7 Ways to Lose Weight and Keep it Off
By: RockBox Fitness
Weight loss is a common goal, but there are countless ways you can go about doing so.
Some are more realistic and sustainable than others.
If you are looking to drop the number on the scale, it is important to understand your goal at a higher level. Health, strength, and longevity are the true aim; weight loss is simply a bonus.
So, as you work to become the healthiest version of yourself, consider the following 7 tips to lose weight and keep it off.
- Set small, realistic goals.
So much of effectively losing weight and keeping it off is staying motivated. The easiest way to stay motivated on your journey is to capture your successes over time. By setting small, specific, and realistic goals, you can keep your eye on the prize and celebrate your achievements frequently.
These goals can be as simple as eating the appropriate amount of vegetables at each meal or not giving into midnight cravings.
- Practice mindful eating.
Losing weight is as easy as eating less, right?
Wrong!
The key to losing weight sustainably and healthily so that you can effectively keep it off is rooted in mindful eating.
Mindful eating is the practice of conscious consumption. Ditch all of the toxic eating behaviors, including stress eating, overeating, not eating when you feel you previously ate too much and impulsively giving into cravings. Each of these behaviors is not aligned with mindful eating.
Foster healthy eating behaviors. Remind yourself that food is fuel, that cravings subside, and that your body loves when it is fed healthy food, in healthy proportion.
- Slow down the screen time.
By cutting down on screen time, you create more time to invest in healthy behaviors like preparing healthy meals or working out.
Instead of sitting on your phone once you get off work, go for a walk. Feeling lazy and just want to watch TV? Stretch while you do so.
There are countless opportunities for you to create new, healthy habits that will benefit your weight loss journey… being conscious of your screen time is just one of them.
- Sweat. Sweat. Sweat.
To lose weight and keep it off, you must invest in a consistent workout routine.
This workout routine should be dynamic enough so that you don’t get bored and strategically target multiple muscle groups. Functional training is a great place to start if you are looking to adopt a regimen that changes on the daily, improves strength, and promotes weight loss.
- Lean on the professionals.
Weight loss is not one size fits all. Your body is unique to you, and what works for someone else may not prove as effective for you… and that’s okay!
This is where the guidance of health and fitness professionals comes into play.
Connect with a trained fitness professional that you trust. They will be able to answer any questions that you may have and provide tips that are specific to your current status and goals.
This extra insight will serve as a catalyst to your weight loss journey and will give you the confidence you need to keep moving forward.
- Don’t fixate on calories.
So much of sustainable weight loss is NOT doing certain things. All in all, it is a good rule of thumb to steer clear of fad diets.
Especially those with an extra focus on calories.
While a caloric deficit is a key to weight loss for many, if your eyes are too fixated on the number of calories you put in your body daily, you are destined to fail.
Weight loss is so much more than calorie counting. Holistic health practices are the foundation to losing weight and keeping it off — and require a lifestyle change. Things like calorie counting are not sustainable and will jeopardize your growth as you work toward your weight loss goals.
- Make meal prep a part of your routine.
Yes, weight loss requires you to work out and burn calories. However, the greatest driver of the number on the scale is the food you eat.
Make clean eating simple and prepare your meals in advance. By taking time on the weekend or your evenings off to cook some protein, grains, and vegetables or to make a week’s worth of grab-and-go breakfast, you set yourself up for weight loss success.
