If you’ve set a goal to lose weight this year, congratulations! Setting a goal is an important first step. However, you need more than just a goal to ensure your success.
We share the top 12 things that will make a difference when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off.
1 Invest in yourself
A lot of people put their job, their business, their kids and even money ahead of their health. But the truth is that health is more important than money. All the money in the world won’t mean a thing if you end up suffering from a chronic illness for many years, aren’t able to be there for your partner, become a burden on your kids, or die and leave your family behind. Losing weight and keeping it off for good requires you to invest in yourself. Many of our clients all say that investing in themselves, their futures, and the futures of their kids is the best thing they’ve done. Not only are they becoming healthier, better versions of themselves and being the role models they’ve always dreamed of being, but they are experiencing more success in their businesses and careers.
2 Improve your sleep
Sleep is one of the most underrated things when it comes to weight loss, but it will make an enormous difference to your body shape and your weight loss results. Not getting enough sleep has been shown to wreak havoc on your body, lower your metabolism and make it extremely difficult to lose weight. It may even cause you to gain weight. Improving both the quality and quantity of your sleep by getting to bed earlier each night will do wonders for your weight loss.
3 Reduce alcohol and eating out
If you’re serious about losing weight there’s no getting around the fact that you need to reduce the number of times you eat out or grab takeaway — especially when it comes to junk food. While there’s nothing wrong with eating out every now and then, it should be a planned activity, rather than something you do most days because it’s easy. You also need to limit your alcohol intake. Once again, there’s nothing wrong with indulging every now and then, but alcohol can severely derail your success. Not only is it high in calories, but it also increases your appetite and hunger levels and increases the likelihood of you turning to junk food. Alcohol also impacts your sleep and leads to poorer recovery after your workouts. Save your eating out and drinking for special occasions.
4 Ditch the diet mindset
If you’ve been trying to lose weight for some time, chances are you have a diet mindset. A diet mindset is a complex set of habits that are linked to immediate results, low self-esteem, lack of flexibility and deprivation, which is primarily born from the diet industry. You are also likely to engage in perfectionist thinking which will cause a great deal of stress in your life. As we will see further down the list, stress is an enormous blockage to losing weight. A diet mindset can be made up of many habits and behaviours that may take time to change. However, the sooner you begin working on these, the sooner you’ll see your body begin to change.
5 Nail your food prep
There’s no getting around the fact that if you want to lose weight, you have to eat foods that will help you lose weight. A key part in eliminating stress around food and the likelihood that you’ll turn to junk food is to do a weekly meal prep. One of the most common reasons people fail to lose weight is because human behaviour dictates that we will eat food that’s readily available, even if it doesn’t support our goals. Having healthy food ready to go eliminates this problem, and actually helps you to stay on track with your weight loss goals.
6 Record data
Keeping a record of what you’re doing to lose weight will also help you lose weight. Having data will show you where you really are, what you struggle with, what is working, and what isn’t working. When you have this information, you’ll gain a greater clarity about the habits you need to work on, the things you need to change, and the things that are helping you succeed. However, data needs to be accurate if it’s to be of any use. For example, writing down that you had two chocolate biscuits when you actually ate half (or even the whole) packet won’t help you identify the triggers that led to your binge, which means you won’t know how to avoid this from happening in the future. Data is the secret code that shows you how to lose weight.
7 Celebrate progress
While you may be focused on reaching your end goal, don’t forget to celebrate your progress and milestones along the way. Focusing on what you haven’t achieved will only leave you feeling frustrated and helpless. However, celebrating your success will provide motivation to continue working hard, especially when the going gets tough. If you’re finding it difficult to see any progress, try taking progress photos. Often it can be hard to see changes when we look in the mirror, but photos don’t lie and they can often tell you a different story, motivating you even more.
8 Declutter your social network
One of the things you need to succeed in long-term weight loss is a support network. This should be made up of people who are willing to support and encourage you on your journey, but at the same time be honest with you, when you’re going off track. These people should make you feel positive about what you’re doing and shouldn’t distract you from your goals. Similarly, it pays to look at your social media feed as well. Are there people you’re friends with or who you follow that make you feel bad about yourself? Or do they post information about body image and weight loss that is confusing? Ensure that your social networks uphold your goals and align with your values. If not, then it might be time to cut them loose.
9 Confront your fears
One of the most difficult things you’ll need to do if you want to lose weight is to confront your fears. The most common fear is the fear of not being liked. Our deep need to be loved and accepted means that we’ll often try to ‘fit in’ or do things to please other people, instead of ourselves. However, this habit of people-pleasing will prevent you from losing weight and keeping it off. Your fear of being judged, of not being liked, of not fitting in, of not being loved will prevent you from taking the actions you need to take, in order to reach your goal. If you want to succeed, you will need to confront your fears, because they have a bigger impact on your weight than diet or exercise.
10 Reduce stress
We mentioned above that stress plays a huge role in your ability to lose weight and keep it off. So if you’re serious about losing weight this year, you need to reduce your stress levels. Stress can come from a number of different things — raising a family, work, financial pressures to name a few. But stress can often be caused by your habits that you aren’t even aware of. Some examples include trying to be perfect, over-exercising, trying to control everything, trying to do too much, comparing yourself to others, and worrying about what other people think of you. In order to reduce the stress around these things, you need to work on these habits in order to overcome them.
11 Put yourself first
If you fail to put yourself first, you’ll never lose weight. Putting yourself first doesn’t mean you’re selfish. On the contrary. Putting yourself first and filling up your own cup will mean you’ll have more to offer those around you like your partner or your kids. Putting yourself first means prioritising your workouts, making time for meal prep, saying ‘no’ to toxic relationships, putting your health before the needs of other people. But if you always put other people’s needs before yours, you’ll never have the time to focus on the things you have to do, to be your best self.
12 Add in accountability and structure
The final thing that will hold all of this together for you is accountability and structure. Seeking the help of a qualified coach will increase your accountability and will dramatically increase your chances of success. Telling other people about your goals means you’ll have a 65% chance of succeeding. Making yourself accountable increases this to 95%! Being accountable means taking responsibility for all your actions and all the consequences. It will also help you stay on track when motivation is low, and you want to give up.
Including structure in your weight loss program is also vital. Structure is simply the plan you need to follow in order to get you to where you want to go. This is something that you need to work on with your coach, because they will know the steps you need to implement in order to overcome your habits, improve your sleep, get better at your training, or even improve your nutrition. At Imani Tribe, each member has their own blueprint for success — the structured plan designed just for them, that will bring the results they crave.
Make this year your year to succeed
Now you know the 12 things you need to ensure your weight loss success, it’s time to get busy! Implementing all of the above steps will increase your chances of reaching your weight loss goals dramatically. If you’re serious about improving your health, we can show you how to lose weight this year without stress or overwhelm. Contact us to find out how.
