- Set specific goals and strategies. The more detailed your daily goals and plans, the better. An English study on women enrolled in a weight loss program asked half of their subjects to write down their strategies for managing temptation (for example, when sugar cravings strike, I will make a cup of tea). After two months, those women had lost twice as much weight as women in a control group, who did not write their strategies down.
- Picture your success. Close your eyes and imagine your ideal body—both what it looks like from head to toe, and how it makes you feel. Then, go shopping – if you want that body, then buy clothes that would fit if you had it. And try them on every day until they fit!
- Plan your meals, eliminate choices. Chocolate croissant or steel cut oats? Grilled salmon or a quesadilla? When you have to make these types of dietary decisions all day long, you may end up exhausting your willpower. Planning your meals in advance, however—even just one meal per day—can make it easier (and less stressful) to eat healthy.
- Do not give yourself any outs. There are a few classics, like “If I don’t exercise at lunchtime, I’ll do it tonight” or “I’ll have ice cream today and get my diet back on track tomorrow.” Any sort of procrastination and deviation runs the risk of bumping you off course. Don’t give yourself an out, and stick to the path that leads to your goal.
- It’s ok to give in sometimes. It’s inevitable that from time to time your healthy routine will get interrupted by forces outside your control, like when your partner proposes an impromptu date night right after you’ve bought salad ingredients. When that happens, try to go with the flow and enjoy yourself.
- Believe it and become it. This rule is simple: If you believe you can be in amazing shape, then you’ll do things on a day-to-day basis to accomplish it. The problem is, many of us carry around defeating beliefs. When you recognize a negative thought (like, “I’m so uncoordinated”), ask yourself why you think that way. You may discover the criticism originally came from your parents, or your sibling, or a childhood buddy. Don’t give those outdated internal beliefs power. Just let them float away, like leaves that have fallen into a river (much easier to say and write it than done) You have control over your thoughts – they don’t have control over you.
- Enjoy milestones, jump for joy. Celebrate milestones. If you don’t appreciate your successes along the way, you risk becoming emotionally numb, nonreactive.. But giving yourself regular (healthy!) rewards (like a massage, for example), provides a little “added oomph” to keep going and push yourself even harder in the long run.
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