80+ Experts Share Tips On Weight Loss & Motivation

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated

Losing weight can seem like a difficult task. Sometimes it can even feel overwhelming. Where should you start?

Taking small, sustainable steps on a daily basis is a good approach. As a Health Coach that specializes in guiding clients to keep blood sugar balanced, kick cravings, increase energy, and reduce excess weight, I have found there are two steps a person can take every day that will move them towards a healthy weight loss, and help them maintain that weight loss.

The first step is to consistently consume nutrient dense, whole foods. It is crucial to permanently eliminate all added sugars and all processed, nutritionally empty (junk) foods. Your body does not require empty calories, extra sugar or added sugars in order to be healthy. In fact, you can obtain enough sugar through whole foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Wholesome foods that are full of nutrition will give your body the vitamins, minerals and nutritional elements it needs to maintain great health and energy.

It is also important to have the right balance of nutrition every day – meaning the proper daily amount of certain nutritional elements such as good quality protein, healthy carbohydrates that contain fiber, good fats and plenty of pure water. Having nutritious, balanced food will keep your blood sugar level balanced, keep your insulin system healthy, reduce or eliminate cravings and keep you from binge eating (which can cause weight gain!).

The second step is to have at least 20 minutes of daily exercise. There are many well known benefits to getting regular exercise.

Exercise:

• helps reduce stress
• improves your digestion
• increases your muscle efficiency, which includes your lungs and heart
• increases your circulation
• helps your body maintain a healthy blood sugar level, which reduces your risk of becoming diabetic
• helps your body burn fat because you will be activating the hormone glucagon, which is a fat burning hormone.
• causes your body to burn calories and your metabolism to increase over time. When your metabolic rate increases, your body burns more calories even when you are resting.
• gives you energy. This is an interesting benefit that seems counter-intuitive: exercising gives you more physical energy, even though you have to exert energy to do the exercise.
• helps you maintain your ideal weight, once it has been achieved.

A number of people struggle with staying motivated to eat a nutritious, balanced diet and get exercise every day. So what is the best way to stay motivated? Results! Look for positive results right from the start.

By positive results – I am NOT talking about getting on the scale every single day or twice a day. As a matter of fact, I believe you should weigh yourself only once at the beginning, and once later on when you have made permanent and sustainable changes to your lifestyle and you physically feel like you have lost weight.

Other than that - put the scale away and leave it put away. Why? Because your weigh scale is the wrong focus. When you constantly weigh yourself you are causing yourself stress and looking for approval from a machine! You are literally weighing your self-esteem, which is negative. If the scale happens to go up – you feel upset with yourself, frustrated and stressed and you run the risk of wanting to give up. You will only feel positive and good about yourself when the numbers on the scale decrease. By focusing on the wrong thing (the weigh scale) you will NOT be focusing on the real results that are very important.

There are 5 real, lasting and positive results to focus on that will keep you motivated every day. All of them involve taking time to be in the moment to connect with all the positivity that is happening for you.

1.Focus on your physical energy level.

Take a moment and notice how eating nutritious food and getting regular exercise are increasing your vibrancy and your energy. Enjoy how it feels to have more bounce to your step!

2.Focus on how wonderful you look.

Eating such healthy food nourishes your body all the way to your core (your cells), which makes all your tissues and organs healthier – including your skin. Be proud of your efforts and how fabulous you look!

3.Get in touch with how great you feel.

Every time you eat a healthy meal or snack, take a moment to connect with your body and how the food makes you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. This will tell you if the food is causing negative blood sugar issues (spiking and crashing) and it will guide to you understand without a doubt which foods really nourish you. You will be motivated to either keep doing exactly what you are doing because it’s working very well, or you will be motivated to make some changes because you realize that things could be better with different choices.

4.Notice how your clothes are fitting.

Are your clothes starting to get loose on you or are your clothes fitting the same way? Know that every body is unique when it comes to releasing weight, and that a fast release of large amounts of weight is not necessarily the healthiest. A slower, steady weight reduction is best and generally it is easiest to maintain. One pound per week or one pound every two weeks is a good pace. Doesn’t sound like much? Think about it for a moment. That rate works out to a range of 24 to 48 pounds of excess weight gone in one year – it’s a HUGE amount. After all, you probably didn’t gain excess weight really fast. It probably happened slowly over the course of one to two years and it is okay to get rid of it slowly.

5.How are your overall stress level, your mood and your cravings?

Check in with yourself and notice any changes you are feeling mentally and/or emotionally, including stress and sugar cravings. When you exercise regularly, your brain centers are being stimulated and your body’s natural feel good chemicals are being released, uplifting your mood. When you stop eating sugary foods and refined junk foods, your brain’s addiction center returns to its default mode and your cravings naturally diminish. This is another motivator because feeling less stressed, in a better mood and having less cravings verifies that you are being successful with the changes in food and exercise. Celebrate the success, in a healthy way of course!

When you are in the process of releasing weight stay positive, be determined to eat well and get exercise daily, look for great results, and celebrate you!

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated

Follow a low glycemic diet
Eating carbohydrates – especially sugars – stimulates the release of insulin, which is the main fat-storing hormone in your body. Following a diet that has minimal impact on blood glucose levels – known as low glycemic diet – will help you lose weight more easily.

Eat more protein
Protein fills you up more quickly than fats or carbs. You also use more energy and generate more heat when metabolising proteins which helps to promote weight loss.

Eat more button mushrooms
Substituting white button mushrooms for meat in familiar dishes such as lasagne and chilli, reduces total calorie intake without reducing palatability or satisfaction. It halves the calorie content of the dish but provides the same volume. Doing this ten times can help you lose one pound of fat. Doing it once a week for a year would help you lose 5lb in weight.

Keep a food diary
Recording what you eat makes you accountable for everything that passes your lips and helps cut back on ‘mindless’ snacking. A six month study involving over 1600 overweight adults who lost almost 13 pounds each found those keeping a regular food diary lost twice as much weight as those recording their food intake infrequently.

Drink a glass of water before eating and after snacks
Thirst can trigger hunger pangs, as food is an important source of water. Some people also mistake thirst for hunger. Water helps fill you up so you feel satisfied with eating smaller amounts. Drinking after a snack also removes the taste of food to reduce your desire for more.

Always sit down to eat
Make every meal an occasion by laying the table - even if you are on your own, and only having a snack. This helps you focus on what, and how much, you are eating. Eating when walking or watching TV encourages you to eat more - you are too distracted to recognise you are full.

Use a smaller plate and serve smaller helpings than you think you need
Serving food on a smaller plate makes you think you’re eating more, so you feel satisfied with smaller-sized portions.

Use a different coloured plate
As odd as it sounds, changing the colour of your crockery might make it easier to shed weight. In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, food psychologists found that, when the colour of your food matches the colour of your plate, it blends in so you tend to eat more without thinking. But when the colour of your food contrasts with your plate, the portion looks bigger so you’re happier to have less. Avoid eating rice in white bowls but pile lettuce onto a green plate perhaps?

Use a bigger fork
A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that if you take bigger bites you end up eating less. Two sizes of fork were used to manipulate bite size in an Italian restaurant and, surprisingly, those using the larger fork ate less than those using the smaller fork. It seems that winding more spaghetti onto your fork makes a visible dent in the pile of food left on your plate. This is thought to provide a visual clue on the progress of your meal so your brain is fooled into thinking you must be full.

Pause regularly while eating
Many people eat with a forkful of food hovering to replace the last morsel as soon as it is swallowed. By pausing between bites - even putting down your knife and fork between mouthfuls - your meal will last longer, and you will start to feel full up before you have eaten too much.

Listen to slow music and you will naturally fall into the rhythm of slow music while eating, so you take smaller bites, chew longer and eat more slowly as a result. This means your brain gets the full-up message before you have eaten too much.

Re-discover the art of mealtime conversation and stretch your meals out, like the French, and make them a social occasion. Concentrate on your food while eating, but between courses, relax and enjoy conversation. Your meals will seem more satisfying you will start to feel full before pudding so you can decline fattening sweets and select healthy, fresh fruit.

Eat mindfully
Before putting any item of food in your mouth, ensure you are feeling relaxed so you can concentrate on enjoying your food and eat consciously. Focus on the flavour of food - especially the first 3 mouthfuls - and concentrate on enjoying them. Chewing each mouthful for longer, as well as pausing regularly while eating. These strategies give your brain more time to receive signals that you are becoming full. Don’t read the paper or watch television at the same time, or you may end up eating more without realising it.

Try supplements
There is evidence that green coffee bean extracts and raspberry ketones can help you burn more fat to lose weight more quickly.

Top 5 Motivation Tips

1.10-minute rule

When you want to skip your workout tell yourself that you have to move for a minimum of 10 minutes, but If you still want to stop after 10 minutes, you can. Shift your mindset. Take skipping your entire workout off of the table. Some movement is always better than no movement.
The rationale is that breaking the workout into chunks will make moving seem less daunting. Anyone can do anything for ten minutes.
Plus, 10 minutes of exercise is better than nothing, so if you do stop, that is okay. Usually once you have done 10 minutes you will continue and finish the workout.

2.Take the time to "Set yourself up for success."

Preparation, preparation, preparation!!
Most of us make what I call "fitness wishes" instead of fitness goals. Without follow-through, simply saying "I am going to work out" is basically the same thing as wishing you will get fit. Turn your wish into a reality by establishing realistic and specific goals.
Take the time to brainstorm how you can actually accomplish your goals. Write down (or record with an app) your weekly goals. Figure out how you will accomplish each goal. If you know you can't make it to a gym, build a home gym. Need help being accountable? Find a gym buddy. Never make it to the gym after work? Go before work. Make your plan specific. For example say "I am going to meet my friend at the gym three times per week after work. When I have evening work events I will walk at lunch".
Each week reflect on what you did well and areas that need improvement. Then, figure out how you can reproduce your positive health choices. Next, anticipate future roadblocks and find solutions for the problems in advance.

3.SLEEP

Feeling low? Draggy? Like you couldn’t possibly muster the energy to workout or eat well? Prioritize sleep!! Your body and brain recovers while you sleep.
Need more incentive to prioritize recovery? Sleeping can help control your weight. The less you sleep the more ghrelin hormone your body produces, which means your appetite will increase. Plus, IF YOU DO NOT SLEEP ENOUGH you will produce less leptin, which is the hormone that helps your body feel satiated.

