so it should be easy to find someone you know who is willing to be your weight loss buddy. It is however preferable to chose someone who is planning to use the same or a similar diet and exercise plan as you are. This will give you both the opportunity to mark progress and to celebrate successes. It will also provide you with someone you can gripe and moan to about all the negative aspects of dieting and exercising.
The main reason a buddy is a good idea is that they will encourage you and motivate you to keep going even when you are at your lowest point and simply want to quit. Research shows that just knowing that you have someone who depends on you to keep going can be a great motivating factor in weight loss and dieting as well.
4. Get Rid of the Scale
Measuring your weight loss in pounds and kilograms is not always the greatest way to assess your success. This is because weight loss can fluctuate and you may actually gain weight in the form of muscle during some periods of your weight loss plan. It is much better to use a measuring tape and measure your success in inches or centimeters rather than using a bathroom scale.
If you feel that your pants are fitting a bit looser or that you have moved a notch down on your belt, your weight loss plan is working. Throw out all the old clothes that no longer fit the new trimmer you so that you don’t have anything to wear should you consider ditching the diet and exercise routine. This can help you stay focused on your long term weight loss goal.
5. Change It Up
At some point, every dieter may experience a plateau period where their weight remains the same even though they are still following the same diet and exercise plan that had them shedding weight just a few weeks ago. This may be the time to change up your diet slightly, even for a short period of time, to give your body a weight loss a boost.
Intermittent fasting diets (like the Paleo diet) are great at boosting a diet that has gone stale. No carb diets such as the Banting Diet can also give your weight loss a boost during a plateau phase. Keep in mind that you don’t have to remain on the new diet plan and can change back to your preferred plan after about two weeks. However, if your diet plan is not working from the start, it may be advisable to change to a different plan completely. You should however always give a diet plan at least 2 to 6 weeks to show results in order to determine whether it is the best weight loss plan for you.
6. Setting Your Goals
Goal setting is very important in order to stick to a diet and exercise plan. Goals provide you with a measure of your success. After all, you want to see the results of the hard work that you are putting in. Goals should however always be realistic, achievable and time oriented. A target weight loss that is set too high for a specified period of time will guarantee failure which will be discouraging.
Concluding Thoughts
Goals should also come with rewards. Small rewards for meeting small targets and big rewards for achieving the greater goals. Rewards should never be food oriented but rather promote your new slimmer and healthier body. For example, a vacation is a great way to reward yourself for meeting your weight loss goals.
Don’t give up even if you cheat or slip away from your weight loss plan. Get back on the plan as soon as you can and you will achieve your goals to lose that extra weight in 2019!