Set Up a Weight Loss Plan Right for Lasting Results, Here’s How

Does this ever happen to you? You overeat and feel terrible, and out-of-the-blue you declare that you’re going on a diet. Too often a diet is a knee-jerk reaction to how we are feeling or a desire to drop pounds quickly before a big event. But, starting a diet without a plan is like driving across country without a map. You know enough to get started, but before long you feel lost and confused and turn back. By taking the time to set up a weight loss plan that’s easy-to-follow, effective, and enjoyable, you clear a path for sustainable weight loss. Create an Easy-to-Follow Plan Do you make weight loss more difficult than it has to be? Finding success with weight loss does not require, tedious calorie tracking, complicated recipes, or expensive specialty foods and supplements. Keep it sane and simple. If you have access to a local grocery store, good walking shoes, and a willingness to believe in yourself, then you have all of the tools you need to succeed. Take Effective Steps We’ve all heard the advice... “To lose weight start with small daily changes, like parking farther away from the store entrance and drinking more water.” Is this good advice? Sure. Will it get you to your weight loss goal? No. Small changes create small results, and whether it’s right or wrong, we are not motivated by small results. If you are going to get serious about losing weight, take steps that are big enough to get results. Make Sure Your Plan is Enjoyable It’s human nature to avoid things we don’t enjoy, so if you’re eating in a way that you hate, you’ll quit your diet as soon as your willpower runs out. Creating an enjoyable eating plan is one of the most challenging aspects of a successful long-term weight loss strategy, but it’s also essential to your success. Finding enjoyment involves finding a few new favorite foods, which takes some time and trial and error. Enjoyment also requires a shift in your focus. Your satisfaction with your diet grows as you learn to focus on how good your body feels when you feed it right. Putting Your Weight Loss Plan Together Setting up a plan for weight loss success involves what I call the 3E’s: Easy-to-Follow, Effective, and Enjoyable. To make the 3E’s work for you, I suggest that you start off with a focus on two foods: sugar and vegetables.

• Sugar is the most destructive part of a diet because it is absorbed so quickly into your bloodstream. This quick absorption causes an insulin spike, which encourages fat storage and inhibits fat burning.
• Vegetables are the best weight loss food. They are naturally low in calories and naturally high in nutrients and volume.

To get your weight loss plan off the ground, start by boosting your vegetable intake and reducing your sugar intake. One way to do this is to eat a large, meal-sized salad each day and avoid foods with sugar listed as one of the top three ingredients. These two steps are effective, easy-to-remember, and you’ll enjoy not being burdened by endless rules. You’ll also be surprised and pleased with how good you feel and how easily your body loses weight. Finding a Coaching Program We all benefit from coaching because a coach has done the hard work of planning for you and can show you how to use the skills and tools you already have. The truth is...you already have everything you need to lose weight.

• You have access to a grocery store (no specialty foods are needed).
• You have walking shoes (exercise helps, but doesn’t have to be anything elaborate).
• You have a brain (your mindset is one of the most important tools for weight loss success).

A successful weight loss coaching program shows you how to use the tools you already have in the right way for the best and fastest results.