4.Talk to yourself.

The next time you want to make an unhealthy choice talk yourself through how you will feel depending on the choice you make. The unhealthy choice might feel good in the moment, but consider how you will feel in three hours.
For example, when I want to skip a workout I tell myself, yes, if I skip my workout I can relax, but the quality of my relaxation time will be compromised. I will be metaphorically kicking myself the entire time.
On the flip side, if I am active, even for 20 minutes, I will enjoy relaxing. Plus, I will feel great. My entire day will be better.

5.Lastly - Aim to “trend positive” and stay in your own “lane”

Instead of falling into the all too common trap of making unrealistic health goals, simply aim to "trend positive". Meaning, perfection is not possible, so instead of setting yourself up for failure aim to simply make more healthy choices this month than last month.
Plus, your health process is exactly that, YOUR health process. Stay in your own health land! Don't get caught up in what trendy diets your friends are trying, or not trying. When you go out to eat with friends or family don't let their choices dictate your choices. Plan in advance what you will drink and eat -- then don't give into peer pressure. Don't be judgmental of your friends when they want to eat and drink certain things, but don't eat cake just to be in "solidarity" with them. Be your own health boss - stay in your own lane.

The main take-away is that setbacks will happen, so be prepared and don't let them derail your progress. Learn from the experience so you don't make the same decision again. Don't aim for perfection, instead aim to "trend positive". Persevere

**Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated**

The secret to successful weight loss - where you lose it and keep it off - is planning.

Once you accept that there isn’t a secret formula or a magic pill, you are more likely to reach your goal. Following these guidelines will help:

•Be realistic. It likely took you a long time to get to where you are now, and it is going to take some time to get your body to look the way you want it to
•Know that weight loss is not a straight line. If you were to chart it on a graph, it would look like an EKG reading

•Understand that diets, even if they are promoted by a celebrity, are not the answer. Leading a healthy lifestyle is what you want for long-term success and happiness

•Ask for professional guidance if needed. You can’t be an expert in everything so let someone else help you get started.

•Plan your meals ahead of time. Make a grocery list and only buy what is on the list.

•Set aside an hour or two each week to prep your meals. Invest in enough storage containers to separate your meals in your freezer and refrigerator. Containers that can be used in the dishwasher, microwave, and freezer will save you money and time.

•Don’t lower your calories below 1200 per day.

•Schedule a cheat meal each week. You will look forward to this, and it will help you stave off temptation at other times during the week. This is not a cheat day.

•Measure all of your food. Do not assume the labeling is correct.

•Drink water. Take your bodyweight in pounds, and divide it in half. This is the minimum number of ounces of water you drink daily. You may need to adjust this, depending on the weather – very hot will require more water, your exercise program, high altitudes, medication you are taking, and potentially other variables. This is just a starting point.

•Stop drinking soda.

•Avoid BLTs – bites, licks, and tastes. They quickly add up to unnecessary calories.

•Have an exit plan. When you reach your goal, how are you going to eat and drink afterward? You don’t want to rebound, and you don’t want to go back to eating how you were before you started on this path because it is what you led you to this point in the first place. Again, this is where a professional can help.

•Consistency is key to reaching your goal. Don’t take the weekends off from following your plan.

Now that you have the building blocks to lose weight and keep it off, it is important to stay motivated and not give up. After you set your long-term goal, identify mini-milestones that you will accomplish along the way. For instance, one could be the first 10 lbs. lost, another could be when you fit into your favorite pair of jeans that you haven’t been able to wear in years. When you celebrate these successes, do not use food or drink as a reward. Instead, schedule a massage, buy a new pair of shoes, or get a new hairstyle

Write down potential obstacles and how you will handle or mitigate them when they present themselves. Examples could be upcoming holidays, vacation, work events, or even people. Surround yourself with those who are truly supportive of your efforts to improve your health and to feel better about yourself. This may alienate some long-time friends or even family. As you change your lifestyle, they may be jealous of your strength in making a change, or they may not understand what you are doing and either intentionally or subconsciously sabotage your efforts. “Hey, let’s go get some ice cream.” Keep your goal in mind and say “no”.

Ask yourself if you are internally motivated, or if you do better with external support. If it is the latter, enlist the help of a trusted friend to stay on plan. Explain what you are doing, why are you doing it, and what you need her/him to help you with.

With the right attitude, the right plan, and the right people, you will be successful!

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated

Did you know that food is only one of the many ways to fill yourself with life-force energy?

You can learn to satisfy the emotional impulses that sometimes drive you to eat or suppress your feelings. Often times, food brings our energy and state of joy down after it is consumed. A key to this practice is to believe that you do not “need” to eat when you feel low on energy or because the clock says that it’s “time” for a meal. However, your energy does need to be cultivated from somewhere, so I recommend the follow actions.
The word yoga means “to yolk” or unite. When we unite our four bodies: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual, we can feel whole, complete and at peace in a state of lightness and bliss.

These practices can be done in any order.

Spiritual:

I like to start with going for a walk in nature (15-60 minutes). By observing the birds, flowers, trees, breeze, and sun I feel a connection with all things. Sometimes I’ll stop to notice an interesting texture of bark (taking photos or drawing what I see) or feel the wind’s sensation on my skin. I can hear the birds singing as they welcome the warmth and light of the sun. I can also receive energy from the sun. This light illuminates my vision and excitement to live with purpose. When I stop to smell the roses, I’m taking in the positive scent and also healing my emotional body.

Emotional:

I can further nourish my emotional body by setting up for meditation in a restorative yoga posture (like Supported Downward Facing Dog or Supported Child’s Pose), gazing at an artwork, or lighting a candle. I may even choose to take a hot shower to rinse off any pain or doubt.

Mental:

As I sit on my mat in an Easy Sitting Posture, I focus on the present moment by ringing my Antique Tibetan Singing bowl several times and bringing attention to everything that I am grateful for starting with my living body, then comforts of home like space to do this practice, bed, clean running water (choice of hot and cold), technology, clothes, then to friends, family, relationships, work and income opportunities, and finally to the lessons I’ve learned through experiences. I’ll repeat a mantra such as “I receive my energy from Prana, the life force through air and light. I am whole, complete and enough the way that I am.”

Physical:

I slowly transition into the physical practice with breathing exercises. Pranayama is the expansion of the life force within us. I might do simple counts of my inhale and exhale up to 10 times or single and alternate nostril breath. If I really need to boost my willpower, then I do Breath of Fire for 1-3 minutes. Then I add a simple flow of arm movement, Sun Salutations or the 5 Tibetan Rites. I finish with a twist or inversion like Shoulder-stand to detox and pull energy up.

These practices can all be done within one hour in the morning or spread throughout the day in 10-20 minute sessions each. To explore this topic for myself, I practice a one-day-a-week water fast, but I recommend starting with intermittent fasting by replacing breakfast with the following exercises that nourish you on a much deeper level, then you can have a small, plant based meal or pure fruit juice for lunch and dinner (if needed). Try this for one day a week, then build up to 3-4 times, and finally everyday. It helps to follow other leaders, through blogs or videos, who are practicing pranic nourishment.

Weight loss/stay-motivated tips

Incorporate produce in every meal.

Produce is high in volume and low in calories, so it fills you up without filling you out. At breakfast, add berries to your oatmeal or stuff your omelet with mushrooms and spinach. At lunch, layer your sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and onions—and enjoy crunchy carrots on the side. And start dinner with a salad and enjoy green beans or broccoli with your fish or chicken.

Repeat-repeat-repeat.

Some folks enjoy variety, while many others do much better with repetition (when your meals are somewhat monotonous, familiar, and safe…you crave less fattening fare AND your calories remain in check). If you fall into the second category, simply come up with one to two diet-friendly, delicious meals for breakfast and about three to four for lunch and dinner… and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Snack smart.

We all love to snack! But if you’re not careful, the calories can add up quickly and impede your weight loss efforts. Three snack guidelines to keep in mind: 1). Enjoy one to two snacks a day and limit your between-meal-nibbles to 200 calories. 2). Aim for a snack that contains wholesome ingredients. And of course, 3). choose something that tastes delicious. This way, you look forward to it and it helps satisfy cravings. Greek yogurt with berries, a handful of nuts, or a few cups of light popcorn all fit the bill. Also, try my Nourish Snacks (granola bites in five yummy flavors, including double chocolate, chocolate-peanut butter and blueberry apple). I obsess over every ingredient and I think you’ll love them!

Exercise every single day.

Exercise burns calories (to give you a little more wiggle room with your food), plus it tones your body and enhances your cardiovascular system. Exercise also boosts your mood and empowers you to continue making healthy choices. Aim for 30+ minutes each day—and walking counts!

Set short-term weekly goals.

I think long-term goals are terrific, but short-term goals can be even more powerful because they reinforce success every step of the way. They should be concrete and obtainable. For example, one week, try a new fitness class, experiment with an unfamiliar fruit or vegetable, brown bag your lunch to work. Or try two new recipes for dinner that week. Then celebrate these mini-achievements so you are reminded that your hard work pays off. This helps to fuel your motivation and keep your head in the game so you can reach your ultimate finish line.

Forgive slipups.

Nobody eats perfectly all the time, and even people who have lost 100, 200, even 300 pounds stray from their “plan” from time to time. What sets them apart is how they respond to slipups. Instead of dwelling on their mistakes, "successful losers" shake it off and get right back on track at their very next meal, or the very next day. They don’t let one binge or one “off day” turn into a full week, or month, of splurging. This is a difficult strategy to master, but in my vast experience working with people from all walks of life, it’s one that is CRITICAL to weight loss and maintenance.

**Daily Weight-Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated: **

There are a few rules that I try to live by:

1.Drink lots of water. I carry a large water bottle during the day and try to drink two fillings of that bottle, in addition to two glasses in the morning and at least one at night.

2.Move the body every day. If I’m taking a day off from my yoga practice, then I will go for a long walk or do something else fun with my body. On days when I practice yoga, I have no rules. One day will be a strong practice, the other day is more Level One, another day is more stretching and forward folds. All that matters is that I move. When we cease movement, we invite a shorter life span and depression.

