Do Your Habits Support Your Fitness and Weight Loss Goals?

Do you want to keep your weight at a healthy level? In order to maintain weight loss, whether it is from surgery, calorie restriction, or exercise, a lifestyle that supports weight maintenance should be adopted. It is important that you work to break old, destructive habits and create new, positive ones. Doing so can help you achieve your goals and maintain weight loss long-term. Here are four tips that will help you to adopt new behaviors so that they become long-term habits.

1. Create a written agreement between yourself and someone who is supportive of your goals, such as a spouse or your personal trainer. Be specific about any behaviors, commitments, or attitudes that is expected of you and the other person who is assisting you in creating the agreement. Both should sign the agreement, post it somewhere in clear view, and revise as goals and situations change.

2.Create a behavioral contract which has the goals that you want to achieve and a non-food reward for achieving each goal. Plan to complete goals by a certain date. Develop action-based goals such as "I will visit the gym 2 days per week for 45 minutes" versus "I want to lose weight and tone up." Update the contract periodically as you meet your goals.

3. Create an environment that is conducive to your fitness and weight loss goals. For instance, if junk foods are your weakness then remove them from your house. Another example includes setting an alarm to remind you to go to the gym. Using cues such as these will help you to stay on track.

4. If you need to weigh the pros and cons of changing a habit, then create a decision balance sheet. This worksheet helps you to consider the benefits and barriers of changing a behavior, as well as develop strategies to either initiate the change or work around the barriers that prevent you from doing so. Take a piece of paper and divide into four sections. Label each section respectively: benefits, barriers/obstacles, strategies to maximize benefits, and strategies to minimize barriers. Use this to help you to develop a fitness and weight loss plan.

So, to achieve success at long-term weight loss, it's important that you change your old habits that are keeping you unhealthy, and adopt new ones that are going to make you healthier and happier. These strategies, when implemented, are effective at helping you to adopt new behaviors. Adopting new habits is a process; however, in the long-run your body will thank you and you'll have the healthy body to show for it!

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Weight Loss Tips - The Top 10

Top 10 Weight Loss Tips

Losing weight and keeping it off isn't difficult - all you need is a few changes and the motivation to get you started. Not sure where to begin? Have a look at these great tips for easy weight loss...

1) Keep a Food and Exercise Diary

This is a great way of keeping track of your foods, drinks and how much you have worked out over a week. Be honest with yourself and write down everything - even if you have a bad day.

2) Exercise to Maintain Weight Loss

Exercise helps you burn fat and calories and also helps boost your metabolic rate, even when you're resting so try to work your way up to doing a 30 minute workout 5 days a week.

3) Measure Food Amounts at Home

Weigh out foods and don't eat too much of the 'wrong' thing. For example if a recipe tells you to use 2tbsp dressing, don't go over this as a few more excess measurements all adds up to excess calories.

4) Still Eat Foods you Like

Have a rare treat so that you don't feel too deprived - just don't let a small treat turn into a big binge of crisps, chocolate, alcohol and fast food - you'll destroy all the hard work you've put in!

5) Think Long Term - Not Short Term

Losing weight fast is what everyone wants, but losing weight slowly actually allows your body to adjust and keep weight off for longer. Set goals for losing weight but think of it as a long term venture.

6) Savour Your Food

When you eat - enjoy it! Chew and enjoy the textures and flavours of your food - this will keep you fuller for longer and will reduce the likelihood of you reaching for the unhealthy snacks later.

7) Increase Workout Intensity

As a beginner you may be able to manage short workouts 2-3 times a week. Find the time to exercise and gradually increase your workout program to help you keep the weight off.

 

8) Keep Motivated

Buy yourself treats such as new clothes to celebrate your weight loss, work towards your goals such as having energy to play in the garden with your children - anything that keeps you motivated.

9) Weigh Yourself Once a Week

Weighing yourself everyday is a bad idea - weight fluctuates when muscle mass etc is varying. Have a weekly weigh in (i.e. on Monday morning before breakfast) and use it as motivation for the next week's weight loss.

10) Enjoy Your Workout!

Performing the same workout day after day means that your body gets used to it, therefore making it less effective each time you do it. Varying your workout keeps it exciting and if you're enjoying it, you're more likely to put more effort in. Go cycling, swim, do dance classes, play football in the park, go jogging and mix up your workout regime and your body will continue to burn fat.

Try out these 10 simple tips and you'll not only be able to lose weight but also keep it off! http://ezinearticles.com/?Weight-Loss-Tips---The-Top-10&id=7306455