Best Plan for Permanent Weight Loss

By Kathryn Martyn Smith M.NLP

Why Do We Start Diets on a Monday

We've grown up counting off the days, weeks and years like worry beads. Birthdays mark one year older and wiser, New Year's Eve marks a new beginning; the first day of the month, the first day of the week; all mark a new beginning. There is no reason you can't simply decide to start getting healthier right here, right now. You can decide to start at any time. You don't need to wait until Monday. "But, I always start a new diet on Monday!" Ah, but this isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle change. A lifestyle change isn't about being ON or OFF a program, you are just living, and this is about taking that first step. Whether today is Tuesday or Saturday doesn't matter.

Lifestyle Changes Work Best For Long-term Weight Loss

It may take longer to lose weight by changing your regular habits, but it doesn't really. Think about all the diets you've been on, all the days, weeks, months you've wasted dieting, that have added up to a big fat nothing, except maybe more weight. That seems to me to be taking a very long time, and in fact chances are you'll never truly succeed with any ON again, OFF again program. They don't work over the long-haul because as soon as you go back to your usual habits, your usual weight comes right back. How could it be otherwise? Contrast that with a lifestyle change where it may be a month before you notice a difference but once you've lost that 10 pounds, it's gone for good (unless of course you quit doing what's working and run right back to your old lifestyle).

Eating Off Plan Is Not a Lapse, It's a Life

Practice makes perfect. Since there is no way to be perfect, it's far better to decide you'll do your best and then proceed about doing it. Eating something "off plan" is not a lapse, it's a life, it happens. Lots of us have treats at birthdays and too much to drink New Year's Eve but we don't continue that pattern the next day, so why think you must eat perfectly from now on? You set yourself up to fail if you expect perfection.

Choose to Make One Small Change, Then Another

Fad weight loss diets work over the short-term because you are drastically changing your habits, but drastic changes rarely stick. Who wants to live a life of deprivation? Not me. Instead, decide right now to make one small change. Choose something in your lifestyle that could be improved on and improve it. This is an ongoing process. As you lose some weight, you'll need to decide again and again whether you want to make any additional changes.

I lost 80 pounds in nine months over 20 years ago. Over the years since then as my diet and daily habits shifted so did my weight. A few times I noticed I had put back on 10 or 20 pounds. That's when I'd begin to notice my clothes don't fit well and I either must buy bigger clothes or make some changes.

My diet had shifted from a very healthy one to a pre-sweetened cereal for breakfast, cookies for lunch and grab what I can find for dinner lifestyle. Slowly the weight came back and despite thinking I wasn't eating that many calories, I actually was eating far more than I realized, plus the nutrition was poor quality. Your body needs quality food. Without it, you'll continue having hunger pangs despite having just eaten. Until you get some real nutrition you can expect to continue feeling hungry. The nutrition I was eating was poor and my body reflected that, plus I had stopped exercising completely.

How to Lose 10 Pounds Without Really Trying

I turned it around by returning to regular, consistent exercise (No. 1 best way to lose weight and keep it off is to exercise consistently), and I switched from pre-sweetened cereal to Grape Nuts cereal, oatmeal or other whole grain cereals. I still like cereal and eat it most mornings. I started to snack on fruits and vegetables instead of store bought cookies, and I started to eat quality protein with vegetables and salads for dinner.

I still eat dessert most every night but now it's one-third the quantity it was when I had let my weight creep up. Small changes, but basically I'm still eating and living the same lifestyle. My choices are slightly different but that doesn't mean I wouldn't ever eat pre-sweetened cereal again. It does mean I know if I do eat Corn Pops (one of my favorites) I'll likely be hungry for something sugary sweet by 10 AM and keep that preference all day. It's also very likely if I eat sugary foods (highly processed like chips, pastries) for three or four days in a row, then it's going to be tougher to switch back to a healthier lifestyle. Consequently, I make an effort to not let the worse eating become a habit by nipping it in the bud.

I still order a giant double-cheese burger with a family pack fry if I go to Dairy Queen but it's about twice a year instead of once a week. I tried to order a smaller burger and it didn't satisfy me, but cutting back the frequency was painless. Switching from eating at Dairy Queen once a week to twice a year makes a big difference. Another change for me was my weekly Thursday night Chinese food take-out habit. Eating take-out once a week isn't the problem, but I'd get enough for three days, so I was eating Chinese far too often. This is store bought, highly sugared Chinese food not clean healthy Chinese food you might cook yourself or get in a better quality restaurant. In fact, Chinese food is very healthy if it's not Americanized but I was eating breaded and sweetened things like Orange Chicken (you won't find that in any Asian country) and deep fried shrimp with red sticky sauce (tomato candy).

Examine your usual eating habits and see where you might make small changes. Keep a notepad handy and jot down everything you eat for one week. It's not easy to do, but it's so valuable to really discover what you usually eat, and then make small changes either in frequency or quantity of those things. If you always eat french fries, then maybe once a week you could instead have an orange. Not the same I know, I'm just tossing out ideas. It's up to you to decide what you'll have instead.

Remember, it's not about simply stopping your usual routine but switching to a new routine. No matter what you decide, start now. You aren't going to be eating perfectly, you're just going to work on eating a bit better, so get started.

~~Kathryn Martyn Smith, Master NLP & EFT Practitioner, Weight Loss Coach, Author "Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss," teaches how to use EFT for weight loss. Get The Daily Bites http://www.OneMoreBite-WeightLoss.com/getnews.html