Weight Loss – Choosing a Plan You Can Stick To

Earli.US There are many reasons for wanting to lose weight. Whether you are looking to improve your health or to live up to your New Year's Resolutions, there are two main questions to consider. What is a good long-term goal? And what short-term goals will help you to get there? There is a better chance of weight loss success if you find a plan that fits with your particular goals.


Weight Loss – Choosing a Plan You Can Stick To

There are many reasons for wanting to lose weight. Whether you are looking to improve your health or to live up to your New Year's Resolutions, there are two main questions to consider. What is a good long-term goal? And what short-term goals will help you to get there? There is a better chance of weight loss success if you find a plan that fits with your particular goals.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when choosing any weight loss plan – try to keep these in mind from the beginning to set up a good finish.

1. Keep It Real

Here's a dose of reality. The supermodel ideal (ideal in whose opinion?) is out of reach for almost everybody. So, the first step is choosing a goal that you can attain. Just about anything goes, however, you want to make sure you give yourself enough time to lose the weight you want.

You need to know why you want to lose weight at this stage too. It will help you set a goal that is more realistic. Perhaps you just want to drop a few sizes to fit into a favorite outfit. If that's the case then you do not have to lose 50 pounds or have "six-pack" abs. If those are your goals then the plan you choose would look quite different.


2. The Right Reasons

Losing weight for the sake of vanity does not have as strong of a psychological impact as choosing to lose weight to improve your overall health. You can lose weight either way, but if you can put your mind to work for you in losing weight, it will be much easier. Only you can decide what will personally motivate you.


3. Focus On The Positive

Instead of telling yourself you will lose weight this week, tell yourself what you are going to do. For example, how much you are going to exercise, or the healthy food choices you will make.

The reason is that sometimes you will seem to do everything right, but you won't lose as much as you had planned. If you focus on what you are going to do, then that is in your control. In other words, you can decide your behavior, but not guarantee your short-term results.

4. Build On Success

You may want the weight to come off fast, but if you have poor habits, then too much change at once can be counterproductive. Make small changes and keep building on them.

Congratulate yourself as you achieve each small success. You have done something positive and you need to acknowledge it. At the same time, do not quit if you miss the mark from time to time. Just pick up from where you left off. If you have been making small changes, this will be easy.

6. Measure It

You have set goals, and built on your success, but how do you know when you have reached your goals? You will have to measure them. This means setting specific, and measurable goals. For example you can count how many calories you eat every day, how far you walk or even how well you feel! On the other hand, getting serious isn't something you can measure easily. Each measure sets a benchmark, or gives you an opportunity to see where you can improve.

With these six steps you will be able to select the right weight loss plan for you. In fact, these steps will allow you to create a plan of your own. One other aspect is that these steps all require action. There is no theory here, just simple steps you can take on the road to healthy weight loss.