15 Little Changes I Made to Lose Weight Permanently

 

So I’ve had some time to ponder my weight loss journey.

What was the one thing that made it successful?

You  know, I couldn’t pinpoint just one thing – it was a series of lifestyle choices that changed.

The sum of all those little changes adds up to pounds lost and a new body gained.

Here’s 15 little ways that I introduced into my life that helped lose the weight – for good.

1. Good Night’s Sleep – in bed by 9.30pm most nights.
2. Drink 2 glasses of water on waking – I also put 1/2 lemon in one. This assists my digestion.
3. Weigh once a day – I don’t get fanatical about it but I do weigh once a day straight after visiting the little room and before drinking 2 glasses of water.  I don’t see any use in setting a goal to lose weight and not tracking on how you are going.
4. A morning walk – most mornings I walk…fast. There is so much good in this one thing that it would damage my health if I don’t walk. Fresh air. Body movement. Circulation working. Brain clearer. Ideas flowing – win win!
5. A new breakfast – so when I was overweight my breakfast was all carbs – cereal and some token fruit on top. Nothing wrong with cereal but for me it was too much carbs that really didn’t facilitate health. So now most mornings I have a smoothie of Almond Milk (unsweetened), frozen blueberries and banana, almond butter or nuts, spinach and 3 teaspoons of Gentle Fibre. Some days I switch it up and have cocoa instead of the almond butter. At the moment it is grapefruit season so I am having one very large grapefruit instead of my smoothie.
6. Log all my calories – this is non negotiable for me. I use MyFitnessPal.com to log all my calories – everything that goes into my mouth, including drinks are logged. I have a daily calorie goal and I try to stick to it.
7. I stopped drinking my calories. When you only have so many calories a day there is no way I wanted to waste 370 calories on a Grande Hot Chocolate from Starbucks! That is more than my breakfast smoothie. So it is my choice but I only drink water. I guess on special occasions I might have something but not a normal occurrence now.
8. I stopped eating bread for lunch. This happened naturally – it wasn’t something that I specifically chose to do. I just felt that I would rather spend my 150 -200 calories (2 slices of bread) on something else. So lunch is some protein (usually chicken) and salad or as close as I can get to that.
9. I regularly watch nutritional videos to educate myself on what is healthy. The change in our lifestyle will be easier if we renew our minds to what our bodies truly needs. I highly recommend these youtube videos by Misty Mountain Health Retreat https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCE-dzl6qmUfymEBIeE2MiA
10. 8 Glasses of water a day. This is essential for digestion. I really think that a good digestive system is a top priority for losing weight.
11. Probiotic a day – a capsule of live bacteria that is good for my digestive system
12. Dark chocolate – ok those who know me will know that I love chocolate. It was my downfall and contributed to being overweight. But I love it so much I needed to fit it into my new lifestyle somehow. So now I make allowance in my daily calories to have some dark chocolate – 2 squares of Lindt 70% is only 125 calories! I try and keep this as a treat for after dinner.
13. Monthly goal sheet – This is my version of bullet journaling. I have a page in my journal where I set my monthly goal weight. I have columns where I can track how I am going each week. How many times have i been walking. What was my average daily calorie intake each week. How much I have lost each week. I also have some inspirational quote. I write down what I want to focus on that month. This month (September), my quote is from Earl Nightingale

Never give up on your dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

14. Watch those snacks – they can really add up to a 4th meal in calories. This is the issue that I am working on currently.
15. Having a goal – there needs a be an end game. What is the goal weight that you want to reach and maintain?. It is ok not to know the final figure when you are just starting out – I didn’t really know. I had a vague idea but people kept discouraging me from it. I don’t know whether it was their fear of me becoming slimmer or what. When I was in two minds about my goal weight – the weight stopped dropping. Now that I know what weight I want to be at – I back into losing mode.

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I would love to hear your little ways to lose weight – add your comments below