3.Stay away from processed foods; they have chemicals in them that stimulate your appetite and create your craving. I used to become an absolute monster from addictions to food and thought it was just me. It was the additives in the foods so that the companies could make money off of me, while I was loosing my joy. Try to cook your own food and seek out healthy options. It might be expensive in the beginning, but it’s cheaper in the long run.

4.Add veggies to everything. When I was younger I would put chopped veggies into a can of soup that I was cooking. I will add them to take-out, I will add them to everything. They stretch a meal and add more fiber so that I get the most nutrition and feel full quicker.

5.Learn about Ayurveda. Once I learned about this ancient science and how different types of bodies react uniquely to different foods, I was finally able to bring a sense of balance to my system. I eat for my body’s chemistry, to give it fuel and bring it into balance. I no longer look at food for taste but for the effect it will have on my energy. A piece of chocolate cake will give me a sugar high and then crash me for hours, can I afford that? I look at everything with the awareness of its affect on my body’s efficiency and energy.

6.Start to treat sleep with the respect it deserves. Studies have found that people gain weight when they don’t get enough sleep. I am starting to pay more attention to the rituals I cultivate to prepare for sleep and how I set the environment. This helps me feel better the next day and that truly does affect the digestion and appetite.

7.On days when I slide from my intentions, I forgive myself and replay the circumstances that lead to the slide. How could I do things differently so that I don’t slide in the future? What did I learn from it? I also allow myself to break my rules for a special occasion.

From my experience it is usually not motivation itself that people are lacking when they are struggling to lose weight or make healthy changes. People usually know why these changes are important and can actually be very hard on themselves when they feel they have fallen out of good habits. The solution varies a lot between individuals but is more often about getting into good routines in a realistic and healthy way.

Here are some of my top tips:

1.Make the healthy choice the easy choice: This means making your home environment and routines as healthy as possible, including preparing healthy meals in bulk, having healthy snacks available, learning some healthy recipes which are quick and easy to make (like: beans on toast, omelets, stir fries etc)

2.Healthy routines: Doing something at a similar time every day or every week is a good way to make it into an automatic habit which starts to feel automatic and effortless; for example doing 15 minutes of exercise after you brush your teeth every morning or preparing a healthy lunch for work the next day after you have eaten dinner. Other tips to work healthy habits into your daily routine include: walking or cycling to work if possible, joining exercise classes or making plans to exercise with friends.

3.Realistic goals: Having goals to work towards can be very motivating, but it is important that these are realistic so you don’t feel disheartened by not achieving them. It’s best to start small and gradually build on these. It can be useful to write these down or to use an app to track your progress. Examples of short term goals may include: eating fruit and vegetables every day, trying to exercise on 3-4 days per week, drinking more water, having less than 14 units of alcohol per week (but you may need to start with small steps towards these goals such as starting with exercising once per week and building it up gradually). Some people also find longer term goals useful such as signing up to a 5km race.

4.A healthy mindset: Having a healthy mindset while making changes is really the key to being able to sustain these. It is important to be kind to yourself and allow some flexibility if things don’t go to plan so that you can start again without feeling bad or guilty. So feel good for every positive step you take without dwelling on the negatives. Actually enjoying the changes you make is also key; so find healthy meals and types of exercise that you enjoy so that being healthy becomes part of your lifestyle rather than a chore. And focusing on health and wellness rather than obsessing over your weight is usually a much more helpful approach; which ironically often leads to weight loss as a result of sustained healthy habits.

Top 10 Tips for Healthy Weight Loss

1.Eat vegetables with every meal.

Add tomatoes to your eggs, cucumbers to your sandwich, and broccoli to your pasta. Adding vegetables helps fill you up on fewer calories. For example, a half cup of pasta has 110 calories whereas a whole cup of broccoli has only 30.

2.Drink 16oz of water before every meal.

Hydration is very important for weight loss and general health. We can sometimes confuse thirst signals for hunger- so try drinking a big glass of water before you eat. Water has no calories and takes up space in your stomach, which helps you feel full on less calories.

3.Snack on fruit.

Fruit is such a healthy way to snack! Choc-full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals, fruit fills us up on hardly any calories. This DOES NOT include juice! Only whole, natural fruits work to lose weight and improve your health.

4.Eat with your hand.

Your hand is a great tool to measure portion size! Portions of starchy foods such as rice, pasta and potatoes should be no bigger than the size of your fist. Limit oil and butter to the size of the tip of your thumb, and meat to the palm of your hand.

5.Exercise for an hour at a time.

Sixty minutes of continuous physical activity has been shown to improve blood sugar levels and promote weight loss. Shoot for an hour at a time at least three times per week.

6.Add lean protein to meals and snacks.

Protein adds staying power! Including it with meals and snacks will keep you full for longer. Choose healthy protein sources such as a small handful of nuts, one ounce of cheese (the size of your thumb!), or 1-2 turkey slices.

7.Stop drinking sugar.

For healthy weight loss, all drinks (besides non-fat milk or alternate) should be zero calories. How do you know? Check out the nutrition label on the back of the beverage. If it doesn't say "calories per serving 0", don't drink it!

8.Limit desserts to two times per week.
This includes all sweets. Cake, cookies, donuts, candy, chocolate, ice cream- only eat them twice per week. Even less, if you can!

9.Set your fork down between bites.

It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you've eaten. Setting the fork down between bites is a great way to slow down, enjoy your food, and give your body the time it needs to feel full.

10.Be nice to yourself.

Don't expect perfection! Relapse is a part of recovery. Negative thoughts and emotions can lead to a cycle of bingeing and guilt. We all have days we don't eat perfectly- but tomorrow is a new day! Be nice to yourself, keep at it, and you will achieve your weight loss goal!

How to reach (and maintain!) your ideal healthy weight is a topic I commonly discuss with my clients. If weight loss is your goal, I have comprised 3 questions you can ask yourself when contemplating what type of change to make for lasting results.

1.Will I enjoy my life the same while making this change?

For instance, if you enjoy going out to socialize with your friends over a few drinks yet announce that you are going to give up alcohol for good, how will that change your socializing time? I’ve had clients tell me that they are going to stop socializing because they can’t go out and not have a drink, only to soon realize that life without some fun in it, isn’t much of a life after all. Fortunately, there is a balanced approach one can take that allows them to enjoy drinks with friends while still leading a healthier lifestyle. Wine spritzer anyone?

2.Do I have the support I need?

Sometimes even with the best intentions and motivation, a lack of support can prevent you from obtaining your goals. The support you may need could be family, work, or financial. So if the alluring program that promises you’ll lose ten pounds each week is going to require you to cash in on your retirement fund to pay for it or if it requires you to hit the gym hard every night after work but you have no one to watch your kids, how realistic is it for you to do?

3.Is this change realistic for my life? Can I see myself making this change for the long-haul or will I simply be counting the minutes until it’s over?

In other words, if the weight-loss program you’re contemplating requires that you workout every morning but you already wake up at 5am for a long commute to work, how feasible is this for you to do? Rather, could there be a more balanced approach that still allows you get in your exercise while not sacrificing your much deserved sleep?

Does the program require you to eat meals different from your family? Or eliminate your favorite foods and/or force you to eat foods you really don’t like? Whatever you do to lose weight, you must continue doing to maintain the results. So if cutting-out bread completely makes you shed a tear, then why do it? If you're thinking, "There must be another way!" - trust me, there is.

What’s the Bottom Line?

Being healthy is not as complicated as we often think it is. By taking an approach that is simple and realistic, and aligns with your preferences and lifestyle, you will feel your best and likely lose weigh (if you really need to) while you’re at it.

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated:

When trying to lose or maintain your weight, try to use the following tips to eat well, stay motivated and avoid dieting traps!

The best diet is one you can enjoy and continue forever. Eat food you like, eat socially and think long term.

Living a healthy lifestyle takes effort and is not the norm. It is hard work to avoid diets and it is hard work to avoid overeating. Be patient with yourself, you are 'swimming against the current'!

Re-engineer your food environment using tools that work to support, not hinder, your goals of a healthy lifestyle: Use smaller bowls, plates, and utensils; Keep healthy foods in view; Cook and eat food from home as often as possible.

Discover ways to nurture yourself without food. Music, a walk with a friend, a hot shower, a movie date, a manicure or pedicure are all great ways of celebrating yourself. Food can be part of any celebration but it does not have to be part of ALL celebrations.

Spend time with people that share and support your health goals.
Talk to a dietitian if you need tips for meal planning or grocery shopping and to ensure you are meeting your nutrient requirements.

Don’t try to change all of your eating habits all at once. Make small changes, one at a time.

Give yourself enough time to adjust to the changes you have made. Your new eating pattern will soon develop into something automatic.

Be patient and forgiving of yourself. Changing routines take time and effort. Be proud of yourself when you develop a healthy new routine. Don’t use the scale to measure your success.

Plan for snacks and include protein- this can help manage hunger and food cravings. It may decrease trips to the drive through or vending machine.
Track your progress, adjust goals as needed and build on success. Use an app, your smart phone calendar or a paper calendar to mark your successes. Focus only on the positives- learn from your challenges and let them go.

Include movement in your routine. Choose activities that you enjoy and are social- this will inspire you to keep doing them. Any and all movement can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Make movement part of your schedule and stick to it. Think of it like an appointment and do your best not to change or cancel it.

Think about what your best weight is- where you feel good, can eat well, and be social. Take the focus off the scale or weight charts- make it about you and how you feel.

Eat breakfast everyday; eat every 4 hours, while you are awake; include protein in each meal and snack.

My tips for staying motivated are:

1.Make exercise a priority.
Put it in your calendar and treat it with the importance you would treat a meeting, or a doctor appointment. In other words, don't blow it off. Don't rationalize yourself out of it.

2.Commit to something that is easily accessible and that you enjoy.

If you don't like going to the gym, you won't go. If you like walking with a friend, make a set schedule to meet with her. If you like to dance, sign up for some dance classes. In other words, you will do what you enjoy and what makes you feel good. You won't stick to something that feels like a "should."

3.Focus on not just the physical health benefits of regular exercise, but also on the mental and emotional health benefits.

Personally, I need regular exercise for my brain just as much as I do for my body. The goal doesn't have to be,"I'm going to be skinny!" (That can be a nice side effect) The goal can be, "I live a balanced life which includes time for myself and activity that feeds body and soul."

