Habits Weight Loss: Our Top Ten

Diets Only Help You Lose Weight but Habits Maintain Weight Loss

If you’re looking to lose weight, you know that it’s not going to be easy. But there are things you can do to make it a little bit easier on yourself. One of the best things you can do is create habits that will help you lose weight. People hear the word “habit” and can get worried. Don’t worry! We’re going to give you simple habits to make weight loss easier! Just like habits, weight loss takes time. But in this post we’ll show you how to speed it up… or at least make progress toward whole health every day!

What Makes Habits, Weight Loss, And Maintaining Health So Hard?

There’s no question that trying to lose weight, get healthy, and form positive habits can be incredibly tough. But why is that? Why is it so hard to make lasting changes when it comes to our health? Part of the answer may lie in our biology.

Your Body Wants Balance

Our bodies are designed to maintain a certain level of homeostasis. That’s just a fancy word for stability or balance. This means that when we try to make changes – such as eating fewer calories or upping our exercise – our body will often resist in order to stay the same.

Our Brains Betray Us

In addition, old habits can be difficult to break because they become ingrained in our brain circuitry. We are designed to create habits. This includes healthy habits and the habits we are trying to change. The more we do something, the easier it is to keep doing it. This is because we create neural pathways that make it difficult to change course.

Culture Pressures

Finally, our society doesn’t always make it easy to live a healthy lifestyle. From tempting junk food to long work hours that leave little time for movement, there are many obstacles standing in the way of good health. But the good news is that change is possible – even if it isn’t always easy. With persistence and commitment, we can all make strides towards a healthier future.

Our Top Ten Weight Loss Habits

These aren’t going to be complex. Just simple tips you can integrate into your morning and throughout the day on your journey. Making these small changes will help you stick to your diet, eat healthy food, and get your body moving!

1 – Find A Plan, Make A Plan, and Commit to the Plan

You have to have a plan for your weight loss goals. Losing weight won’t happen magically. The right food choices aren’t going to land on your doorstep (unless you follow a weight loss plan like Optavia).

Finding a predictable, simple plan that you’ll stick to more than a week is so important. We recommend a plan that has built in accountability that goes beyond eating tips. You know how to eat. You need a coach that you connect with regularly and talks to you about healthy eating and all the other lifestyle habits that may hold you back. Without a plan you’ll just cheat on your dreams!

2 – Plan Your Day, Your Week, and Your Weekend

Sounds like number one but don’t be fooled. Habits are things we do every day. Planning out what food you’ll eat each day will make eating healthy easier. If you have a diet that allows for pre-planned meals or tells you exactly what to eat each day, you’ll see your eating habits change quicker and quicker.

Having your days planned gets you in the groove of healthy eating and even if you’re running late, sleep in one morning, or run into an obstacle like a team lunch at work, you’ll be more likely to grab for the approved pre-planned lunch you made or brought.

Having a plan in place will ensure you stay on that Fat Burn journey and hit those goals!

3 – See Your Future Healthy Self

Close your eyes for a moment and picture yourself at your ideal weight. What do you see? What will this weight loss do for you? Why did you start this diet in the first place? How many pounds are you down in your mind? What does your energy level look like?

Visualize Your Healthy Self Daily

Now take that picture of your future self every morning, afternoon, and night. See yourself in the life you’ve created. What does a healthy person eat each day? How do they choose the foods they eat at each meal? What does their healthy eating look like? What kind of focus do they have?

Focus on the person you want to become compared to who you are now and take small steps in your lifestyle each day to create that person. Watch what this daily habit does for the choices you make, food you eat, and the weight loss you experience!

4 – Community Group Participation Weekly

There are groups for everything. If you have a gym membership, join a weekly class and connect and exercise with others. If you’re a client of a program like Optavia you have a community you can be a part of daily or weekly. We become like the people we are closest to in our life.

If you want better eating habits for weight loss, consider what groups you’re getting your support from. What could you gain from connecting more with a healthy community each week?

Surround yourself with others who are losing weight, eating better, and understand the diet choices you’re making. This habit is key to succeeding!

5 – Get Active

So many of us fill our plate out of boredom. What we call “hunger” is just a “time filler”. Obesity and boredom go hand in hand. Being active doesn’t mean exercising two hours a day as a replacement for your next meal. Train your brain to do something beside eat when it has free time.

• Walk around the block
• Take up a hobby you can come back to throughout the day
• Call a friend and talk to them outside in your back yard or on the front porch while drinking water
• Write something sweet in a card rather than eat a sugar filled snack.
• You could use your energy to clean out that closet you’ve been avoiding for the past week.

Weight loss happens when you change your go-to habits or responses to emotions. When you feel bored create a weight loss habit that promotes the healthy life you desire.

6 – Stand Up For Weight Loss

Sitting isn’t getting the job done. These days we all sit more than we ever have compared to years past. How many hours per day do you find yourself sitting at a couch, on a chair, or a bench?

healthy weight loss is more than healthy eating. It’s about creating a body that feels great morning after morning and night after night. The more pounds you lose the eaiser it will be for your to stand up throughout the day. Take a break every hour and stand up. There are plenty of free apps to help you do this and it makes a difference. Not just in your weight. It makes a difference in the way your body feels!

7 – Drinking More Leads to Eating less Food

Getting into the routine of drinking a glass of water before you eat lunch or dinner will help you eat less of what’s on your plate. If you want to decrease the number of calories you eat, increase the number of glasses of water your drink each day.

Instead of a snack, grab a glass. Just remember, sugar sodas don’t count as better snack choices. Water is always best. But if you decide to have a diet soda instead of eating high calorie food snacks we think that’s a great choice for weight loss!

8 – Sleep More!

It’s not just eating the right food on a diet. It’s about creating a lifestyle that leaves you feeling good. Getting more sleep has proven time and time again to aid in health and even weight loss. Instead of binging your favorite show, take the TV out of your room and get to bed for at least six to eight hours of sleep per day!

9 – Eating Small Meals More Often

One of the things we love about the Optavia diet as a way to form habits for weight loss is how they teach clients the importance of eating food six times each day. Your body can’t process three big meals the way it can process small amounts of food throughout the day.

Studies have shown that eating all your calories at the end of the day can be detrimental to your health. Optavia recommends clients eat six small meals of balanced food each day. Their food choices are balanced fat, carbohydrates, and protein. Eating them throughout the day in smaller meal portions helps to stablize the glucose levels in your system. Most clients say their energy is higher when they eat food like this. We think it’s a great way to drop those pounds as long as it’s the right portions and the right calories.

10 – Journal Your Journey

A weight loss journey has ups and downs. It’s important that you keep track of the journey along the way. There will be times you”ll want to remember what you felt, learned, or experienced. Plus Habitually journally keeps you mindful. The greatest battle for your body is fought in your mind.

Keeping a journal can show you patterns in behavior. You’ll notice the foods you run to when you feel sad and the foods you hunger for when you’re happy. By writing down your feelings as it relates to snacks or that danger meal, you’ll be aware. Awareness gives choices! It may not seem like a big deal but pick up a journal. Your body will thank you!

Final Thoughts

Habits are a part of life. They can truly help us or hurt us. Our habits around food are often the hardest to break. But, if we want to be successful in our weight loss goals, it’s important we begin to implement the simple things we can do right away. The ten habits listed above are some great ways to get started on your healthy journey!

Which ones will you adopt? As always, if you need help setting up your own healthy habits or have any questions feel free to reach out to us! We’re here to help you succeed!

Happy healthy habits everyone!