DOUBLE Your Chances of Losing Weight in 2014

So  Center For Disease Control (CDC), over 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 95% fail at sustained weight loss endeavors. That is a huge waste of money and time without improving health. So what can you do to increase your odds of success? Simple...write it down!

If you're a client of mine, past/present/future, you will know that I LOVE food journaling. 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 (I log my food every day to keep on track). Take the following three steps to succeed in your diet and be a healthier you!

1.  Buy a journal or download an app-see #3…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 sticky notepad, a smartphone app or website; anything that you want to designate as your Healthy Living Journal. Don’t use your journal/app/website for anything else, just your goals, food and exercise.

2.  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.

3.  Log 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. Getting things down on paper or into a tablet, 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 and activity trackers (most have smart phone apps as well for convenience and logging when you're on the go):

www.caloriecount.com

www.myfitnesspal.com

www.sparkpeople.com

www.livestrong.com

Below are a few more tips to ensure that you are on the winning side of your health and fitness goals:

• Tell the world. This is an important step in the road to 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. AND if you decide to go digital with your food log, you can ask a friend to keep you in check by having them view your log every once in a while (myfitnesspal makes this especially easy).

• Be positive. Ever heard of the Little Engine that Could? With her mantra of “I think I can, I think I can I think I can..” she accomplished her goals. Even though the mountain was steep and took a lot of hard work, she kept positive with her eye on the prize. 

• Don’t be your own worst enemy. Many times, people fall off the health and fitness band wagon 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.


Good luck and good health!