4.Start small.

Make your goals accessible. If the most you can do is take a 20 minute walk on the treadmill or around the neighborhood, or during lunch at the office, do it! Choose the stairs instead of the elevator. Keep track of your steps on a Fitbit or an APP on your phone. 10,000 steps is worth a pat on the back at the end of the day.

5.For weight loss there is one simple way to lose weight.

It's simple but it can feel tedious, unless you're committed. Download the MyFitnessPal free app and record everything you eat and all the exercise you do daily. You'll quickly see what it takes to lose the weight.

6.Reward yourself with activity that is not centered around food: visit the zoo, go to the park, walk on the beach, go see a movie (unless your habit is to eat the crap at movie theaters), go shopping, go to a play, organize a special day with loved ones or friends. Plan it ahead of time so that you know you've got that reward coming up and you can look forward to it.

7.Don't complicate it.

Either you want to be healthy and you're willing to do what it takes, or you're not. As an avid exerciser for decades, I'm just as good as the next person to rationalize myself out of going to a class or a hike or whatever I had planned. Don't let your brain and self-doubts talk you out of that activity that will feed both your body and mind. That extra effort is incredibly rewarding in so many ways and not just today but in the long run.

I coach people each month on how to create healthy habits.

Here are my top weight loss tips.

• Drink lots of water. Start each morning before your coffee (I drink my black) with a tall glass of water with lemon.
• Move. Find an activity you enjoy. Walking, running, HIIT, strength training, yoga or a mix of them all and do it for at least 30 minutes a day. Increase your intensity, your resistance and your weights for greater results.
• Eat. Food is fuel. Keep sugar low. No processed foods. Skip the flavored yogurt if you do dairy and stick to plain greek yogurt. Sweeten with stevia. Eat lean protein like eggs, egg whites, chicken, ground turkey, nitrate and hormone free deli meat ( I use Applegate farms brand), turkey bacon, and shakeology. Choose sweet potato over pasta and skip the bread. Eat lots of healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, oilive oil and avocado oil. Load up on veggies. Spinach, green beans, kale, Brussel sprouts, zucchini, spaghetti squash.
• Skip the sugar substitutes like Splenda and equal and use stevia
• Skip soda and fruit juices
• Choose salt free seasonings like Mrs. Dash or Flavor God
• Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day
• Get enough sleep
• Stay off the scale. My motto is screw the scale. It can mess wth your head and cannot judge if you have gained muscle, strength or lost inches!

My daily motivation tips are,

• Find a coach or an accountability group (I run private monthly groups).
• Decide WHY you want to get healthy, whats your goal, what do you want to achieve and keep that front and center
• Hang up motivational pics that will help you keep going towards your goal
• Read or listen to personal development daily to keep you inspired and keep that healthy mindset in check
• Focus on the healthy positive changes you have made. Can you do 2 more reps than last week? Have you gone a week without soda? Have you not skipped a workout? Did you choose a healthy entre when out to eat over an old favorite? Celebrate those non scale victories and small wins along the journey to keep you excited and motivated for more.
• Post your journey publically. It will keep your friends and followers inspired and keep you accountable!

Weight loss and motivation go hand in hand.

In fact, instead of focusing on weight loss I suggest moving your attention towards what you'd like to gain. Losing weight is an opportunity to eliminate toxins, clear our minds and discover our inherent inner peace.

Often times this process can bring up various emotions that prevent us from fulfilling our personal health goals. When I am focused on what I want to create as a result of weight loss, I am much more inclined to succeed in my health efforts. For example, if my desire to lose weight stems from a mindset of neglect and aggression towards my body, that resistance will prevent weight loss from happening.

Weight loss ultimately occurs when digestion is functioning properly. Digestion can only function efficiently when the nervous system is in a relaxed state.

Therefore, doing 'more' and being to hard on yourself can actually do more harm than good. Stress is said to be a huge factor in weight gain so again, gentleness is key. Abdominal massage, eating slowly, breathing while chewing and partaking in enjoyable physical activity are all recipes for success. For years I beat myself up at the gym, ran miles per day and never lost weight because I was deeply against myself. The body will not respond when we are against it.

We must be patient and loving with ourselves. Also, weight loss and health are two different things. Be honest with your intentions. The goal is balance. When I focus on what I am grateful for and I surround myself with like-minded people I am more inclined to stay on course. I also read books that inspire me to live a healthy life, whether they are books on meditation or yoga or spirituality. Something that doesn’t require my brain to work too much. Living a healthy lifestyle should not feel like a burden. If you are not used to living a healthy lifestyle, some tips to get started include:

1.Start your day with a glass of warm water with squeeze of fresh lemon
2.Take up physical activity that you enjoy such as walking, yoga, hiking, biking, etc.
3.Get plenty of fresh air. Go into nature.
4.Practice meditation for 5 minutes per day.
5.Take deep breaths thought the day.
6.Drink more water.
7.Increase your amount of green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and spinach.
8.Take part in hobbies that are not work-related
9. Be part of a community, whether it is your family or an organization or a group of friends. Stay social and connect with others.
10.Hire a health coach. Stay held accountable for your goals. We all benefit from support.

How to Stay Motivated in Weight Loss

Daily Goals- I like to recommend small, daily goals to readers. A big weekly goal is also helpful but small daily goals are paramount in staying motivated in weight loss.

By setting small daily goals, you can feel as though you have a “win” each day, you can check something off your to-do list and feel accomplished. This will help you stay enthusiastic in your weight loss plan.
My 4 Lose Weight By Eating daily goals:

1.Drink a gallon of water a day
2.Remove all processed food and fake sugar from your diet
3.Plan your meals and log everything you eat and drink
4.Move your body more
The first 3 are all measurable, the 4th less so. Make a goal to park farther away when you go to the store so you have to walk more. Skip the elevator and take the stairs, add an extra 250 steps to your fitbit goal or hit the gym for an hour. You choose, but be sure to choose something reasonable and attainable… which gets me to my next topic, reasonable and attainable goals.

Reasonable and Attainable Goals- So often people set BIG goals for themselves, then when they don’t reach these goals they feel defeated and give up. Setting achievable goals is very important in weight loss.
Some examples of reasonable and attainable goals:

•Plan meals for the day (or week) and stick to it
•Cut out empty calorie drinks (sodas and juices) and fake sugar drinks (diet sodas and drinks) and just drink water… and if you desire, one cup of coffee or tea a day.
•Exercise 3 hours this week
•Lose 2 pounds this week
Now I know what you’re thinking, these all sound too easy… that’s the point! Easy goals will mean you can reach them, and maybe even beat them! So often my readers want to lose 10 pounds in a single week, but that’s not reasonable, what happens too often is that they lose 3 pounds and feel completely defeated. They wanted to lose 10 pounds and they feel like they have lost, so they give up, not realizing that losing 3 pounds a week for a year would result in a 150 pound weight loss!
Remember, you can always beat your goals… just don’t set them so high that they beat you!

Happy Cooking!

Here are my 7 Top Tips to Lose Weight

1.Drink water. Drinking just one glass of water boosts metabolism by 30% for hours afterward. Research shows that those who lose 50 lbs or more and keep it off, drink water consistently, throughout the day - every day. Drink a minimum of half your body weight in ounces each day.

2.This one simple daily action that will double your weight loss. It is easy to do, has no side-effects and costs nothing - it is keeping track of everything you eat and drink. Research shows that journaling your food/drink intake doubles your weight loss. This tool also helps keep you motivated as you can see the fat melt away.

3.Reduce your carb intake. Excess carb intake is a first class ticket to weight gain as excess insulin is triggered - insulin is your fat storage hormone and likes to keep it there. Excessive intake of carbohydrates creates a diet disaster that typically results in weight gain and health conditions. Reduce excess carb intake, add healthy veggies and a protein source at every meal.

4.Strength Train. Increasing muscle mass is a necessity to successful weight loss and in particular shrinking belly fat. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. Combining strength training, reducing excess carbs, eliminating sugar and other refined carbs such as white flour products, will take you to weight loss success.

5.Eliminate Sugar and Refined Carbs. Sugar and other refined carbs such as white flour, white rice, junk food, chips etc. create inflammation within the fat cell. Eliminate these foods and watch your weight drop.

6.Add more foods rich in omega 3 fat. We have an excess intake of omega 6 fat which generates an imbalance of omega 3 vs. omega 6. A by-product compound is a result of this imbalance called Arachidonic Acid and is stored within the fat cell which then promotes fat cell inflammation leading to the vicious cycle of weight gain and poor health. Add healthy fat high in omega 3 such as wild salmon or rainbow trout, walnuts, chia seeds or for a more therapeutic effect, a fish oil supplement.

7.Have confidence in yourself and know that every step you take is a step forward to SUCCESS!

I don't believe in diets, instead I believe in eating foods that nourish the body and taking simple daily action.

When I focus on feeding my body the good stuff (aka whole foods, not processed ones) it's a huge relief for me because this mindset allows me to let go of the need to diet and to stop obsessing over dieting.
Diets have never worked for me because diets are not a lifestyle. Instead I focus on my health and health as a lifestyle.

Eating whole, unprocessed foods have eliminated my cravings for junky foods. I have found that it really is true that you crave what you eat most. Drinking plenty of water also helps to curb my cravings and keep my energy up. The same goes for getting enough sleep. I never realized the importance of sleep until I had my son 4 years ago and learned that sleep deprivation can impact your body in so many ways, including having my weight creep up because of mindless eating when my body was really craving energy that could only be replenished by sleep.

Moving my body a little each day has also really helps with maintaining my weight and muscle mass, especially since I'll be turning 40 next year.
Lastly, I keep it simple. I love simple meals that have 5 ingredients or less and take about 15-minutes to whip up. I know I always have 15 minutes in my day to make a delicious meal that I can feel good about eating and one that will truly nourish my body.

I’m so passionate about sharing simple meals and tips like drinking enough water, sleeping at least 7-8 hours every night, and moving your body even if it’s only for 20 minutes a day because these are simple things that everyone can do and everyone can make time for.

To stay on track, I highly recommend having the support of loved ones, friends or even a health coach. It’s not easy to go it alone so I always encourage others to find a workout buddy, someone they can swap recipes with or to join a wellness community.

