Do you want to keep your weight at a healthy level? In order to
maintain weight loss, whether it is from surgery, calorie restriction,
or exercise, a lifestyle that supports weight maintenance should be
adopted. It is important that you work to break old, destructive habits
and create new, positive ones. Doing so can help you achieve your goals
and maintain weight loss long-term. Here are four tips that will help
you to adopt new behaviors so that they become long-term habits.
1.
Create a written agreement between yourself and someone who is
supportive of your goals, such as a spouse or your personal trainer. Be
specific about any behaviors, commitments, or attitudes that is expected
of you and the other person who is assisting you in creating the
agreement. Both should sign the agreement, post it somewhere in clear
view, and revise as goals and situations change.
2.Create a
behavioral contract which has the goals that you want to achieve and a
non-food reward for achieving each goal. Plan to complete goals by a
certain date. Develop action-based goals such as "I will visit the gym 2
days per week for 45 minutes" versus "I want to lose weight and tone
up." Update the contract periodically as you meet your goals.
3.
Create an environment that is conducive to your fitness and weight loss
goals. For instance, if junk foods are your weakness then remove them
from your house. Another example includes setting an alarm to remind you
to go to the gym. Using cues such as these will help you to stay on
track.
4. If you need to weigh the pros and cons of changing a
habit, then create a decision balance sheet.
This worksheet helps you to
consider the benefits and barriers of changing a behavior, as well as
develop strategies to either initiate the change or work around the
barriers that prevent you from doing so. Take a piece of paper and
divide into four sections. Label each section respectively: benefits,
barriers/obstacles, strategies to maximize benefits, and strategies to
minimize barriers. Use this to help you to develop a fitness and weight
loss plan.
So, to achieve success at long-term weight loss, it's
important that you change your old habits that are keeping you
unhealthy, and adopt new ones that are going to make you healthier and
happier. These strategies, when implemented, are effective at helping
you to adopt new behaviors. Adopting new habits is a process; however,
in the long-run your body will thank you and you'll have the healthy
body to show for it!
Pamela Brown
http://pamelabrowncoaching.com
Weight Loss Coach
Pamela
Brown specializes in lifestyle and weight management coaching for
individuals who desire a total body transformation. She has a Master's
degree in Human Performance Studies from the University of Alabama as
well as multiple personal training certifications. If you want to learn
updated, current, and effective training and nutrition methods and tools
that will help you achieve your goals, please visit
http://pamelabrowncoaching.com and subscribe!
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