Content Warning: Today (and next week’s) blog post are going to be about intentional weight loss. If you are currently struggling with or recovering from an eating disorder, I advise you to steer clear of this post. <3
Additionally, while this is the time of year that people are currently concerned with “getting that beach body” going
For those who do NOT follow me on social media (shameless Instagram plug,) last summer I did an eight week weight loss challenge where I catalogued EVERYTHING that went into my mouth for those eight weeks, most of my workouts, and a bunch of little tips and tricks for losing weight. If you’re interested in checking out that journey, they’re all still saved on my Instagram highlights reel (second shameless plug.) But, in case you DON’T want to go check all of that out, here are ten distilled tips to help YOU lose weight successfully, and keep the weight off!
1: Be Patient
If you’re trying to lose a significant amount of weight in a short amount of time, you’re going to fail. Bottom line. Even with a proper nutrition and workout program, losing weight is a gradual process that involves ups and downs. It’s always very much a “two steps down, one step up” type process. You have the rest of your life to reach your goal weight and continue to exist there. Which leads to our next point…
2: It Needs to Be Permanent
Look at your weight loss plan. Could you continue it for the rest of your life? If not, it’s time to change your plan. People that “lose the weight but can’t keep it off” are usually victims of a diet industry that wants to pump you full of products, take your money, and leave you hanging. If you lose weight, that weight will stay off for exactly as long as you continue living the lifestyle that allowed you to lose it in the first place, which leads me to…
3: Don’t Deprive Yourself of the Things You Love
If your nutrition plan doesn’t leave room for you to eat ice cream, pizza, and potato chips, you’re going to fail. Unless you’re going to be giving those things up for the rest of your life (see above point. Personally, I don’t want to live in a world where I don’t get to eat ice cream and pizza. But hey, if you check out my Instagram story highlights (third times the charm,) you’ll see I lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks while also going to parties, drinking beer, and eating junk food. That’s because, in weight loss…
4: Moderation is Key
Weight loss is, at it’s base level, very simple. Not easy, but simple. Burn more calories than you consume. Boom! You’ll lose weight, the end. But this needs to be sustainable, and for that, you need to be able to eat things you like in moderation. Fit the calories and macros into your day, and you can eat anything you want! (Sometimes in smaller portions, to be fair.)
5: Try Not to Attach Emotional Significance to Overeating
Listen, overeating beyond your meal plan happens sometimes. It can be frustrating when you look back on it. But you need to remove that emotional significance if you can because first of all, feelings of guilt are NOT healthy to attach to food (you know, the stuff that keeps you alive?) Second of all: The most important thing to do when you slip up is to just get right back on the bus you were on. Don’t try to cut excessive calories to make up for it. Don’t work out extra hard to make up for it. Just trust the process, and keep going.
To Be Continued!
This is ten tips part ONE for a reason. You’ve already got more than enough concepts in those five points to wrap your head around for one week. Review them, reread them, and accept them into your SOUL. Next week we’ll be back with part two, once you’ve had a chance to grok part one in fullness.
Until then, as always, remember to live boldly, change the world, and continue to be awesome!
Dan Wallace
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