All the festive holidays that ended 2015 has left you with a fatty belly and more leftovers in the fridge. How on earth are you supposed to keep up with your weight-loss resolution this 2016?
Stick to your resolution, make a realistic plan and meet your weight-loss goal in the end. Let this not be another “New Year, New Me”, while you only went to the gym once. Make this year the year you finally achieve your fitness goal.
Be Realistic: The number one reason why you always fail to meet your objective is because you’ve set unattainable goals.
Losing 10 pounds in a week is impossible and switching to unhealthy methods to achieve this won’t help you. Set more realistic and doable goals. 1 to 2 pounds weekly is doable. Cutting completely off your favorite chocolate or snack will only deprive you which may result to binge-eating on your cheat day. Remember, your goal can’t be achieved overnight and it needs determination, commitment, discipline and consistency.
Drink more water: Feeling a little hungry only after eating a full meal? You might just be mistaking hunger for thirst. Instead of reaching for another dessert or healthy snack bar, reach for water. Also, sip water during a meal to add volume to your meal which will help you feel full.
Plan and stick with it: We tend to plan only after the year where all the damage has been done. Having no concrete plan or goal set up for the month/s will deteriorate your resolution faster than losing a pound or two.
Write down your plans: Seeing it written and not just in your head makes it more real and challenging. Set the date where you plan to start and the date where you should have reached your goal. Don’t fall for the same “I’ll start next Monday,” trap. Stick to your plan.
Set small goals: We understand that your primary objective is to look smoking hot and healthy by the start of summer or before another year ends, but what are your mini-goals to help you reach your primary goal?
Make weekly goals: You can’t shed a large chunk of pounds off but you can start to eat right and gradually lose pounds.Let’s say, one week one, avoid fried foods. On week two, start walking to work or use the stairs to reach your office instead of the elevator. If you aim to lose 30 pounds, set a goal to lose 3- 5 pounds weekly. Small-term goals are easier to achieve and these small goals are a big contributions to your final goal.
Track your progress: Write it down. No matter how small the success is, write it down on your journal to note down your successes.
Seeing it on paper makes it twice as difficult to cut the streak of your achievements. It’s not just a tracker for your progress but also a consistent motivation to keep you focused and moving forward.
Eat more often: Three heavy meals can sometimes make you feel hungry in between. Plus, those three meals can take up to 500 calories per meal which is a lot especially if you’ll still have small meals/snacks in between.
Spice things up and try replacing these three meals with five small and light meals daily. By doing so, you are able to chunk on small snacks in between as those are part of the meal plan daily.
Cut out or avoid bad habits: This step to reaching your goal is vital. If you don’t cut out your temptations and replace them with healthier options, you’ll find it harder to keep up with your goal.
Replace your sodas in your fridge with healthier alternatives, even better, keep water as your healthy option. Skip the beer night outs with your friends and if it’s a reward to yourself, drink with moderation. Remove and replace your trigger foods with a healthy alternative to keep your body healthy and happy. Occasional dive in the cookie jar is acceptable, just remember to work extra hard to burn off the calories the day after.
Stick to your plan: This is a no brainer. Once you’ve planned out your diet, short-term goals, final goal, list of meals and the likes, as guide to accomplishing success, the only thing left to do is to stick with it. We’ve already discussed this prior but this is to remind you once again that this is important and essential to your success.
Reward yourself: Don’t burn yourself out let alone not rewarding yourself after your hard work. Yes, you need to avoid your guilty pleasures but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a bite or two of your favorite burger. Or a thin slice of your favorite crepe cake.
You can still shed off the gained calories to maintain your physique. You can also reward yourself in a different way. Perhaps a new fitness clothes? How about the fitted dress you’ve been eyeing on for quite a while?
Splurge a little: Depriving yourself won’t contribute to your success, it will pull you down to failure instead. You’ve done a great job and lost 5 pounds in a week, that calls for a rewarding chocolate bar or a glass of wine. Just don’t let yourself dive in for more than your body needs.
Have a break! Putting yourself in a strict plan will have you stumbling on mistakes a few times. The key is keep on trying and motivating yourself that you can do and be better.
Achieving a goal is a one step at a time process. If you find yourself struggling, have a break for a while and start over. Give your mind and body a break and have a fresh take on each morning better.
Your 2016 New Year’s resolution is surely nothing new to you. This time around, make your weight loss goal happen by following these tips to guide you along the journey.
About Chie Suarez
Chie is a writing junkie from the PH. She writes for FitBiz, a company that specializes in the retail of brand name fitness equipment. Chie likes to jog, walk and rest in between.