5 Easy Tips to Keep the Weight Off for Good!

Congratulations, we’re just two months into the new year and you have made it through the darkest days of winter! You’ve stuck with your resolution to get fit and made exercise an important part of your daily routine or maybe you haven’t started yet? It’s not too late!

Maybe you’ve already accomplished a weight loss goal? Over the last decade, I’ve seen many of my clients lose weight the right way – they make healthy, nutritional choices and exercise regularly. All too often, it’s easy to fall off – life gets in the way as they say. This relapse leads you right back where you started. You’ve gained back the weight you’ve worked so hard to lose. It’s more common then you may think.

Attempts to change lifestyle habits like quitting smoking or alcohol are prone to relapses. Weight loss is no different. Over a decade of treating clients I have noticed some patterns in addition to healthy eating that are essential to keeping the weight off and maintaining a healthy active lifestyle.

Protect your body from packing on the pounds with these 5 tips:

1) Consistency:

Likely the way you lost the weight in the first place was by being consistent with your schedule. Make sure you schedule exercise into your week. Write it down, put it on you handheld or work computer. That way you see exercise every time you look at your schedule. You will be much less likely to skip workouts if you schedule exercise and maintain consistency.

2) Reward Yourself: You don’t have to stick with eating only vegetables for the rest of your life! Allow yourself one or two ‘cheat’ days per week. If you can eat very healthy for the rest of the week you will enjoy treating yourself guilt-free knowing that your workouts have ‘jacked’ up your metabolism. If you don’t ‘live a little’ you’ll be more likely to crack under the pressure of a very strict diet.

3) Support: Having a workout buddy such as a friend, significant other, or trainer/instructor will keep you motivated and accountable. You’ll be much less likely to miss a workout if someone else is expecting you. Your workout buddy can also enhance your sessions by spotting you during weightlifting, and by providing conversation to keep things interesting. Not only that but studies have shown that having an exercise buddy makes you workout harder. This is likely due to friendly competition which helps motivate: “I can lift more/ run farther/ etc”.

4) Change It Up: Keeping things fresh is the key to warding off boredom when exercising. If you feel your routine is getting stale or you are plateauing – try something new like a group exercise class, a new sport, or varying up your workout. A stale workout can also impact your results. The key to growing stronger is by adapting to new challenges. New exercise experiences are not only good for the body but also for the mind.

5) Set Goals: These goals can range from minor like losing 5 pounds or lifting 10 more pounds in a seated row to larger goals like running a half-marathon or competing in a triathlon. By periodically setting goals to work towards you will have something to look forward to. This can be a great source of motivation – knowing that by this date you have to accomplish this task. As in tip 1 enter these goals into your schedule so you can visualize them.

Follow these tips and you’ll be more likely to find optimal health and peak fitness!

Author`s note: The importance of proper nutrition and healthy eating habits has not been covered in detail above but is obviously an important consideration in weight management!

Note: This Blog Post was featured on the GoodLife Fitness Blog.