What Really Helps You Lose Weight: A Few Tips from Nutrisystem
We all know the answers to the question “what really helps you lose weight?” – Diet and exercise! But what if you’re having a hard time sticking to a diet or fitting in exercise? Here are a few tips from Nutrisystem to help keep you on the right track! As I've been doing in the past, I used their list of suggestions and added my own commentary!
1. Focus on today.
It’s easy to get frustrated when you make bad choices, but what really helps you lose weight is to try and make better choices moving forward. You can’t un-eat those cookies or work harder in yesterday’s step class. Getting down on yourself for slip ups you’ve had won’t make it easier to reach your goals, so use those mistakes to motivate yourself to be better today!
2. Use your Meal Plan.
Though this email was from Nutrisystem, and they are specifically talking about using their meal plan, I’m not advocating any particular company or meal plan system. However, it is important to have a plan when it comes to your eating habits and to stick with it. Whether that means writing down everything you eat or pre-portioning your foods, do what works for you.
3. Get support.
Having support makes any challenge easier, try lifting a couch, is it easier with one person or four? Whether that means support from friends and family, or joining a support group, or even using an online forum to get and give support to others in your situation, you’ll be much more successful if you have a strong support system to help you through the ups and downs.
4. Make it worthwhile.
Losing weight should be reward enough, but sometimes we need something else to keep us going when maybe we can’t SEE the changes that are happening at first. Nutrisystem suggests giving yourself (non-food) rewards when reaching certain weight loss goals as a way to keep yourself motivated. Just don’t give in and splurge early!
5. Avoid temptation.
One of the hardest things about trying to lose weight is seeing everyone else eating the things you want to have! For me, my big weakness is soda! So when I go out to eat with some girlfriends, I sometimes ask them to order my drink for me (water) so I don’t give in at the last second and get what I know I’ll regret later!
6. Invigorate your workout.
Switching up your routine is a good way to keep it interesting. Try out a new class at the gym, or run a new route around your neighborhood. Little things like that can make a big difference in keeping your workouts fun.
7. Take time for yourself.
We are all incredibly busy, but it’s very important to have a little “me” time, at least once a day (ideally) – even if that means 10 minutes of quiet before getting the kids up in the morning, or a few minutes of stretching and reflection before going to bed. Use this time to think about what you’ve accomplished so far and what you hope to accomplish going forward.