7 Habits of the Perpetually Fit

Some people seem to have it all together. They don’t yo-yo in weight. They are always in great shape. Things don’t get out of control, so they never find themselves on diets, and they don’t have to worry about whether their clothes will fit.

These are the Perpetually Fit, and they have 7 habits in common. Adopting some of these may help you be more consistent in your fitness as well!

1.Water. Perpetually fit people start the day with a full glass of water, and drink it consistently all day long.
2.Movement. Perpetually fit people move. Often. During the day, they get up and move around instead of sitting in one place.
3.Food. Perpetually fit people eat. Often. They have found foods that make them feel good, and they eat them.
4.Sleep. Perpetually fit people sleep. Most fit people require 6-8 hours of sleep per night. They set parameters around their sleep, and though they may not always sleep as much as they want, they are resting at the same time every night.
5.Stress Reducing Techniques. Perpetually fit people have found a way to reduce common stressors, such as yoga, meditation, massage, or a spiritual practice.
6.Exercise Practice. Beyond moving around the house or office, perpetually fit people have an exercise regimen that they enjoy. They find an exercise style or regimen that they can practice for life, and they do it.
7.Plants. Perpetually fit people eat plants. Different plants for different people, but plants none the less. There is no medicine like nature, and the fit load their plates with foods straight from the earth.

It doesn’t seem that hard, does it? Being perpetually fit is actually very easy to do. Unfortunately, it’s easy NOT to do, too. Adopting these habits, even one at a time, not only leads to a stronger and healthier physique, but can improve overall health markers while reducing risk of illness!

Here are some super simple nutrition swaps to help you on your health journey:

• Swap soda’s (diet soda’s) for sparkling water with lemon and herbals teas.
•Swap two/three/four coffees/day with one coffee a day before 10am. Be careful with how much milk you add. I recommend a piccolo coffee. Small amounts of cows milk is preferable or swap to nut milk. Enjoy chai tea , green tea and dandelion root tea as an alternative.
•Swap wheat and gluten to gluten free wholegrain/carbs such as brown rice, quinoa, gluten free oats, sweet potato, pumpkin.
•Swap your sugar, honey and artificial sweetness to stevia and or cinnamon (low calories/low fructose/ and won’t spike blood sugar levels).
•Swap carb heavy dishes at night to veggie based dishes e.g.: potato mash to cauliflower mash or white rice to broccoli/cauliflower rice – enjoy sauteed greens instead too.
•Swap milk chocolate to dark chocolate – 70-85%.
•Swap non organic dairy to organic dairy.
•Swap sugar alcoholic cocktails to red wine or vodka/gin with lemon juice and sparking water.
•Swap non organic meats to organic and grass fed meat.
•Swap candy/junk foods to a nature made candy such as fresh dates with nut butter, berries or a whole food treat.
•Swap all vegetable oils to olive oil and or coconut oil in your cooking.
•Swap packaged foods to whole foods that are fresh and locally sourced where possible.

One last tip, make sure you enjoy a high-quality protein at every meal. It really supports weight loss and keeps sugar cravings at bay!

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated

Staying motivated is one of the biggest challenges most of us encounter while trying to lose weight. The weight loss, to a great extent, depends on the consistent efforts. If you diet well for a few days and then stop doing it, or exercise very hard for a week, and then, stop working out, you won't be able to gain the benefits.

So, the question arises, how to stay motivated while losing weight?
Well, weight loss and motivation are very closely connected. If you stay determined for a few days in the beginning, you will gradually start noticing the results and these results will act as the biggest motivators for you. Once you start seeing that your weight is decreasing and you are losing inches from your waist, it will help you stay motivated for further effort. So, all you need is the firm determination for the first few days.
Now, how to lose weight?

This is also not very complicated. All you need to watch is that your calorie intake is less and your calorie consumption is higher. To achieve this, try to consume low calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, fiber, protein, etc. and avoid junk food which is packed with a large number of calories. At the same time, indulge in regular exercise, even if it's just walking, to burn some calories through it.

Stay consistent with your efforts for at least 15 days and if you eat less and burn more for two weeks, you would be able to see the results that will motivate you for further weight loss.

Weight loss can’t be a one time event. Daily habits got you to the weight where you are now. You have to permanently change those habits to get to and remain at a lower weight. That’s why they say that diets don’t work. They may get you to a lower weight temporarily but, unless you change your old habits, those old habits will bring you right back to the weight you were before the diet.

Mindfulness is key to losing weight and maintaining it. Noticing not only what you eat but also why you’re eating. Are you truly hungry? Are you driven to eat by emotions? Are you following cues in your day that tell you it’s time to eat even if you’re not hungry?

Take advantage of the ‘power of the pause.’ Instead of doing what you always do, drink a glass of water and wait fifteen minutes before eating. Be mindful of what you choose to eat. Does the food or drink that you want contain lots of sugar, non-beneficial carbs, preservatives or artificial ingredients? Is it highly processed? Consider how you’ll feel physically and emotionally a few minutes and a few hours after you eat or drink what you’re considering.

When you do eat, savor the smells, textures and tastes. Eat slowly. Stop when you start to feel full. Maybe eat half of what you usually eat and put the rest away for later.

This method of losing the weight and keeping it off involves adopting new habits. Take it slowly. Remember that every choice you make has certain results. A little ‘short term pain for long term gain’ today will pay dividends for the rest of your life.

To stay motivated, remember why you want to lose weight. For it to last, your ‘why’ needs to be intrinsic. The reason needs to be something that matters deeply to you. It can’t be to make others happy. Whenever you feel tempted, remember your ‘why.’

We all live busy, crazy lives and sometimes it’s hard to look up from the hamster wheel and slow things down, be more mindful, live in the moment.

To maintain a healthy body, and mind, we need to keep the muscles flexible, the tendons and joints well oiled, and the heart happy!

If you have an activity that you enjoy, such as walking or running, playing tennis, or golf, you are much more likely to work it into your weekly diary. Make arrangements to run with a friend and it becomes a social event not a chore. And you then motivate each other to push that little bit harder, set goals, run races.

Add cross-training to your weekly schedule. And make it yoga! If you favour one particular sport then your body will become unbalanced, and you may find that certain parts of the body take more strain. You may start to get niggling injuries. With yoga, the muscles are lengthened and balanced and strength is built to protect the joints. In this way yoga will improve your sporting performance, allowing you to push your body that little bit further.

Yoga also brings mindfulness - bring attention to your breath and awareness to your body. Sit for even just 5 minutes a day, and just count the length of your breath as you inhale and as you exhale. Keep the chest lifted, and breath right into your belly - and keep your mind on the counting. Allow yourself these 5 peaceful minutes just to sit, and breathe, and be thankful.

First off, maintaining your health requires planning. This is essential. You will not be successful without keeping healthy foods on hand, knowing what your activity schedule looks like ahead of time, and preparing as needed. Add your workouts to your calendar just like you would a mandatory work meeting.
Set yourself up for success given what your day looks like, such as selecting an energizing activity in the morning or something soothing in the evening to unwind your body and mind. Honoring your body's needs is about balance. Energetic burnout and physical overtraining are real things, so stretch your boundaries with healthy goals and challenges, but don't go beyond your limits or you could sabotage your intentions. Figure out what works best for you.
Keep in mind that high intensity workouts are recognized by the body as a stressor, so if you already tend to carry a lot of stress, you need to balance your sweat sessions with slow, calming activities that will settle your nervous system to counter the effects of that fight or flight mode. This will help with all sorts of things including brain function, hormone regulation, and energy recovery.

Lastly, practice mindfulness during your meals and workouts, and celebrate your successes — even little things like discovering a new healthy food you enjoy or the feeling of a refreshing breeze on your skin during your daily run. Every enjoyable moment counts, and being mindful of them signals to your brain that this is worth continuing!

My most important advice is to give up the diet mentality and to focus on long term healthful habits. I ask my clients to stop striving for some notion of a perfect diet and to find something they can live with. Wholesome diets evolve overtime and not overnight. Since consistency is critical, aim to be at least 80% perfect, but for 100% of the time.

It’s easier to stay motivated when you have realistic, manageable goals and expectations. I like to work backward, so I ask my clients to think of the big picture of their wellness, say where they’d like to be in one or three or five years. Then we focus on the behaviors it will take to get there. What behaviors (such as packing lunch, prepping meals on the weekends, regularly going to yoga class) will help them meet their vision of their well being. Finally, we set small goals based on these behaviors. A very small goal to get started might be creating a list of lunch ideas.

Some daily habits to work toward are eating three meals daily and including snacks when necessary. Eating with intention and truly noticing your food and how it makes you feel. Eating fruits and/or vegetables with every meal and snack. Balancing your meals with at least three food groups and including a source of protein in each meal. Move throughout the day. Start your day with your goals in mind and scan your day to look for possible obstacles and their solutions. Praise yourself each day for meeting or working toward your goals.

Diets, in the regular understanding of the word, do not work. In fact, the word diet according to the dictionary definition means “the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.”

So if you are habitually eating food that does not support your health, you should change that for the long term. If you do that, you will be at a good healthy weight and feel better.

But here is the tricky part.

You need to learn what foods support your health and which do not. That can require careful observation and if you can afford it, proper testing. The reason you test is to figure out if a food that you have included in your diet is harmful to your system. I.E.

I have had, in the past, a great deal of arthritic inflammation in my body that I have learned to control through eliminating inflammatory foods like sugars, dairy, gluten, and more recently, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes—members of a class of foods called Night Shades. Growing body of research indicates that exercise alone will not keep the weight off if you do not figure out which foods work with your biochemistry. So to stay motivated to lose weight, you need to figure out what foods really make you feel good over the long term.

If your body is happy, you will stay at the weight you are meant to be!!!

Finding your ideal weight can take a bit of self enquiry and contemplation. But most of all you have to learn to truly listen to your body.

Here are my top tips for finding your ideal weight and stay motivated:

1.Take a moment. Before you sit down to eat take a moment. Listen to your hunger. Are you actually hungry? Can you feel your digestive system asking for more fuel? Or are you simply bored, anxious, stressed, or eating out of habit and routine. In Ayurveda and in my immersion detoxandrejuvenate.comthis something what we explore. Obey your hunger - when you are are actually hungry.

