Happy New Year! It is an exciting time of the year. We are starting the beginning of a new cycle and year. Everyone is motivated to hold to their New Year’s resolutions. A lot of resolutions end up being about losing weight. This is a very healthy and empowering goal if you set yourself up for success. I think it is important to give you some guidelines for healthy weight loss.
Healthy Weight Loss Guidelines
- Pick a number that is realistic and small. You may want to lose 30 lbs this year. That is a daunting number. Instead of focusing on 30, focus on 5 lbs at a time. This is a more realistic goal that will keep you motivate to keep losing more weight. After you lose that 5 lbs your new goal is another 5 lbs until you reach your desired weight.
- Focus on how you feel and look. The number on the scale is arbitrary. There are many factors that will change the number on the scale. The most important part is how your feel, and that you are happy with the weight loss.
- Be Flexible on your total weight loss amount. You may find that you feel you look amazing and feel great 5 lbs heavier than you wanted to be. Too much weight loss can make you feel tired, hungry and worse overall. Our bodies know better than the scale what is an appropriate weight.
With those guidelines in mind, I think it’s time I give an invaluable piece of advice to help you along your weight loss journey. Diet is always going to be more important than exercise in terms of losing weight. Exercise is important, but takes second place to diet. Our bodies are fueled by diet, and we can change a lot in our system by simply changing our diet. Try to reduce your carb intake and focus on whole foods this year. Your body and waistline are going to thank you for it. If you are having trouble losing weight, contact us for more information about our Weight Management Program. I am here to figure out why you are not losing weight and help you create individualized strategies to achieve your goal!