It may seem like a daunting task but losing weight could just be a case of making small changes to your lifestyle – it could be the difference between success and failure. If you’ve struggled with weight loss in the past, or find losing weight difficult, you may find that your success lies in the smaller efforts. Your strongest asset when it comes to weight loss is your own attitude and willpower. Once you’ve harnessed the strength of these assets, you’ll be able to get control of your hunger and appetite, which will lead to great weight loss success.
Give up on defeatist attitudes
If you take a piece of chocolate or eat an extra biscuit at elevenses, you don’t have to assume that you’ve blown it for the entire day. This is a common way of thinking when you’re on a diet, but it can ruin a perfectly good day and lowers your motivation to carry on the rest of the week. But compare this way of thinking to someone who spend £100 on an unplanned shopping spree, then decides to make things worse by charging another £1000 to their credit card because they figure they’ve already blown the budget. When it’s put into these terms, it looks ridiculous, yet we do it all the time with our diets. Why get yourself into deeper diet debt? It would take less time to burn off an extra 500 calories than it would for a week’s worth of sins, so don’t be put off if you’ve had a minor slip.
Find something to compare to your weight loss plan
For many people, this is a budget. If you compare your food consumption to how you waste money, it can put things in perspective and make it easier for you to stay on track. To drive the point home, each time you cheat on your diet you should take £5 out of your balance and give it to charity. Once you’ve started to see your physical balance go down, you’ll be more inclined to stick to your diet.
Trick yourself into eating less
There are ways you can trick yourself into lowering your portion sizes, such as using smaller plates or cutting your normal portions in half. This is especially the case in restaurants, where portions are often too large for one person to eat on their own anyway. You can either share a meal with someone or bring half of your meal home in a container to eat later in the week.
Try the team approach
Finding the right support group is a great saviour of weight loss success, whether that’s someone to call when you’re feeling tempted to eat something unhealthy, or someone to help keep your motivation and spirits up. Staying on track is key to your success, so if you can find people who can keep you motivated it will help you immensely. Likewise, ditch the people who are making your diet difficult. There are people who find it difficult to see the weight drop off, whether it’s through jealousy or a fear of change. They may try to encourage you to eat an extra piece of cake or more sweets when you’re feeling vulnerable. They may be trying to be helpful, but it will slow you down and could even be damaging to your success. Try to spend time with such people in non-food related places, such as cinemas, where you won’t be encouraged to eat more than you’ve planned to.
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