Weight Loss and Meal Planning

Don’t Throw In The Towel On That Weight Loss New Year’s Resolution!

We’re two weeks into January and so far so good. You’re sticking to your diet and are still working out every day.

Congratulations… You’re on a roll and think that this year is going to be different. Then you get to a point where the weight just doesn’t seem to come off as fast as it did the first few days anymore and you’re tired of eating the same bland diet food. Before you know it you’re ready to throw in the towel on your weight loss efforts. Stop right there… things don’t have to go that way this go around.

Let me share a few tips with you that will help you stick to your weight loss program and by the time next New Year’s rolls around, you’ll have reached your target weight and don’t have to put losing x amount of pounds on your list of New Year’s resolutions. Here they are:

Tip # 1 – Be Held Accountable

The best way to make sure you stick to your weight loss plan and reach your goal is make yourself held accountable. Start by announcing your weight loss goal (with an actual pound figure of how much you’d like to lose) to family and friends. It will create a little bit of pressure to keep going when they are checking in on how you are doing from time to time.

Get a weightloss and/or workout partner. Just knowing that there’s someone else there to support you who also needs your support, and needs you to not give up will have you thinking twice before you call it quits on that weight loss resolution.

Tip # 2 – Keep A Journal

Grab a notebook, a traditional journal, or even boot up the old word processor and start keeping a weight loss journal. You may want to include how much you weigh any given week (don’t weigh yourself more than twice a week), what you are eating and most importantly how you are feeling about this whole weight loss thing. Celebrate your victories but also note when you’re feeling down or like giving up. Once every few weeks or so read through some older entries in your journal. It will help you see how far you’ve come and also what obstacles you were already able to overcome. It’s a great motivator to keep going.

Tip # 3 – Don’t Be Too Strict

One last tip for you here… no one can stick to a strict diet long-term. The cravings for “forbidden foods” just get the better of us, we overindulge in them and then let guilt over what we have done drive us to give up on weight loss altogether. Don’t fall in that same trap this year. Instead indulge yourself (in moderation of course) in some of your favorite foods. Have a bite of that chocolate or savor that slice of pizza. Then fill up on some healthy foods. Splurging every once in a while will help you stay on your path to weight loss.

Do you know what's for dinner tonight? Planning a healthy meal ahead of time will make it easier for you to stick to your weight loss plan. Find out how you can plan your meals or get 7 healthy dinner ideas along with plenty of other recipes and cooking tips at Menu Planning Central. Grab your free meal planning guide today at Menu Planning Central.

Once you get in the swing of things and find healthy foods that you truly enjoy sticking to a healthy eating plan isn't very hard...provided you do it right and don't fall in one of the few traps that seem to get most people to give up on their healthy eating efforts.

The key to healthy eating is to find ways to insure you are eating foods that are good for you until it becomes a habit or a new way of life for you. One great way to do this is to let family and friends know about your plans and ask them to check in with you every once in a while. Positive encouragement from loved ones and knowing that they will hold you accountable is a great way to motivate yourself to keep going and stick to your plan.

Put your healthy eating plan on paper. Sure that may sound a little simplistic and you may have a pretty good idea of what you are doing in you head. But it's not the same as writing it all down and having it in front of you. It's much easier to cheat yourself into thinking that carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is a health food when you don't have a healthy meal plan written out. Get out a piece of paper or even better, grab your free meal planning basics report and meal planning worksheets at (insert affiliate link) and write down what healthy foods and dishes you are going to enjoy this week.

Speaking of enjoying food. Try new healthy foods like a vegetable you've never had or a new recipe on a regular basis. Sooner or later you are bound to find some things that you absolutely love that are also good for you. And don't completely cut out your old favorites either. If you can't live without a bacon cheese burger then don't... instead enjoy it in moderation like maybe once a week or once every few weeks. Make an effort to eat healthy foods the rest of the day and maybe take a walk to burn of a few of those calories. The point is that you don't have to live without those favorites. You just don't want to eat them all the time. But don't feel guilty when you do indulge yourself. In fact, you may want to make them a regular part of your meal plan.