2.Eat mindfully. When you eat enjoy the meal with all your senses. Enjoy cooking with love and to nourish and nurture yourself. Not because you deserve out of pity or because you feel sorry for yourself. But out of love. Arrange it on your favourite plate. Enjoy every morsel. And only eat - no emails, social media or telly.

3.Don’t drink a big glass of water or other beverage just before your meal. In Ayurveda we compare our stomach and hunger with a “digestive-fire”. If you take in a lot of fluid before your meal your extinguish the fire and it can’t process and digest your food properly.

The minute you perceive your new healthy diet or exercise regimen as a chore is the very minute you lose motivation to keep the new behavior going. And this is totally normal because there is nothing fun or appealing about doing chores. So how do you fix it? Be real with yourself about why you're eating healthier or exercising more. Is it because your doctor told you that you have to? Is it to improve your cholesterol or blood sugar number? Is it to lose weight? These are all good reasons for eating healthier and exercising more but if you truly don't enjoy these behaviors, you won't stick with them and you'll soon find yourself back at square one. You must find the right "why" for doing these things.

Why are you deciding to eat a healthy breakfast? Because it puts you in a good mood and gives you the energy to be productive. Yes, eating a healthy breakfast is good for you and can help you lose weight but youre doing it because it makes you feel good.

As a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), I have spent much of my career helping people adopt lifestyle habits that lead to better health and happiness. The biggest challenge most people have is weight management, and the most common goal is losing weight.

Most people think losing weight is the hardest part, but keeping off lost weight is actually the big challenge. During weight loss, you feel confident and proud as the pounds melt away. But once the weight is lost, keeping it off becomes tiresome and boring for many. Old habits creep back…and so does the weight.

Research shows there are some fundamental habits that help with both weight loss and weight maintenance. They include weighing yourself every day and monitoring your food and beverage intake. I also recommend daily physical activity, which helps burn some calories but also helps with stress management and sleep quality.

Stepping on the scale every morning takes just a few seconds. Monitoring your food and beverage intake takes a bit more time and discipline, but there are many great apps that make this task more enjoyable. For daily physical activity, the keys are finding activities your enjoy and that are built into your daily routine. I’ve encouraged many people who sit at their desk all day to buy standing desks. Standing versus sitting all day burns more calories. A treadmill desk can increase the calorie burn even further.

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated.

To stay healthy and help lose weight for good then you need to be in the right mindset. A quick fix diet for a couple of weeks is not going to solve your health or weight problems and the weight will just bounce back on again. You need to make small, easy, sustainable changes to your diet that you can keep up in the long run. If you have an irregular eating pattern, then your first step is to get into a regular eating pattern, meals and snacks. Next look at what you can add into your diet, rather than cutting foods out of your diet, and make one change each week.

Are you getting enough vegetables and fruit? No - aim for 1-2 portions of fruit and veg with each meal. Are you getting enough fibre? Most likely no - each week aim to swap something in your diet to a high fibre variety (swap bread to wholemeal, white rice to brown rice etc). Healthy fats? Snack on a small handful of nuts or seeds mid morning. As you slowly add healthy foods into your diet you may find you are not as hungry for that chocolate bar after lunch or that packet of crisps mid morning. Adding foods into your diet rather than taking them away, won't make your way of eating feel restrictive. When our diets feel restrictive then we crave 'forbidden foods' which is when we fail at our diets!

Losing weight need not be a daunting process. My first piece of coaching advice is that in order to change our bodies we have to change our minds. In other words, if you are starting the same or a new diet every week then you've got to recognize that perhaps there is a better way.....

What belief system are you carrying about your body and your relationship to food? Who are you as an eater? How do you eat? Why do you eat? When do you eat? Do you trust your hunger? Honor it? Fear it?

Can you listen to the gentle and loving wisdom of your body or do you follow the advice of others outside of yourself?

In my book, The Freedom Promise: 7 Steps to Stop Fearing What Food Will Do To You and Start Embracing What It Can Do For You, I share my own history with disordered eating and share my proven strategies for getting off the diet roller coaster. The steps include finding gratitude and the space within yourself to always come home to, stress management, honoring your hunger, bringing mindfulness to the table, movement in an effort to honor your body as opposed to making it go away, eating whole food, and making sure you surround yourself with what truly nourishes you.

Weight loss should be approached as a transformation, something that happens from within. You can Be the Change, Live the Change and ultimately See the Change.

Here are my 5 top tips for weight loss management:

1.First and foremost, don't ever try a quick weight loss fad diet! If you do, you are setting yourself up to gain more weight than you lose (interpreted yo-yo dieting).

2.Second, adopt the mindset of starting and maintaining healthy eating patterns and exercising regularly. This might sound boring but it will work to lean and tone your body in the long-term.

3.You won't burn your belly fat by doing 1000 ab crunches. You will burn your belly fat by eating less foods like sugars, processed foods and trans fats and eating more foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and healthy fats.

4.You will burn more total body fat faster by doing high intensity workouts such as full body circuit weight training, jump training and fast-paced cardio sessions (such as sprint intervals). You don't have to workout this intensely all the time (3-4 days a week is plenty). Workout at a slower pace on the other days. Eat right most of the time.

5.The time to start burning fat and losing weight is now! If you've been inactive, start walking today and build up to a regular exercise routine. Its very simple. Just make the commitment.

Here are my 3 tips to Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated

Ok so first things first.

To improve our body we need to improve our mind. There is no point just haphazardly following a diet plan if you are not addressing the issues around emotional, health, stress etc. Most of us can hold a plan down for a week or so, but once some outside stress enters the picture, kaboom... We fall back into old habits.
For this reason my 3 simple (non-diet) tips are

1.Know your triggers and have strategies in place
2.Consider your future self and don’t act out of instant gratification
3.Teach yourself to cook with healthy recipes you can easily make at home
The human mind is programmed to always fall back on what is easiest and most energy efficient. That usually means falling back on old habits. Changes towards new habits creates a feeling of effort and unease, which is why being aware of your thoughts and underlying feelings is crucial for long term success. Understanding your why’s with strategies in place while considering your future self is the key to success. It is for this reason – finding your why’s is critical for success and motivation.

One of the keys to lasting weight loss is to remember that it is a journey and a lifestyle.

Managing a healthy weight is not a highly restrictive diet you do for only a few short weeks or months until you reach your goal and slowly go back to old habits. It’s trying to eat high quality, healthy food and watching portions sizes for most meals. Expect bad days and good days because that’s what real life is made of! Also, allow yourself a “treat” food in a small portion on occasion. No food is bad or should be avoided entirely. It’s only when we eat too much of something that it becomes detrimental to our weight loss efforts.

One thing that I like to tell my clients is to plan ahead with meal prepping and take food with you when you’re out. This includes always taking a bottle of water. Having food available for snacks and meals instead of waiting until the last minute or until you’re extremely hungry sets a person up for a pattern or unhealthy eating. We’re more prone to making less than wise decisions when we’re too hungry or in a hurry.

Tips for weight loss and how to stay motivated:

1.Stop trying to lose weight – the more you try to lose weight, the more you throw yourself into rules, regiments, and obsessions that drain you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – not to mention reach havoc on your immune system.

2.Heal your relationship to food – You can start a meal plan and be successful for a few weeks, but it’s not until you make peace with food do you start to learn how to feed yourself for a lifetime.

3.Include body-centered exercises in your workout routine – Yoga and meditation help us “listen” to what our body needs and stay attune to hunger and fullness levels.

4.Put self-care at the top of your list – If you’re running around doing everything for everyone, checking off your to-do list, and not taking time for self-nourishment, you will come to the table hungry. Feed your spirit daily and come to the table more satisfied.

5.Notice the thoughts you feed yourself – If shame and criticism where effective motivators, we’d all be there by now. Feed yourself kindness and self-trust, after all, we take care of the things we love and respect

In my book, Total Body Diet For Dummies®, my philosophy for weight loss is emphasized – it’s about a lifestyle approach, not a quick fix for weight loss. Balance is important.

If you can eat, whole, minimally processed foods most of the time, that’s the key. Think about fueling your body with nutrient-dense food to keep your blood pressure, blood sugar and waistline in check.

Here are some tips for lifestyle changes you can make today to lose weight and keep it off:

Eat nutrient-dense foods first, before highly processed, empty-calorie foods.
Go lean with protein.

Keep calories light when it comes to beverages.
Start the day with a balanced breakfast.

Bring lunch and snacks with you to work or school to limit dining out in the afternoon.

Go grocery shopping with a list.

Don’t eat chips, cookies or crackers out of a box, bag or carton.

Get physical activity daily – at least 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, biking, swimming, yoga or Pilates

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated.

The way I see it, there are two main principles of weight loss:

(1) avoid processed food as much as possible
(2) cook your meals from scratch using whole ingredients. I believe eliminating processed foods and sweetened beverages is absolutely essential. When you no longer consume processed foods, you cut off the two main culprits causing weight gain and ill health: added sugars (in particular, fructose), and processed fats (especially harmful vegetable oils and trans fats). On the other hand, you shouldn’t avoid the fats present in whole foods. These include avocado, nuts, eggs, grass fed meat, coconuts, etc. These healthy fats will help your body switch to burning fat rather than glucose as a primary source of energy. Once your body has become a good fat burner, getting yourself down to your perfect weight is no longer a problem. Staying motivated is also not a problem any more because real, nutrient dense foods make your body feel great, and the visible results in terms of shredded weight will follow in no time.

My daily weight-loss tip is to start your day with a healthy, balanced breakfast of some fat, complex carbs, and 12-15g or protein.

Your body just came out of the longest fasting period, and needs all three to jump-start your metabolism and function properly throughout the day. Eating a balanced breakfast will help prevent cravings later in the day, improve mental clarity, and increases energy to use in workouts later in the day. For example, try a smoothie with protein, berries, and seeds (like flax or chia). Or, an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on whole grain English muffin (home-made!).

To stay motivated, you must have goals you are striving to achieve. I tell my clients to make long-term goals first: where do you want to be in a year? Then, work their way backwards. To get to those goals, what do you have to accomplish in the next six months, three months, one month, this week, and then today. If you don’t have your goals, you don’t have any direction!

How to go by the weight loss process in daily terms:

I suggest learning what a proper portion size is. Meal prepping in advance is best but if you don’t cook or are always on the go you can either bring a small digital scale with you to measure out a serving size or use your hand to measure and take the rest in a to go container for later.

