The Question
As a dietitian who has a history of weight loss struggles, I am often asked to give my professional and personal opinion on what are the top keys to sustained weight loss. (You can read my weight loss story here).
This question has really gotten me thinking. What is my answer? First, we are all so different and complex. What works for one person may not work for another person. Plus we all have different goals and “healthy” does not look the same for everyone. One person may look different than someone else, but that doesn’t mean they are not BOTH healthy.
Being healthy is not about looks. Being healthy involves mind, body, and spirit. We all have areas we would like to improve. We are all continually growing and striving to live our healthiest life. In fact, growing, learning, and striving is what makes this beautiful journey called life a fun and exciting adventure.
This is why when I was in private nutrition counseling, I talked to my clients about what THEIR goals were. I tried to let the client take the lead as we talked about all aspects of life: mind, body, and spirit.
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So before moving on…
I wanted to preface again, that health and success are different for everyone and being complex human beings, one strategy may work for some people, but not for others. Dietitians are trained in motivational interviewing. With motivational interviewing, we let the client lead and try to answer client questions based on science. We help the client figure out what strategies THE CLIENT thinks will help them the most.
Why Are These My Top Weight Loss Tips?
With that being said, here are the key weight loss strategies that seemed to benefit the majority of my clients and me. These tips seem to work for many people because these strategies:
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Simplify life
- Require less willpower
- Reduce food obsessing
- Let us enjoy our food and help us with finding peace with food and out bodies.
- And yes, help with weight loss
So here they are…
My Top 5 Weight Loss Tips
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Create a healthy lifestyle friendly kitchen.
Notice that key tip number 3 is ‘eat at home more’. Tip number 3, however, doesn’t work as well without tip number 1.
When our kitchen is filled with delicious healthy foods, and if we eat at home most of the time, well, then we WILL eat healthy delicious foods most of the time.
There are many ways you can create a “Healthy Lifestyle Friendly Kitchen.”
You can find some tips here.
Or you can learn how to organize your kitchen and have all your healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners prepared for the whole month in one day by reading the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook. Talk about having a healthy lifestyle friendly kitchen! All your healthy meals for the whole month are done and ready to go!
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Develop a healthy and SIMPLE routine
We are all creatures of habit. We crave whatever we are use to eating or doing. So if we develop a healthy routine or habit, then we, by nature, will WANT to stick to the routine. Think about brushing your teeth. This is such a part of our routine that if for some reason we can’t brush them, we are chomping at the bits to get home and get those teeth brushed. Or if you are use to eating a snack when you watch TV; then, when the TV comes on, something doesn’t seem right if you don’t have that snack. It takes time, but if we form healthy habits, they will become so routine that we will not feel right without doing them.
When clients develop a routine that involves eating healthy meals at home; then they were more likely to notice lasting changes.
So sit down and think of what you would like your routine to look like. Write down your routine. Think about your daily life, all your obligations, and activities. Include all of these into your routine. Your routine doesn’t have to be rigid, but we naturally form routines anyway, it might as well be a healthy one.
How are you going to incorporate eating at home into your routine? Are you going to meal plan and meal prep on Sundays? Are you going to follow a healthy eating cookbook to make your meals? Or is eating at home impossible right now? What does your dining out routine look like? How can your form some heathly dining out habits?
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals Helps with Tip #2
One strategy that has worked for me and many other busy families is cooking and freezing all your meals for a month in one day. Just like with Tip number 1, the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook is meant to help you incorporate tip number 2 (Develop a Healthy and SIMPLE routine) into your life.
In this ebook you actually learn how to make a month of meals in one day. Many of the meals are slow cooker recipes, so as part of my routine, I just simply throw a meal in the crockpot while I am packing school lunches for the kids in the morning. Dinner is done!
Customize your Routine with “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals”
This ebook also provides other specific tips that you can pick and choose to incorporate into your daily routine.
Chapter 4 provides an interactive quiz called “What is Preventing You From Living Your Healthiest Life?” Remember when I said we are all complex and what works for some may not work for others? Well, this quiz helps you figure out what specific strategies you think will work for YOUR life.
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Eat at home more than you eat out.
Time and time again, this seems to be a key tip for many. The problem is many of us are too busy to find the time to cook and eat at home. I know at our house we have something going on almost every night. We have games and acrobats class on Mondays, soccer on Tuesdays, Dance, book club, and cheer on Wednesdays, and soccer and scouts on Thursday. We are on the go all the time.
Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals Helps with Tip #3
The make-ahead freezer meals in the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook have been the key way I have been able to incorporate tip number 3 into our busy life. Because I have these meals already done, our weeknights are so much less stressful, and we are eating at home so much more. Before these freezer meals, we were eating out, grabbing snack foods, or getting take out all over the place. As a dietitian who loves to cook, but couldn’t find the time, I knew I needed to figure something out. This is when I became known as the freezer meal lady, and my family is now eating so much healthier. My husband even lost 17 pounds within the first few months of switching to this freezer meal lifestyle!
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Mindfully Eat
I saved this one for last because it is near and dear to my heart. Mindfully eating has helped many with portion control and weight loss while simultaneously helping them stop food obsessing and find peace with food. With mindful eating you learn how to enjoy your food instead of seeing food as the enemy. On the Mindfulness in Faith and Food blog and in the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook, you also learn how to not only enjoy your time eating, but also how to enjoy your time eating in the presence of God. You can learn how to mindfully eat by clicking here.
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Find ways to be physically active on most days.
Physical activity doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym everyday. You can find many ways to be physically active. In fact, if you need some inspiration check out the posts below:
How To Lose Weight When you Are Too Busy to Exercise
How to Exercise When Your Kids Are Always Around: Exercising with Kids
Final Thoughts and Huge Sale!
Of course, since these are the biggest keys to weight loss in my eyes, the “Mindfulness in Faith and Freezer Meals” ebook discusses all 5 keys in depth. If you want to learn more about this ebook click here.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what strategies have helped you grow and learn mentally, physically, and spiritually. Please fill free to share, like, or pin this if you found it helpful!
With much love,
Lacy
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