By: Sue Pasqual
Ready. Set. Go! Are you feeling like it’s time to start making some serious lifestyle changes but you’re feeling like a fish out of water. If you’re poised at the beginning of your journey with absolutely no idea where to start, frustrated in the middle of the track after yet another diet has failed, or just worried about how you’re going to stay on track during the indulgent holiday season, don’t worry; you aren’t alone! We know that people don’t plan to fail; they fail to plan. So it’s time to sit back, take a deep breath, and tackle a brand new start date – one that you’re prepared for – with our top tips on how to organize for weight loss success!
Pick a Date
The first thing to do as you begin to organize for weight loss success is picking the start date. Yeah, okay – we know you already did this, but you didn’t complete all of the steps! Once you have that date, take a significant moment (30-60 minutes) to write out your goals and your obstacles. If you have to carve out time in your schedule to do this, fine. This is, after all, about your health and success!
Think Backwards
What was the reason you first starting gaining the weight? Was it when you got married and found yourself juggling a new living situation? After the birth of a child, or maybe after an injury or illness? Whatever it was, take moment to list these life situations and then reflect on how they served as obstacles in your weight loss journey. Next, reflect on how those obstacles slowly become your new “norm”.
Bad habits are hard to break, but reflecting on the circumstances that allowed them to become a part of your lifestyle past will go a long way in avoiding that same stumbling block a second (or seventh) time around!
Think Ahead
The next step in our lost of tips on how to organize for weight loss success is creating a list of the foreseeable obstacles you may face. Is it late nights at work or do childcare and household duties take up time you need for your wellness? Is it anxiousness in the gym or not quite knowing what to do in the kitchen? Write it all down.
Once its out, you now have the foundation for an action plan! Here’s your chance to list a few ways around each obstacle ahead of time, helping you be more prepared to adapt or even avoid these obstacles altogether! Maybe you bring lunch and dinner with you during long workdays, planning a meal-prep day on the weekend to hit the grocery store and fill a few grab-and-go containers. Maybe you hire a personal trainer to hold you accountable or find a parent friend who can help you find kid-friendly ways to #FindYourFit!
Find Recipes
Finding recipes that fit your tastes, cooking skill level, and budget can be the difference between staying on track and falling off the wagon for many of us! Thankfully, the internet provides us with recipes that can be prepared in less than 10 minutes + require little skill for those who are less-than-comfortable around a stove. Your last-minute meals no longer have to come from a fast food stop which is one reason you’ll find this on every list on how to organize for weight loss success.
Be sure to find recipes that you know you’ll enjoy and don’t be afraid to modify! Perhaps you love the Chicken Parmesan that’s been passed down through your family but know that the fried + breaded chicken, pasta, and cheeses are not the best options. Simply opt for a recipe that uses egg whites, a sprouted or grain-free breadcrumbs, and nutritional yeast! Couple that with zucchini noodles or bean-based pasta, and you’ve got a healthified version of your favorite meal!
Organize Your Kitchen
Cooking for every meal takes time which is a luxury not everyone has, so it’s important that you’re organizing your kitchen in a way that fits your schedule! If you don’t have time to cook each meal, having food storage containers ready and cleaned each week for meal-prep is extremely helpful! Next time you cook an extra-large dinner for leftovers, just pop them into your containers and into the fridge!
These containers are also helpful for marinating your chicken overnight, storing pre-chopped veggies for your salad, and pre-portioning bulk-sized snacks!
Fit In Fitness
Organizing your schedule so you can fit in your exercise is absolutely essential! We each get 24 hours in the day and, while there are definitely days where exercise just isn’t going to happen, most of us simply don’t carve out the time to do it. It may mean waking up 1 hour earlier in the morning or even bringing your gym clothes to work falling into the couch trap at home isn’t even an option. It may also mean hiring a babysitter to get the kids off to baseball and dance 3 times per week so you can do something for yourself and your health or pre-paying for personal training to force yourself to show up.
Organize Your Social Life
Telling Others
Tell your friends, family, and co-workers that you’re beginning a health and weight loss journey and that you’re excited to share your progress with them! This is a great chance to open up the conversation about cutting back on Happy Hour catch-ups and heading out for lunch during the week. Telling them may feel scary, but the ones who will support you are the only people you really need making up your support network in the first place!
Planning Outings
Part of creating a lifestyle that works is not depriving yourself of the best things in life. This includes dinners and nights out! Allow yourself head out to your favorite restaurants, prepared with what you’ll order and keeping your goals in mind. The main thing here is to always go in with a plan!
Organize Your Budget
The last tip in our list on how to organize for weight loss success is managing your budget. Before you start, have your finances mapped out to include meal shopping and prepping and social outings. This is also a great chance to adjust your budget to include supplements such as Trim Cafe, Trim Tea, CORE, or ACTS which can help you reach your goals even faster! Even on a limited and fixed income, this is possible. What small, conveniences or luxuries can be temporary sacrificed to get what you need? Could you paint your own nails instead of paying $40 for a manicure or take your lunches to work each week? The decisions are up to you, and only you can determine your success!
Losing weight and keeping it off is doable as long as you organize for weight loss success!
You just need to be prepared to succeed and, once you do,
there’s no turning back from looking and feeling amazing!
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