PLAN to SUCCEED

Succeed to Plan and Plan to Succeed!

Tips for success through planning- a great way to use your fitness and meal planner!

Achieving a long-term goal typically requires careful planning. Weight loss is no different. While there are numerous "quickie" diets that promise fast results, they do not prove to be healthy, realistic or sustainable. In order to lose weight, a new lifestyle must be formed to keep the weight off and live healthfully. Changing a lifetime of habits takes time, effort and dedication. 

Here are some tips to help you plan your way to successful weight loss:

Daily

Eat Breakfast Everyday 
Research suggests that skipping breakfast leads to increased fat intake during the day, impulsive snacking and eating larger portions at the end of the day.

 
Stay Hydrated 
Be sure to drink plenty of water. Remember our March monthly mission is to drink 50% of our body weight in ounces of water! It's easier than you realize- drink with each meal and snack 16-20 oz and you're well on your way to hitting or even surpassing your goals. Check out the 'March' monthly mission for more details on this. Thirst cues are often mistaken for hunger cues- so this is important!


Eat on a Regular Schedule 
Plan your meals/snacks ahead of time and aim to eat every 3-4 hours. If you know what you're going to eat, the poor decisions are much less of a chance to make! Eat your regular meals, and have snacks in between that will balance out your daily intake of calories- this will keep your blood sugar steady and metabolism revved. Waiting too long between meals can lead to extreme hunger and poor food choices. EATING REGULARLY (healthy snacks and meals!!) THROUGHOUT THE DAY IS SO IMPORTANT! SET A TIMER IF YOU NEED TO! Eat 5-6 times per day! Go for fruits and veggies first, then finish up your snack or meal- plan it out! When in doubt of hunger, drink water- if you're still hungry go for fruits or veggies! If you're hungry after that, eat a full snack and stop when you're starting to feel full.


Exercise 
Exercise should be part of your daily routine.  This should be on your schedule and non negotiable as if it were an appointment with somebody *very* important (hello, it's an appointment with yourself and YOU are important!). If you do not have time to go for routine exercise, break it up during the day or find a creative way to get your heart rate up: park far away, take the stairs to use the bathroom on another floor, jump rope or do jumping jacks during commercials on TV. If motivation is difficult, invest in a trainer or a DVD or find a workout buddy.

Eat Enough Calories - The body is constantly working to do various tasks like making new cells, breathing, maintaining body temperature, breaking down food, etc. All of these things require energy. If you do not eat enough, these processes slow down to conserve energy and the body uses muscle instead of fat to fuel the body. 


Eat Fruits and Vegetables  
If you cannot fit fruits or vegetables into breakfast or snacks, be sure to include them in both lunch and dinner every day. Fruits and vegetables are full of nutrition, antioxidants and fiber.


Be Ready for Tomorrow
Know what you will be eating the next day!! Pack your lunch and snacks the night before, portion out your snacks. You do not have to do extra work, it can be as easy as making extra food at dinner to take the next day or putting together a low fat frozen meal, yogurt and fruit. Put a note on the door to remind you to take them if needed. 


Get Adequate Sleep 
Sleep is a powerful regulator of appetite, energy use and weight control. Aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Research shows that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight or obese and prefer eating higher calorie foods. 

 

Weekly

Set Goals 
Make 1-2 goals for the week. They should be simple like eating fruit at snacks daily, increasing your workout by 5 minutes or reducing the amount of salad dressing you use.Check out our WEEKLY challenges to help you with this!! Having others with the same small goal will help you with accountability for when we check in the following week. 


Map Out Your Meals  
Again, know what you are going to eat before you eat it! Before going to the grocery store, figure out what you will eat for the week - breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Be detailed. This will not only help you better plan your week, but it will save you money by reducing waste. It will take a few minutes each week to do this but your success is worth it! This may pop up as a future challenge!

Prep Your Foods
If you are short on time during the week, spend a little time on Sunday making a large batch of something like vegetable soup or low-fat lasagna, portion it out and freeze it. 


Address Roadblocks - If you foresee any issues coming up in the week ahead (travel, hectic schedule, etc), plan for it in advance. If you think you may forget to eat meals or snacks, set up reminders on your phone or email. If you think you'll have less time to exercise, try waking up 10 minutes early to do some vigorous activity before the day begins.

Comment below with any other ideas on how YOU can plan to succeed!!