Top 8 Tips for Getting Ready to Lose Weight
Clear the clutter and check your environment
Take action and clear out your pantry and refrigerator of processed foods like chips, cookies, candy, crackers, or food items with added sugars. The mere sight of “trigger foods” can stimulate your appetite. Check your work environment as well for that jar of chocolate “pick me ups” or processed snacks in your drawer. Consider replacing them with healthier options, like snack sized raw unsalted nuts, or keep the drawer empty and go for a walk for the mid-day exercise snack!
Make time and preplan
Spend some time on Sunday to plan out your menu for the week (or part of the week). Consider easy “go to” recipes or batch cooking to stretch out your meals for leftovers. Create a grocery list based on the recipes. Think about which days you will cook and which days you will have leftovers. Also have a backup plan or food items available on demand in case you aren’t able to cook—this might be in the form of ready to eat foods like, a bag of shredded lettuce to make a quick and easy salad; protein sources like, nuts/seeds, hard boiled eggs, rotisserie chicken, and plain Greek yogurt.
Set realistic goals
You may want to start small with one SMART goal within the categories of nutrition, exercise and lifestyle changes. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timeline. An example of a SMART goal includes: “I will walk every morning before work on my treadmill for 30 minutes Monday to Friday.”
Keep a food diary
This serves as an effective self-monitoring tool to help analyze your current eating patterns and to develop a more healthful eating plan for the future. A food diary keeps you engaged and aware of what you’re eating, when you are eating—and perhaps even why you are eating by helping to discover any associated emotions or distractions, for instance, during the times you eat when you are not hungry.
Identify positive support
Surround yourself with those who will be supportive of your journey towards better health. You may want to tell your family you are getting healthy and that some changes are necessary for this to happen. Ask a trustworthy friend to be your accountability partner—this person can help keep you accountable with your goals and stay on track with the process in general.
Get enough sleep
It is recommended adults should get 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep is important for your overall health. Sleep deprivation can lead to low performance, altered mood, and increased risk for certain medical conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease, to name a few. Less sleep can also increase hunger due to changes in hormones. In particular, studies have shown a rise in the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin and lower levels of the satiety-inducing hormone, leptin, in those who are not getting enough sleep. Inadequate amount of sleep is also associated with more dining out and snacking, and irregular meal patterns.
Control your stress levels
When we are stressed, we release the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is necessary to help us deal with physical or psychological stress, aka, “the flight or fight response.” The end result of the various actions of cortisol can lead to an increase in appetite and cravings, especially for sweet and salty foods. Exercise is one way to lower your cortisol levels. Other stress management techniques include breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, and listening to music.
Add some self-compassion
By being more kind and understanding of ourselves, the more motivated we will be to take care of our needs, including exercising and eating well. Recognize you are human and not meant to be perfect. Your path towards losing weight is often easier said than done, but with self-kindness, self-compassion and self-forgiveness, you are on your way to improve your overall health, well-being, and happiness.
If you are ready to lose weight, please fill out the form on the contact page. I am excited to hear from you!
Ready to get started?
Why “weight?” Let’s set up a 20-minute call to see if this program is right for you.
