As the famous saying goes, “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” Having a plan is the key to success in losing weight. Without a plan, your chances of losing weight and keeping weight off are very slim.
Weight loss is not a one stop solution for everyone. Each person is different and has different needs. To come up with a plan for you, you need to do some soul searching to discover what you need to change and what you can do to move forward in becoming a healthier version of you.
Evaluate your weak points
When developing a plan, the first thing you should do is evaluate your current lifestyle. Try to identify where your weaknesses are. In the evaluation stage, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- What are my good eating habits?
- What are my bad eating habits?
- What eating habits do I need to change in order to accomplish my goals?
- Do I exercise enough?
- What daily habits do I need to change so that I can increase my activity level?
Think carefully about the questions above, and be honest with yourself. You need to have a good understanding of where you are now so that you can move ahead. It helps if you can write down your answers to the questions above. Then you can use your answers to help you develop a plan.
Clean out your pantry
As you make changes to your diet, you will no doubt be tempted to revert to old habits. An important step to success is to reduce the opportunities to eat foods that are not good for you. Now is a good time to clean out your pantry. Throw out all foods that are high in fat and sugar. Read the labels of the foods in your pantry and throw out foods that contain the following:
- Foods high in sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup (remember to read the labels of processed foods. Many processed foods contain lots of sugar and saturated fat)
- Partially hydrogenated oil or trans fats (also found in many processed foods)
- Foods with white flour as a primary ingredient
Find some new healthy recipes
Food should be a positive experience. If you are removing the unhealthy foods that you have loved in the past, you need to replace those foods with new ones that you also enjoy.
There are many websites that offer healthier versions of old favorites. Below are two sites that offer recipes that use wholesome ingredients. Find recipes that appeal to you, and print them so that they are easily accessible. The sites below have lots of excellent recipes.
Go shopping and stock up on healthy food
Go shopping and stock up on lots of fresh foods. Many processed foods contain unwanted preservatives and are high in sugar and fat, so avoid processed foods and look for fresh ingredients.
To be successful, you need to have lots of healthy foods on hand so that you can eat foods that are good for you. Below are some foods that make a useful addition to a healthy pantry:
- berries such as blueberries and blackberries
- apples
- red grapes and grape juice (juice must be limited though because it has lots of sugar)
- sweet potato
- broccoli
- tomatoes
- spices, especially ginger, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, thyme, garlic
- dark leafy greens
- lean meat such as skinless chicken breast, ground turkey, and fish
- beans such as kidney beans, lentils, and chickpeas
- whole grains such as 100% whole grain bread, whole grain pita, brown rice, and whole grain pasta
- low fat yogurt
- oatmeal
- nuts such as walnuts or almonds
Prepare for success
The true solution to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight is to change your lifestyle. By evaluating your current lifestyle, removing unhealthy foods from your pantry, and stocking your pantry with healthy foods, you’ll get a great start to a healthier you!