So You Made a New Year’s Resolution to Lose Weight. Now What?

Now that January 1^st is behind us, many people like to get a fresh start and make New Year’s resolutions. Coming off of the holidays with all the high-calorie holiday “treats” that cause weight gain, the resolution to lose weight is a popular one.

Knowing exactly how to lose weight can be confusing, however, given the many popular theories about why people are overweight. The fact is weight is a calorie issue. Eat more calories than your body needs, and you gain weight. Eat fewer calories than your body needs (to maintain your current weight), and you will lose weight.

Here are some tried-and-true strategies anyone can do to lose weight and keep it off.

The first two strategies relate to food. When people think about a diet, they generally think about eating less. But the easiest way to reduce calories in your diet is actually to eat more low-calorie foods to crowd out the high-calorie ones. Losing weight by eating more low-calorie food means you don’t have to feel deprived or hungry, which makes it more likely you’ll stick to your diet plan.

1. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Goal: Eat at least 5, one-cup servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

Vegetables and fruits (fresh, frozen, or canned without added fat or sugar) are the lowest calorie foods in your grocery store (and, they’re inexpensive too!). Two large apples have about 50% fewer calories than a plain bagel. Two cups of broccoli have about 40% fewer calories than a ½ cup of coleslaw. Every time you add vegetables and fruits to your meals in place of some of the higher calorie foods, you lower the calories and increase the amount of food you get to eat! For a list of vegetables and fruits to try, click here.

2. Use Meal Replacements Daily

Goal: Eat at least 2-3 HMR Shakes and/or HMR Entrees every day.

Study after study has shown that meal replacements (portion-controlled, calorie-restricted meals) produce greater weight loss and weight maintenance. On average, more than 3 times as much weight is lost and maintained using meal replacements compared with free choice diets. Try having at least 2-3 HMR Shakes and/or Entrees daily. Combine them with your fruits and vegetables. The more you eat the more weight you lose, because again, they’re replacing high-calorie foods. With HMR weight-loss shakes and entrees, you can fill up on healthy foods while you’re cutting calories, which makes it easier to stick to your diet. And you’ll lose weight faster! Look here for hundreds of great recipes.

3. Do More Physical Activity

Goal: Do at least 2,000 calories per week in physical activity.

The third key strategy is to burn up calories with physical activity. We’re all busy, and it can be hard to find the time to exercise. But small amounts can add up and make a big difference. Try walking 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back, two or three times a day. For a 200-lb. person, that’s all it takes to meet the 2,000 calorie goal. Remember, any type of Physical Activity – even housework and yard work – burns calories. The more calories you burn, the more weight you lose and keep off.

Here are some great tools to help you get started:

• For tips on how to fit exercise into your busy lifestyle, click here.
• To determine how many calories you burn for different activities, check out this tool.

4. Keep Records

Goal: Record your progress every day.

If there is any magic to losing weight, it’s tracking your progress. Record-keeping is reinforcing and you’ll have a much better sense where you stand during the day, which helps you feel more in control. You can download a Weekly Progress Chart that supports weight loss by clicking here.

5. Get Support

Anyone who’s tried to lose weight knows that you’re much more likely to follow through on a plan when you have accountability from someone who can support you. Getting support, sharing ideas, and hearing from others can be critical. We have a very active, supportive online community that does just that. If you are looking to make a public commitment to lose weight, have ideas or recipes to share, or would like ideas from others about challenging situations, please join us here:

New Year's Resolutions Forum

We would love to hear from you, no matter what day it is.

If you have a lot of weight you want to lose, consider joining an HMR Program near you. When you join a program, you’ll work with a health coach which will significantly accelerate your weight loss. In fact, people lose 2-3 times more weight in the HMR Program, on average, than they do in any other program. Click here to find a program near you.
 

 

by KeithVanGasken on 01/04/2012 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, motivation, exercise, planning, mood, strategies, nutrition, holidays