So many of us see the New Year as the perfect opportunity to begin to lose weight and get healthier. With an endless selection of diets and eating plans out there, it can seem overwhelming to figure out how to begin to lose weight. I’ve included 10 ways to start to losing weight that I have used to help me lose weight and now to maintain my weight loss.

1. Write it – Know your WHY. Why do you want to lose weight? Taking the time to think this through and then actually see the words on paper is a very powerful thing.
2. See it and Believe it – Close your eyes and see yourself a smaller size or many sizes smaller. See your improved healthy self, moving around easier, happy, enjoying activities that you haven’t been able to since your weight has gotten in the way. Really allow yourself to feel confident and sure you will succeed in accomplishing your goal.
3. Plan it – This is your road map to success, your GPS, the steps you will follow. Weigh yourself and then learn your BMI ( Body Mass Index) which will help you determine how many calories you need to eat each day to live and then to figure out how many calories you will need to eat to lose weight in a healthy way. Check out the website for some excellent advice on how to help you begin your plan.  www.nutrition.gov
4. Execute it – Start slowly, strive for consistency and not perfection. The key here is to create healthier habits to last a lifetime. My plan consists of a weekly strategy session to decide on my meals for the following week. I then make a shopping list, cut coupons if I have any for the items I will be buying, food shopping, food prep – I normally cut up some veggies ( broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, etc) so they are ready for the next few days. I try to cook a few meals and test some recipes, changing and adding ingredients, making some recipes healthier, etc.
5. Move it – There’s so much research and studies out there that confirm the importance of including regular exercise into our lives. From 10,000 steps a day to sitting is the new smoking, it’s difficult to figure out just how much exercise to incorporate into our hectic schedules. If you are not doing any form of exercise at all, I suggest begin slowly and add 10 to 15 minutes a day and then work your way up to 1 hour 4-5 days per week or 30 minutes 6 days per week. With exercise, just to get moving at first will be a huge victory, so I will keep it simple here. Just begin with walking 10 – 15 minutes. When I began to exercise, I could only do the treadmill for 5 minutes! I currently exercise 4-5 days per week for 1 hour. I now do circuit training classes which are 1 hour, I have been in two 5K races and have been on 5K walks, and do a wide variety of different exercise routines.It takes time to build up strength and endurance, but once you begin to see your body change, you will be hooked.
6. Track it – if you want lasting weight loss success, it’s so important to keep records of what you eat, how much you exercise, how much water you are drinking, but where do you keep all of this information? There are so many apps and tools available now to help you keep track of everything, including your sleep! It’s like having a personal assistant! I have a fitbit surge which I have linked to the app myfitnesspal. This has worked for me in so many ways I would have to write another post just on this alone! I received my fitbit surge last year for Christmas and I have worn it every day since.
7. Review it, Revise it or Repeat it – Go Back over your plan, see what has been working well, and what hasn’t. Either continue (repeat) with what’s been working well or replace what hasn’t worked. I find this process to be so empowering and I’ve learned so much about myself, the impact certain foods and exercise have on my body, as well as so many other things! This is where you really fine tune your plan and realize you are managing your health in detail.
8. Drink Water – Don’t Drink Your Calories, with ONE exception ( Whey Protein Shakes) – With so many smoothies, specialty coffee drinks and juices available, it all seems so healthy until you look closely at the ingredients and calories. I was shocked when I learned that a regular berry smoothie I used to drink had 450 calories and 15 grams of sugar. I thought this berry smoothie was a healthier alternative to soda and learned that my choice was just as unhealthy. The benefits to adding whey protein shakes to your eating plan are too many to mention them all here, but for starters, they add a wonderful, low calorie, high quality source of protein which helps keep you feeling full longer.
9. Eat Breakfast – This sounds so simple but I am guilty of not being a breakfast person for 20 or 30 years of my life. I used to say I didn’t have time to eat breakfast as I get up super early to go to work. Does this sound familiar? When I finally gave in and chose to add breakfast to my daily eating plan, I noticed I ate less throughout the day and had more energy. It’s been more than 5 years now that I have been eating breakfast and my body is so trained to expect to eat early every day.
10. Get Good Rest – I knew this was an important element to my overall health that was missing because I had sleep apnea. I never really felt rested. I can remember always feeling so tired that when I would get home from work each day, the first thing I wanted to do was go and stretch out on my bed and get some rest. So many of us don’t get the adequate amount of rest we need and I cannot stress enough to try to work on this. The words are so easy to write, believe me, I understand just how difficult it is to get the rest. Today, people work so many different hours, my sister, for example, works the night shift 11 pm to 7am.  There’s a lot of fantastic information on the national sleep foundation’s website. I’ve included the link here for you to check out in further detail. national sleep foundation