•Your palm determines your protein portions.
•Your fist determines your veggie portions.
•Your cupped hand determines your carb portions.
•Your thumb determines your fat portions.
Also if you are trying to lose weight I suggest to ask for no butter or oil and your dressings on the side.

How to stay motivated:

This is different for everyone. I suggest writing down a list as to why you want to achieve your goal. Motivation should come from within. You should be doing it for yourself and no one else. And pick a deadline. Make a goal. That way you will be more accountable to yourself and your goal.

Here are my three tips to making a positive dietary change.

•If you need to lose weight or make a dietary change, connect first to why. While wanting to "look good" can be a powerful motivator to start a diet, making a lasting difference in our eating habits requires connecting to something deeper and more meaningful. Ask: how will eating well affect your health, your energy, your relationships, your joy in life?

•Set yourself up for success. Take the time to get yourself healthy snacks so that you can make good choices. Surround yourself with inspiration! Find books and articles that support your new habit to give yourself positive reinforcement.

•Be patient. You're in this to make a positive and long-term life change. Go slowly and expect to have moments of failure. Then return to your new habit. A few slip ups are natural; the big picture is what is important!

Daily Weight Loss Tips and How to Stay Motivated.

How to stay motivated:

Remember your Why! Why do you want to make healthy changes and improve your lifestyle? Why is this important to YOU? Have this written out and placed in a visible space (on your phone, computer, sticky note, in your car). Keeping the big picture in mind is important to daily motivation and remembering you are doing this for yourself and to be the best version of you from the inside out.

Weight loss tips:

Build your healthy fueling plan around proper hydration and vegetables! Being properly hydrated (primarily with water) is the most impactful and least threatening goal you can have. Second to that, build your meals and snacks around a variety of non-starchy vegetables that provide nutrients, fiber and volume - all key to helping achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Losing weight can be a long, challenging journey, where discouragement is around every corner.

Instead of focusing on shear weight loss, which is an extremely fickle motivator, I encourage focus on positive daily occurrences that happen as a result of any changes you made. For instance, perhaps you decided to bring your lunch to work instead of order out, and as a result, you were able to better focus through your afternoon work or have more energy for your family. That is a HUGE accomplishment and something you should think about when you are faced with that lunch decision again. When you are able to connect a particular decision with a desirable result (i.e more energy and better focus), that decision becomes more natural for you to make day in and day out.

Most people understand that losing weight involves increasing activity while decreasing food intake.

Healthy eating and regular physical activity are essential, however, there are other factors to consider such as identifying and changing learned behaviors that have led to excessive food intake and evaluating causes of a sedentary lifestyle that has led to a weight gain.

There are thousands of weight loss books, fad diets, supplements, drugs, special foods, and weight-loss clinics. Some products or treatments may lead to weight-loss, but the result is usually only temporary. In addition, some may not provide adequate calories or nutrients and can be harmful. And most weight loss supplements are unsafe and ineffective.

Losing weight and keeping it off, is best achieved by a consultation with a Registered Dietitian who is an expert trained in assisting people to lose weight most effectively and safely. So, consult a registered dietitian for a weight loss program.

Women always tend to put themselves last, in order to take care of family, home, or their job, so I always encourage the women I work with, to round up a group of friends, work colleagues, or neighbors, with a common interest in eating healthier, exercising more and living a healthier lifestyle, and focus on themselves.

Start a recipe club to collect and test new healthy recipes and share ideas; get a group together to work on meal and snack prep every Sunday for the week ahead; skip the coffee or cocktails, and commit to a walking or strength training group at least 2x each week. There's nothing like gentle support and some friendly competition to melt away the weight and get you healthy.

When we motivate ourselves to eat healthier with the purpose of losing weight, the fiery energy of motivation can quickly fizzle out. That's because we're trying fit a standard of beauty determined by our culture. We access much more enduring motivation when we set our sights on a goal of more consequence. Consider the goal of accessing your intuition -- your own internal compass that is always present in your body. When we eat whole foods and ditch processed foods, we amplify the voice of our intuition.

Processed foods -- foods that are a perversion of nature -- pervert our own true nature. When we eat refined food, chemicals and additives, it's like speaking to our body in a foreign language. But when we eat foods that are close to the earth, we help our body return to its true nature. That nature a state of effortless joy, health, and perceptive intuition

One of our top weight management recommendations by our team of Registered Dietitians at A Little Nutrition is to track what you eat and drink every day.

It can be a real eye opener, and will help with every day and every meal personal accountability. We often underestimate how much food and liquid calories we consume. You will have a very accurate picture of your consumption if you write it down or track it on a mobile app. Once you have an idea of how much you are consuming, you can take a look at making small changes to what you eat, like reducing portions or upgrading the quality of your food like switching out processed foods for whole foods. Whole foods help you feel fuller longer, which in turn will aid in weight loss.

I believe one of the most important tools to losing weight is having a plan: Making a meal plan, jotting down a grocery list to pick up exactly what you need, figuring out when you're going to fit in exercise throughout the week, having healthy snacks on hand when you're on-the-go.

These are all important aspects of your weight loss plan that will enable you to succeed. I also think it's important to start your day on a healthy note to set the pace for the day. For instance, I like to begin my mornings with yoga or a walk with my dog, followed by a healthy breakfast. Overall, the key to successful weight loss is continuing to work hard and push through even when you don't feel like it or are feeling discouraged. It won't happen overnight, but little by little, the little things add up.

Keep a workout log: Keeping some type of workout log is one of the most important things you can do to stay motivated, especially when you work out by yourself. When you need a little boost of motivation, all you have to do is go back and look through your old workouts to know that all your hard work is paying off.

Make a workout schedule: Figure out how many days a week you really want to work out, then actually schedule your workouts in your calendar—just as you would any other appointment.

Create trackable goals: Having a goal in mind can help push you through that tough workout even on days when you'd rather be doing anything else. Whatever your goals, make sure they're trackable (i.e. more specific than to 'lose weight'), and always remember to record your progress along the way.

When it comes to weight loss, success is very dependent on making small, achievable, measurable goals.

Instead of goals such as I’m going to lose 20 pounds, make more specific, short term goals. I’m going to exercise at least 5 days this week. I’m going to eat at least one serving of vegetables every day this week. Goals along those lines are not only much easier to achieve, but you can feel good about yourself for achieving your goal. That in turn will help improve your motivation.

It's hard to feel like your doing a good job and stay motivated when your goal is so non-action specific and so far off as losing a set amount of weight. You can’t control how much weight you lose specifically but you can control the food and activity choices you make.

As a dietitian and fitness professional, there are 5 tips to help you lose weight:

1.Maximize your vegetable intake at every meal. More veggies = more fiber +
water = feeling full for longer and increased vitamin/mineral intake
2.Drink water throughout the day. Keep a reusable water bottle with you!
3.When snacking, choose protein/carbohydrate combinations. For example, 2 Tbsp
nut butter paired with a medium apple.
4.Practice simple swaps. Using Greek yogurt for mayo or sour cream, cauliflower
for potatoes and whole grains instead of refined grains will benefit you.
5.Incorporate healthy fats into your diet. Examples include avocado, nuts, seeds, and Greek yogurt.

Creating new habits, and tracking them, either on an app, or in a group setting, can be extremely motivating when it comes to weight loss.

It's different for everyone, but, generally, I ask my clients to focus on 1 or 2 new habits at a time, so they don't become overwhelmed. This might include, eating more protein, both at breakfast, and throughout the day, aiming for 25+ grams of fiber a day, or getting up to move every 30 minutes after sitting at the computer.

I also make sure they include a goal that isn't focused on weight loss, but rather on improving their mood or energy level, or something else that will likely occur before weight loss does-this really helps with motivation and success that is sustainable in the long run.

Weight loss can be a long journey, so staying motivated on a daily basis can be challenging. It can be especially hard to stay motivated if you step on the scale and see no change from the previous day, or even worse… a gain! You may see the number on the scale as a failure, which can lead to feelings of guilt or frustration about choices you made that day. For these reasons, I advise my clients to weigh themselves weekly instead of daily. A number of factors can cause your weight to fluctuate from day to day, so weekly weigh-ins are a better reflection of your efforts overall. Keep reminding yourself that slip-ups happen, and your progress will not always be linear!

Avoiding hormones and pesticides in our food will not only be healthier for you, but will allow you to maintain a healthy weight. Hormones that are injected into cows that then are used for meat, cheese, milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese can cause us to gain weight.

Pesticides cannot be processed so they are stored in our fat cells and also cause weight gain. So purchase organic dairy products or at least those products that say clearly on the package “made from cows not treated with rBGH. And download the Dirty Dozen app so you know what top 12 produce should be purchased organically to avoid heavy exposure to pesticides. Knowing that you are shielding yourself from harmful chemicals is empowering.

Taking care of me is important.

I practice what I preach and I think that is important. I live what I teach to my clients: “Eat healthfully without compromising yourself; do a lot of different kinds of fitness activities, and don’t complicate things.”

I use an app called Class Pass that allows me to schedule my workouts. This app is awesome because I get to try new exercises, trends and training programs and that keeps me excited about what I do. Plus you have a month to complete your activites before the program resets, so if you don’t use it, you lose it. I hate wasting money, doesn’t everyone? I always am learning from others. This way my motivation becomes the students motivation.

Create a Habit Tracker for yourself that allows you to measure your goals, like drinking 1.5L of water a day or not snacking after dinner or going for a 20min walk. If you keep this habit tracker somewhere visible, you don’t want to miss out a day where you can cross off all the goals, especially if you see, you were able to do it the other days.

Make sure, when you set these goals that they are achievable, no one can go from not working out at all, to going 5 times per week to the gym. Plus get an accountability partner, someone that motivates you on the days where you don’t feel like working out or eating healthy.

I do not believe in setting weight loss deadlines or regimens. I passionately believe in conscious eating and living a healthy life style.
Food is one of life's pleasure. We enjoy dinner with friends, cooking with our family and baking for our children. Many of our happy memories are created in the kitchen!

