According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), 67% of adults are overweight or obese. No wonder over 80 million Americans go on diets every year and spend an excess of $30 billion dollars on diet programs and products. But the sad part of this is that most people who are trying to loose weight do not succeed, in fact, some have estimated that about there is a 95% failure rate. That is a huge waste of money and time without improving health. So what can you do to improve your odds? Simple..write it down!
Writing down your goal, what you eat every day and your exercise DOUBLE your chances of weight loss success. And how easy is that?! Super-duper easy. Take the following three steps to succeed in your diet and be a healthier you!
- Buy a journal…or notebook or grab a pad of paper. Yep…this seems simple, but if you don’t have the tools, you can’t start writing things down. It can be anything…a leather bound book, a spiral notebook, anything that you want to designate as your Healthy Living Journal. Don’t use your journal for anything else, just your goals, food and exercise.
- Make a short term goal. Your goals should be attainable and healthy…not “Loose 30 pounds this week” or “Eat only vegetables” but more like “lose 2 pounds this week” or “eat 4 servings of vegetables a day for the next 7 days.” After your week is up, you can re-evaluate and then move on to your next goal.
- Write like your life depends on it. Record EVERYTHING…everything you put in your mouth, that is. Whether it’s your breakfast/lunch/dinner or the couple M&Ms that you grabbed from the candy bowl…it must be written down.
Writing things down, like what you eat, is a great way to keep on track because seeing what you are putting in your body every day can be a huge wake up call. If you’re a numbers person and want to see how many calories you are consuming check out one of these free calorie trackers:
Below are a few more tips to ensure that you are on the winning side of your weight loss goals:
· Tell the world. This is an important step in the road to NYR victory. Tell your friends, co-workers, family, even the cashier at the grocery store that you are vowing to quit smoking, lose 10 pounds, or get to the gym 4 days a week. When your will wanes, the peer pressure that you’ve created for yourself will help you keep on track.
· Be positive. Ever heard of the Little Engine that Could? With his mantra of “I think I can, I think I can I think I can..” he accomplished his goals. Even though the mountain was steep and took a lot of hard work, he kept positive with his eye on the prize.
· Don’t be your own worst enemy. Many times, people fall off the NYR bandwagon because they experience a set back. Maybe they missed a session with their trainer, had a cigarette at a party or ate half a pan of brownies. No matter what your goal is, you will experience a relapse from time to time. Write it down in your journal and then move on. No beating yourself up…just get back on track
No comments:
Post a Comment