What is the best diet for long term success? It may not be a ‘DIET’ at all! The best way to lose weight long term is to make changes in your life that you will stick with permanently. Increasing exercise, cutting calories, and speeding up your metabolism to lose weight are vital. Check out these healthy weight loss tips for long term success!
Table of Contents
Healthy Weight Loss Tips for Long Term Success
It seems like everyone you talk to lately wants to lose weight. There are high school reunions to impress people at, pretty party dresses to fit into, and scales that insist on lying to us about how much we actually weigh.
No matter what the reason, everyone seems to be looking for diet tips to help them shed a few pounds. I see friends talking about cabbage soup diets, juice cleanses and ‘magic pills’ that will help you lose weight and still eat brownies all day.
Let me just tell you right now, there is no ‘magic pill’ or ‘fad diet’ that is going to help you not only LOSE weight but keep that weight off for good. If you want to shed a few pounds and actually keep them off forever, here are a few healthy weight loss tips. Whip up a homemade energy bar recipe and hit the gym this week!
Stop thinking that you are going on a ‘diet’:
You really need to wrap your head around the idea that you are not ‘dieting’. You are creating an entirely new lifestyle, not dieting. That new lifestyle will include eating healthy and exercising which will then eventually result in weight loss.
Nothing is totally ‘forbidden’ in your new lifestyle unless you have a true medically diagnosed allergy. Telling yourself you can never again have a bowl of ice cream because it is ‘bad for you’ is a sure way to fail at your new healthy lifestyle.
Keep a food diary:
Yes, you need to watch your caloric intake while you are actually trying to lose weight. A food diary will hold you accountable for every bite you eat. It’s easy to forget those bites you ate off your spouse’s plate or those 15 Goldfish crackers you ate because your child didn’t want them. Keep track of every bite!
Make a Weight Loss Motivation Board:
Using your refrigerator, an old cookie sheet or something similar, make a weight loss motivation board. Decorate it and use magnets to signify your ‘pounds to lose’ and ‘pounds lost’ numbers. Hang it where you will see it every day!
Avoid fake, prepackaged foods labeled ‘light’ and ‘low fat’:
If you are looking for long term weight loss solutions, prepackaged food that you have to buy as part of a ‘meal plan’ are not a good solution. Go to the grocery store. Buy real, whole food ingredients. Stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables, simple whole grains, naturally low fat dairy products and lean meat.
Learn to cook from scratch using healthy oils and plenty of fresh spices. Check out the calorie counter on Healthline.com to find out which foods are highest and lowest in calories. Eat more of the low calorie ones!
Drink plenty of water:
Water is important for all cellular functions in our body and it does actually give you the illusion of being full for a little while. Make sure you keep your water intake up to flush toxins and assist with healthy weight loss. And remember to not ‘drink’ your daily caloric allowance. Skip the soda, iced tea, juice, etc that are nothing but empty calories. Drink water (calorie free! YAY!) and save those calories for something tastier!
Yes, you DO need to exercise regularly:
Healthy weight loss is really a simple formula. Burn more calories than you take in. In order to burn those calories, you need to exercise daily. You don’t need to run marathons, either. Vacuuming the house burns calories.So do gym workouts, your after dinner walk, and the rest of your daily activities.
Get a good night sleep:
You will not have the energy to exercise and cook for yourself if you don’t get a good night sleep. Turn off the TV, put down the book, and stop texting your friends. Get at least 8 hours for better health!
If you are on a weight loss journey and want that weight to STAY off for good, you need to remember that there are no shortcuts. You can’t wish away the pounds and you will never be able to eat whatever you want and have the weight stay off. Do you have any healthy weight loss tips to share?
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
I have been fortunate enough to never have to worry about my weight but I do worry about not getting enough exercise! I want to eat right and tone up and motivation is key so an APP is great.
I need to get this one. I am always looking for new healthy living apps!
These really are some great tips! weightloss is hard any tips from others are always welcomed 🙂
Keeping a food diary is a big helper for me. I just need to get better with incorporating regular exercise as well.
I love this! the moment I think I’m deprived, I fail. Instead I think of everything as a choice and I’m choosing to be healthy, I’m choosing good foods and I’m choosing to be around with my kids for a long time. Being skinny and losing weight is just an added benefit.
very true. I think setting a goal of ‘being healthier’ rather than ‘losing weight’ is a great idea~
Seeing it as a life-change, not a diet, was big for me. This is just how I eat now, and that’s a great feeling!