January... Weight Loss Goals, Anyone?

We know what to do and how to do it.  Most of us have been there many times.  Eat less and exercise.  No matter what plan you adhere to or what program you prescribe to or what fad you buy, it comes down to just that:  EAT LESS AND EXERCISE. 

So this year, I’m on a big kick, just like the masses, I’m sure.  I have a big goal in mind for my 40th birthday, which happens later this fall.  I’ve planned for this life change for two months, taking my journal everywhere I go, jotting down notes and insights so that come January 1, I could actually write out my thoughts and goals in a comprehensive list.  Yes, a LIST.  “Lists” is the theme for my January blogs.  Writing out a list often times makes it feel like it’s real and in stone.  So, below you will find my 2016 healthy life/eating list and my list of motivational tools that I’ve done to stay the course when I’m tempted to fall back into old habits.  I read it every day.  I have a copy in my purse, at home, and at work.  If you’re like me and you’ve started a new eating pattern every Monday for the past year (or longer), but by Monday at 2:00 PM you’re hungry, cranky, and too busy to care about what you decided on Sunday night, you’ll appreciate some of these blunt, no-nonsense tidbits.  So make your list or print this one and then modify to your liking.  Remember, it’s January… the month of FRESH STARTS. 

Eating and Exercise List

1. Remember the 80-20 Rule.  80% of weight loss is about what you put in your mouth.  20% is about exercise.  At least that has been what I’ve experienced.  If you eat like crap all day, but work out, you’re missing the boat.  It’s more about eating than a workout plan.  So don’t kill yourself with long, rigorous workouts, at least initially.  Walking is just fine for the start of your journey.  Get your mouth under control and the 20% will be easy peasy to implement, once the 80% becomes a habit.   
2. Write down what you eat.  You can use MyFitnessPal or Fooducate, but until you have a month or more under your belt of making healthy, smart choices, WRITE IT OUT and keep the journal with you whereever you go.  It’s too easy to put off the online login’s throughout the day if you can’t log on at exactly meal or snack time. 
3. Drink 66 oz. of water per day, before you leave your job.  Then drink water with dinner, which ensures that you're getting plenty of H2O.  I find that if I don’t drink at least 66 oz. per day, my weight doesn’t seem to budge, even if I’m eating carrot sticks all day. 
4. Each month, make an exercise plan.  Change it up monthly as your body changes.  Right now (month one), I’m just walking or doing low-impact workouts, or 20-minute aerobic videos at least four times per week.  My goal will increase to five days per week in month two.
5. Regularize your eating with a set plan of meals and snacks.  On Sunday, I WRITE OUT my meal plan for the week, based on my schedule (meetings, travel, lunch engagements are all taken into account).  Eat only when it’s time to eat.  This is easy to do during the work week and not as easy on the weekend.  Planning is key.  Pack fruit, nuts, cheese sticks, veggies, protein bars daily.  That way, you have options throughout the day and it’s harder to run to the vending machine when hungry or run to fast food at lunch time. 
6. I’m giving up beer.  Yes.  THIS IS PAINFUL for me.  I’m replacing with rum and diet coke if we’re out socially or a glass of red wine occasionally at home.  Once I reach my goal, I can have my beloved German treat on occasion, but until my goal is reached, I just don’t need those massive calories.    

List of Motivational tools for new 2016 Health Plan

1.  Make a long list of reasons that you want to lose weight.  Write it, then type it, then make copies.  Carry this list with you and when you want to overeat or grab something that you shouldn’t, get it out and read it.  Keep it posted at home, at your office, and keep a hard copy in your purse. 
2. Accountability:  Report your day to someone.  Include eating, water, exercise, successes and failures.  Do this EVERY DAY.
3. Change your mindset about food and eating.  Recognize that you can eat whatever you want whenever you want OR you can be thinner.  You can’t have it both ways.  Recite this even out loud every single day.
4. Prove to myself that hunger is never an emergency.  Hunger is mildly uncomfortable compared to real discomfort such as breaking a bone or post-surgery.  Hunger comes and goes, lasting no more than 5-10 minutes at a time, usually and it is certainly tolerable.  Write this down.  Read it when needed. 
5. Make a list of powerful distractions to turn your attention away from food, in order to help you the first couple weeks.  Examples:  Make/drink tea, keep a book with you at all times, clean something, go for a walk around the block, commit to a DIY project, etc.…
6. Tell yourself that every time matters. It’s not necessarily the calories, it’s the habit.  Every time I eat something I wasn’t supposed to eat, I strengthen my giving in muscle, which makes it more likely that the next time you’ll give in and the time after that and the time after that.  Every time I stick to my plan when I’m tempted to eat something else, I strengthen my resistance muscle, which makes it more likely that the next time I’ll resist, and the time after that and the time after that. 

I hope that these suggestions and strategies help you, like they’ve helped me these past few months.  Really taking some honest time to reflect on your healthy lifestyle goals and then PLAN IT OUT and WRITE IT OUT.  It will make all the difference, if you’re ready.