How to Lose Weight And Keep It Off – A Plan
When you wake up drink half a liter of water with lemon.
Drink a cup of black coffee while taking a ten-minute stroll through your garden or neighborhood. Bunny slippers are optional.
Eat one cup of whole-grain oatmeal with unsweetened berries and a handful of almonds for breakfast.
Once an hour during your work day get up and move your body for two to five minutes, then drink a half cup of water.
At the coffee break do not add sugar to your beverage. Do not drink any sweetened beverages, including diet sodas ever again.
Eat five different vegetables at lunch followed by an entrée that is rich in protein and healthy fat, like an avocado and tomato sandwich on whole grain bread, salmon and quinoa, a chicken salad, wholegrain pasta with tomato sauce, or curry over lentils and rice.
Take a ten-minute stroll after lunch. Hate walking? Listen to a podcast or audiobook that makes you laugh. Only have five minutes? Walk for five minutes.
Eat ONE treat. Yes. You read that right. You want to lose weight AND keep it off, so you need to make changes that you can stick to for the rest of your life. Giving up all treats forever isn’t sustainable. So select one sugar or salty treat and ENJOY it ☺ MY favorite is a strawberry tart, but you might want to use up your treat to enjoy a caramel latte.
When you get home from work, or at 6 pm if you’re working at home, lay flat on the floor for five to ten minutes. Listen to a meditation to supercharge your weight loss by sending your body into relaxation mode. Turning on your parasympathetic system will reduce your cravings for sugar and fat and send energy to repair and care for your body.
Do not eat out at a restaurant, but prepare a meal at home. Exhausted? Make another bowl of wholegrain oatmeal with berries or a bowl some wholegrain noodles. Eat at least two raw veggies or fruit with dinner. Use a small salad plate for portion control.
After dinner go for a ten-minute walk alone, with family, or with friends.
Before bed stretch for twenty minutes. I love this yoga for a nighttime wind down by Brett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsOHPld6B00
Go to bed no later than 10 pm. This might be difficult at first if you’ve been staying up later. But if you go to sleep by 10 pm, you will be getting more of the highest quality hours of sleep, which happens before one in the morning. You will also be far likelier to get the 8 hours of sleep you need to support weight loss. Sleep deprivation could be the culprit keeping you from losing weight. Last of all, going to bed early will keep you from being tempted by unhealthy snacks.
Wake up early to get in more time for movement, joy, and love.
So you want to start losing weight starting today and look gorgeous. You have a plan to follow that doesn’t even involve giving up dessert or sweating at the gym. You’re willing to give it a try because you want to lose weight and look gorgeous.
Why?
Why do you want to lose weight and look gorgeous?
I beg you to stop and think about your answer to this question. Are you SURE you want to lose weight? If so, then KNOW your reason. Write it down. Use it to break free of the trigger habits that are automating you into weight-gaining and retaining choices.
But if, deep down, you want to lose weight because you feel you should, or because of pressure from others, or because of shame. Then stop. Don’t start this weight loss action plan. Skip this how to lose weight, and go straight to learning ‘How to feel gorgeous exactly as you are’.
If you want to lose weight for YOU, then if you only make ONE change in this 14-step weight loss plan, take a ten-minute stroll before or after every meal. By the end of the day, you will have walked for thirty minutes.
You will actually see better results with walking after every meal you eat because you will be becoming more active throughout your day.
Getting up and moving regularly all day long will not only aid you in weight loss, but it will reduce your chance of early death and chronic disease. If you want to lose weight even faster, then increase the length of your evening walk from ten minutes to twenty minutes.
Wishing you to feel healthy, vibrant, and gorgeous, -Heather