7 Steps to Permanent Weight Loss

What do I know about weight loss? I know plenty. I shed 45 pounds in a period of 6 months… not too long ago. It was a by-product of my lifestyle change. My transformation was about so much more than weight loss. I improved my mood, my relationship with my daughter, my skin, my level of self-love, my overall health, and the list goes on. I was so passionate about helping people do the same, that I went to school to get certified as an Advanced Clinical Weight Loss Practitioner at the Health Sciences Academy. I’m also certified as a Nutritional Therapist and am working to become a Certified Holisitc Health Coach. My passion for natural health has propelled me into my innate role as a healer. People ask me why I give away information so freely. I just can’t help it. I believe that there are enough people who can and will pay for my personalized services that I don’t need to exclude the people who can’t or won’t from hearing pieces of what I have learned.

Here are my 7 steps to PERMANENT weight loss and life improvement:

You can’t half-ass weight loss. You can’t buy a tea or supplement and think that’s going to do it FOR you. It won’t. YOU have to do it for you. Don’t just do it to lose weight, do it to improve every aspect of your life. The process won’t be easy, especially not at first. It takes a lot of willpower to form new habits and you have to be ready for that. Remember that there is no quick fix for weight loss, unless you want it to be short-lived. You have to accept that you have been fooled, before you can begin to learn new ways. Accept that you have been going about this the wrong way, then forgive yourself, and move on. Then commit. Write down why you want to do this and post it everywhere if you have to. Tell yourself 1000 times that you are going to do this if you have to. Look at yourself in the mirror and say that you’re taking back your life, taking back control. You aren’t too busy for this. If it’s truly important, you will make time for it. If you’re a parent, look at your kids and think about how important you are to them and how much it would hurt them if they lost you early in life. If you’re busy with your career, remember that you’ll be so much better at your job once you are living to your full potential. If you think you don’t deserve this for some reason, snap out of it. You deserve it. You are worthy. Commit to change. Live it, breathe it, be it. Commit.

If you were an alcoholic, could you be sober and live in a bar? No. That’s not realistic. Same goes for your environment. This means getting rid of all the crap “food” from your home and filling it with goodness. Get rid of ALL processed food, sugary drinks, and anything else that you don’t think fits in your new life. Remove temptations everywhere you can, so you don’t have to use so much self-control. Make this process fun! Look up some healthy recipes and try them out! Go to a natural foods store or farmers market instead of the big chains for your first few grocery trips. Fill up your cart with fresh fruits and veggies first, then you can pick out some organic/free range lean meats or wild/sustainably farmed fish if you choose to. Also grab some new grains to try out, like quinoa or wild rice. Part of your enviroment is where you go, so make sure to avoid restaurants with unhealthy menus. Look up where the best places are in your area to eat healthfully, so you don’t have to worry about being tempted! When you do go to regular supermarkets, don’t walk down the aisles. Instead try perimeter shopping, and only go down aisles for items specifically on your list.

I know this sounds boring, but it really is super important. Studies show that people who track their progress for the first 30 days are more than 2x as likely to meet their weight-loss goals… And sustain their progress. You should do your best to write down everything you eat and drink and how you feel when you do. Now, I know that it’s not always realistic to be perfect about this, so don’t beat yourself up or quit just because you’re not consistently journaling. Do it when you can and be honest with yourself about your choices.

Water, Water, Water! How much should you drink? The rule of thumb is half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 200 lbs, you should be drinking 100 oz. water/day. That’s almost a gallon! Yeah, it’s not easy to do if you’re not already a pro water drinker, but it is imperitive to weight loss, and basic health maintanence. Make sure to do some personal research on which water you choose. I buy the gallon containers and fill them up at my local health food store with either alkalized or reverse osmosis water, depending on where I go and what my budget is looking like. Unless you have a good filtration system, this is the most affordable and sustainable way to drink water, in my opinion. After you have decided on which type of water you will drink, buy a good water bottle so that you can always have some with you. I choose glass, because I live in florida and when plastic is left in the heat, chemical reactions start to occur and it ends up being pretty scary. Do some reserach on this to form your own opinion on BPA and it’s close friends. If you are not a great water drinker, there are ways to make it fun! Try adding some fresh fruit and/or herbs to it! I like to put a drop or 2 of my favorite essential oil in mine! Also feel free to add herbal tea to the mix. Just don’t oversweeten and make sure you buy trusted brands, and not the kind with artificial flavors.

It’s important that you find a style of excercise that you really love. Write a list of some things you want to try out and keep going through them until you find something that clicks. It’s always good to have a few favorite forms of excercise so you can really get variety. I tried running, which I didn’t like, but I did enjoy powerwalking with short spurts of running. I didn’t care much for swimming or biking, but I do like yoga and interpretive dance. I personally don’t go to very many classes. Instead, I like to put my favorite music on and dance around like a nut in my bathroom for 30 minutes and really break a sweat. Some people do better in classes or with a fitness trainer because they feel guided and motivated. It’s whatever works for YOU. Excercise is imperitive for weight loss, but you don’t have do it any specific way. As long as you’re moving and sweating a few times a week, you are doing great!

You don’t want to deprive yourself of all yummy things in life, you just need to be mindful. Set boundaries for yourself. Practice delayed gratification and reward yourself with something you really love for all your hard work. Try to avoid processed/packaged treats at all costs, and go for a little cupcake or cookie from a local bakery instead. If you really love potato chips, try making your own or trying a healthy brand from the health food store, and decide how much you’re going to eat and when. Don’t ever beat yourself up, even if you lose control. Just remind yourself that it’s all a part of a process, and you will do a better job tomorrow.

Often times, when people reach their goal weights or make significant progress, they get a little too comfortable and end up going back to their old ways, slowly but surely. This doesn’t have to be you. You’re looking at this as a lifestyle transformation, not a short-term diet, remember? You have to remember how important this was to you in the beginning and stay in tune with that until your new way of living is automatic. That’s the goal: new habits. That’s how you sustain weight loss. You keep reminding yourself to be healthy until you don’t have to anymore. It may take longer for some than others, but eventually, when you see ALL of the benefits to healthy living, it will become second nature.