7 Steps to a Successful Weight Loss Resolution

By Joanna 29/12/2017 In
Knowledge
Fitness Tips

It’s another NEW YEAR!! How many of you have written down your new year’s resolution? Here’s a fact, EVERY SINGLE YEAR, losing weight is THE number one resolution across the world. We all want to be slimmer, healthier, eat better and feel better.

Before we continue, download the LifeSum App, watch this video through and follow along.

For the first month, everything seems on track, we have all the will power in the world and we’re doing well. Come February, we fall off the wagon, lose all motivation and have completely given up on the resolutions we made a month ago. Then we carry on the year hoping and wishing, but take NO action. We wait for another new year, re-write the same resolution, and the same cycle repeats again for the next several years!

I don’t want that for you this year. I want you to succeed! So I’m going to take you through 7 simple but really effective steps to start a SUCCESSFUL FITNESS resolution. Let’s do it together, alright.

 

1) Actually WRITE IT DOWN.

The first step is to actually WRITE IT DOWN. Most of the time, we just tell ourselves what we what to achieve WITHOUT actually physically writing it down. It has been proven that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them by over 70%.

So I want you to start getting into the habit of taking notes. You can either write it down in your journal, or if you’re mostly on your mobile, you can also type it in your phone and make it your wallpaper.

Don’t just write your fitness resolution, and leave the rest of the pages blank.

Start to develop the habit of journaling every single day. It can be a list of things to Accomplish for the day, 3 things that you’re grateful of or 3 things to improve on. The habit of journaling will drive you to reflect, reminds you of your goals daily, hence you’re more likely to stay committed and achieve success.

 

2) Be detailed

The next question is, “what should I write?”. Be detailed. but at the same time, don’t stress out about it. There’s no right or wrong, and sometimes, you wouldn’t know what you want until you start writing things down.

LifeSum is a great app to help you to achieve your fitness and lifestyle goals by offering you a personalized guide to healthy living. So when you sign up, it’ll ask you what your fitness goal is, is it to Be Healthier, Lose Weight or Gain Weight. Instead of just saying “My goal is to lose weight”. Dive in deeper. “My goal is to lose 20kgs this year”. Go ahead, key in your current weight, and key in your Goal Weight.

That’s a great start. Now, let’s dive even deeper and break it down. “My goals is to lose 20kgs this year, and I’m going to achieve that by losing (and lose) an average of 0.5kgs a week. Go ahead and Set Your Goal.

By adding quantity to your goals and breaking it down to smaller goals, this will allow you to measure and track, to ensure success. Rather than focusing on a big number, 20kgs, which can be overwhelming and scary, you’re focusing on 0.5kgs a week, which is more manageable and achievable.

This app records you health and diet data and offers you recipes and diet tips to help you create a unique schedule to fit your fitness needs.

 

3) Have an action plan

Setting a goal is only one small part of the puzzle, the next most important step is to have an action PLAN. How are you going to achieve your goal? What steps do you need to take? What do you have to sacrifice?

So now I want you to create 2 columns

The first column is ACTION – what do you have to do?

And the second column is GIVE– what do you have to give up?

So the ACTION column can be

  • I’ll hit the gym 3 times weekly
  • I’ll aim to cook two healthy meals a day

The GIVE column can be

  • I’ll eat takeaways only once a week
  • I’ll have to wake up an hour earlier to hit the gym
  • I’ll only go out for a drink once a week.

It doesn’t have to be a long list, but rather a short list that you can focus on to turn them into positive Habits.

One of the key factors to lifestyle change is planning and keeping it simple! With a clear and easy meal plan and shopping list to follow, you’re decreasing your chances of buying junk when you’re doing your grocery shopping.

 

4) Turn your resolution into a HABIT

Now that you have a clear goal, an action plan, the next step is to put them into practice DAILY and turn them into HABITS.

The best way to break bad habits is not to try to stop doing them, because by doing that, you’re subconsciously giving your BAD HABITS even more attention.

We tend to set negative goals and focus on things we’re NOT going to do anymore, for instance I’m NOT going to eat junk food. I’m NOT going to binge.

Instead of focusing on what you’re NOT going to do and fight against it, the goal is to create NEW HABITS and focus on what you’re GOING to do.

I’m going to consume at least 5 servings of vegetables every day. I’m going to drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. I’m going to hit the gym 3 times weekly.

Rewire your mind, focus on the new positive habits and work on them daily. It’s about making slow and subtle changes every single day to give your body and mind the time to adapt. I’ve created a video on “10 Steps To Break Bad Habits & Achieve Your Goals”. Do check it out on my channel.

5) Track your Fitness progress

Another feature I love about the LifeSum app is the ability for you to TRACK your fitness progress.

Every time you consume 1 serving of vegetable, hit the veggie icon. And every time you drink one cup of water, hit the drink icon. Take pictures and track all your food intake and also your daily activity.

It’s a really fun and effective way to remind you to stick to your action plan. At the end of the day, when you review your progress, you can look at ways to improve and also celebrate small successes along the way. If you commit to tracking your progress every single day, eventually eating well and staying active will become part of you.

 

6) SHARE and be part of a community

Every year, I’d write my list and exchange it with a close friend. I truly believe that when you’re able to share your goals with like-minded people, it’ll give you a sense of accountability. They will also be able to offer you support and motivation, when things get tough.

But note this, who you share your goals with is extremely important? I wouldn’t encourage you to just openly share it with anyone and everyone you know. Over sharing might not be a positive thing, because these people may end up sabotaging you.

“Oh she’s trying to lose weight”. “Oh come on, one slice of cake will not make you fat”. “So how much have you lost?” The harsh truth is, not everybody will be excited about your goals. There will be always be who will try to bring you down and you don’t need that energy in your life.

Only share with someone that truly cares and wants the best for you. Together, you can keep each other updated, get tips, advice and encourage one another.

 

7) Not just a New Year’s resolution! It’s a PERMANENT lifestyle change!

And the final step is to know that This is NOT just another NEW YEAR resolution. It’s a lifestyle change. It’s not something you do and stop once you’ve lost an xxx amount of weight. But rather, it’s about set your path to a healthier and happier LIFE forever.

So you got to work towards achieving what you want every single day. Forget about going on the fast lane. And because it’s a journey, there’ll be lots of ups and downs. I can tell you right now, it won’t be a smooth journey and it won’t be easy. You’ll have days when you feel extremely motivated, and out of the sudden, you might fall back into your old habit of binge eating again.

If you can foresee this, you can better prepare yourself when it’s about to happen, and overcome it with certain strategies. Remember, do not turn relapses or temporary failures into meltdowns or excuses for giving up. Instead, acknowledge the mistake, look at ways on how you can better manage it when it happens and recommit to the path.

I believe that achieving our goals isn’t about willpower. It’s about developing the right skills and strategies and with the right execution, it WILL lead to success.

Let’s start 2018 strong and I want you to succeed. Let me know what’s your fitness goal in the comments below and how you plan on achieving that.

#jsohactive
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