When we are not obsessed with food and weight loss, we tend not to over eat and enjoy food, and life, better. Enjoy your fresh cooked gourmet food, and try not eating processed food while watching TV or while we are driving. By changing our lifestyle stress levels decline. Enjoying life and living a healthy, stress-free life is enough motivation for anyone.

I would say my advice would be that, "Some days will be tougher than others, but all days can begin with a smile. Changing your attitude from a mindset that requires a workout versus enjoys a workout will be the best thing you can ever do for your motivation. Find something you love (I'm a big fan of rollerblading and hiking) and make sure to fit time in your schedule for it. Not only will you stay motivated for your workouts but you'll have some fun too!"

In order to be at a weight that is healthiest for your body, you have to start LISTENING to your body.

Make sure you are fueling your body with whole foods—this will help your body function properly. Notice how you feel after eating certain foods and stick with the ones that make you feel GOOD. Don’t worry about counting calories or macronutrients—simply eat what makes you feel energized and light and stay away from foods that make you feel bloated and tired. Remember that health is not a destination—it’s a journey. Enjoy your journey and be happy with who you are, no matter your weight.

As a nutritionist specializing in weight loss, the best way to lose weight AND keep it off is to get a handle on your portion sizes. Portion control doesn't mean tiny portions!

The trick to success is to eat big portions of your favorite fruits and veggies and smaller portions of the less healthy foods. Because no food is totally off limits, you will not even feel like you are on a diet, and will stay motivated. Engaging in your favorite exercise (mine is yoga and swimming) will help too!

I work on teaching intuitive eating and nourishing the body with real foods. Limiting processed foods and balancing meals with quality proteins, healthy fats, and nourishing carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables. This step can go a long way to balancing blood sugars and lowering insulin levels, which is the bodies fat storing hormone.

I find that when clients eat good foods they feel amazing and that can be motivation enough. Working with a dietitian and functional nutrition practitioner can help keep you accountable and support you in your goals.

Do one thing.

Everyone wants to LAUNCH and totally immerse themselves into a weight loss program, but so many times, they end up getting overwhelmed and they throw in the towel. If you just pick one simple thing to change – maybe that’s drinking 8 cups of water/day, or committing to a super healthy breakfast every day, or swapping your weekend vodka cranberries for vodka club-sodas – you will absolutely see results. And once you’ve got that one thing down, and it’s second nature, move on to the next thing.

Skillful breathing.

So much extra weight now is tied to stress and how we handle it. Recent science suggests that when we feel stress in our bodies, if we just take three long slow breaths (with an emphasis on extending the exhale), and doing this gently - as if in response to an invitation rather than pushing or forcing the breath, that this calms our fight-flight-freeze response and activates our rest-recovery nervous system. Try this as an experiment the next time you get activated.

Focus on feeling: Take note of how you feel – how you feel when you eat “junk food”, how you feel when you workout, how you feel when you miss a workout, or how you feel when you choose healthier options over less healthy ones. Take note of WHY you’re eating – are you eating for health and nourishment or are you seeking comfort? The answers to these questions can be great insight to your health behaviors and daily habits to keep you motivated.

Often it’s not our lack of willpower that keeps us from eating well…it’s our gut bacteria talking! If your gut is imbalanced, those little critters may be calling for sugar and carbs at top volume. (And any woman who has been on antibiotics in her life or has undergone stress very likely DOES has an imbalance.) You change this root cause by taking steps to repopulate your gut. Start by eating 1-3 servings of dark, leafy green vegetables and 1 Tbsp. of lacto-fermented vegetables each day

Don't do too much, too quickly -- baby steps work best.
Add something before taking something away. For example, add a green vegetable to your lunch daily or a handful of spinach to your morning smoothie.

Curb cravings with snacks that have a healthy mix of protein/fat/carbs. For example, a string cheese and a few walnuts, an apple and nut butter, or hummus and carrots.

Forget about trying to lose weight. Instead, focus on the actions that lead to those results: things you can do every day. Eat a good source of protein with each meal, and perform 3 strength training workouts per week.

Make your workout about one thing: improving your performance a little each time you repeat a workout, and getting stronger. This is a terrific way to boost motivation, but you have an empowering, performance focused goal.

Weight loss is different for everyone and especially women. Men and women don't lose weight the same so of course, different methods come in to play. To maintain any weight loss effort consistency is key and the only way to maintain that is to conform to a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy well-balanced high protein meals and reducing sugars and fats along with regular exercise every single day is the best way to see lasting results.

Losing weight is never easy—our metabolism is set up to fight it—so I don’t have any magic suggestions. Eating less and moving more works every time (if you can keep at it). Some people find daily weighing to help. Food is one of life’s greatest pleasures so eat and enjoy what you like, but try to eat less of it

A good breakfast sets the tone for your entire day. Eat right at breakfast and you are more likely to make healthy choices the rest of the day. To stay motivated, get your friends or family involved to make it fun. Get together for an exercise class after work, share healthy recipes, meal prep with friends once a week or even make a friendly wager as to who can meet their goals.

• Drink lots of water throughout the day • Fill up on veggies as much as possible • Enlist a friend or partner to diet with to keep each other on track • Give yourself small goals and rewards. Like treat yourself to a pedicure if you’ve stuck to your diet all week! • Don’t beat yourself up if you mess up, the next meal is always a fresh start

Fail to plan and you plan to fail. Plan out your meals beforehand and then stick to it. Set one small daily goal that you have complete confidence that you can succeed at. Small successes lead to huge changes. Be accountable to another human being for your eating and exercise. Don't be reluctant to ask for help as weight loss and maintenance is incredibly difficult!

Weight loss tips:

To achieve long term weight loss, limit highly processed food and artificial ingredients. Choose fresh, whole foods at most meals and lift weights to burn more fat.

To stay motivated: Stick your hottest photo on the fridge. If you did it before, you can do it again.

Your better results come when you give your body the resources it needs to run better, more often. So first, Assess your current nutrition and things like your digestion, hydration, and key nutrients like magnesium that help turn off stress. When these are working better, your body loses weight more efficiently and effectively." Ashley Koff RD, The Better Nutrition Program

Meal planning is my number 1 tip for staying motivated. No matter the diet your follow, planning ahead is the key to being successful. By sitting down each week to plan your meals, you ensure that you have healthy foods on hand when needed and you’ll be less likely to make impulsive, unhealthy food choices

I always recommend that you start your day off with a nutritious, filling meal that will keep blood sugar levels regulated. Good options are: a slice of sprouted bread, fried egg, 1/2 avocado or a yogurt parfait with plain greek yogurt, berries, and 1/2 cup oatmeal. Both include protein, healthy fats, and fiber.

I think the best way to stay motivated is to shoot for 80%. When you fall into the all or nothing trap it's easy to want to give up or blow it off. Give yourself a little wiggle room to not be perfect will help you be a little more consistent overall!

Building and maintaining healthy habits can be challenging, but the easiest way to stay on track for your health goals is to be prepared. From creating a weekly meal plan and grocery list to scheduling time for daily exercise, planning ahead for health and wellness success is essential to keep moving forward toward your goals.

Count nutrients not calories. Focus on nourishing your body with tasty whole foods that are full of nutrients so you feel light and energised to move your body daily, stay motivated by experimenting with new recipes and choosing movement you enjoy.

Eat only real food, avoid sugar and other inflammatory foods and to stay motivated by working with a Certified Health Coach who can keep you on track and accountable to your goals.

My daily weight loss tip is simply to MOVE MORE! Find ways to fit more movement into your day, and tie it to something that’s already a habit. For example, every morning when you make coffee, do 10 countertop push-ups while the coffee is brewing.

If you want to be at your optimal weight with easy, adopt intermittent fasting. You want your body to metabolize fat tissue and burn fat for energy. When you do, your skin is lubricated, your digestion is strong, you crave real food that nourishes your tissues, your mental focus increases. . I love intermittent fasting - the 16/8 leangains.com method -where you fast for 16 hours per 24 hour cycle and have 8 hours of feed time.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is an umbrella term for various diets that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting. Intermittent fasting can be used along with calorie restriction for weight loss.
What it is…
Intermittent fasting is eating on a rhythm that entrains the body to metabolize the fat tissue, meda dhatu, for day-to-day energy use.

Why Yogis Have Been Into It: When your body runs on and burns off fat tissue for energy the mind and emotions becomes stable and free for higher pursuits. When we eat too frequently or too much too often, the body is turning energy over from the nourishment in the blood. On a day-to-day basis this causes the mind and emotions to generate fluctuations (vrittis), and burdens the 7 layers of body (dhatus) to run inefficiently. Not intermittent fasting gums up the works in each layer and also between body, mind, and spirit. The gum is ama, or toxic tissue. Blech.

16/8 Leangains method

I recommend the 16 hours fasting time, followed by an 8 hour window for daily nourishment. This method reestablishes rhythmic living in a modern culture that forgot the benefit of boundaries with food, sleep, and time. When you have an easy, predictable eating rhythm that relies on your body burning fat as a renewable energy source, you enter a new level of thrive.

The benefit of setting the 16/8 method into motion is you get the hang of it quickly and feel the benefits. With today’s massive variability in daily and weekly schedules, this 16/8 method offers a stabilizing effect for even the busiest of people with the most unpredictable schedules.

Eat when you feel hungry! Don't question your body's hunger cues. Ignoring them day after day may put the body in starvation mode, which gradually reduces the basal metabolic rate and may cause internal stress. Honor your hunger by eating intuitively.

Have a specific goal to improve your health, rather than just telling yourself you want to "lose weight". For instance, maybe you want to exercise 3 times a week, for 30 minutes, for the next month. This will help you keep track of how you are progressing towards your goal. You are more likely to stay motivated as you progress towards your goal as well as more likely to lose weight and keep it off.

Set regular meal times and do not go more than four to six hours between meals. This prevents the hasty purchases of convenience food items that are often higher in fat and sugar.

Mindfulness is the key to staying in touch with your healthy weight goals. Begin in the morning with affirmations, prayer,meditation..a great way to start you day!

If you're not enjoying your diet, you're not doing it right!" No so-called healthy eating plan should deprive you of the enjoyment of eating!

Staying hydrated will boost weight loss efforts while curbing hunger. Don't feel limited to just water! Herbal teas hydrate the body, taste great, and provide additional health benefits. Ginger-peppermint-lemon tea is a delicious combination known for detoxing and weight loss.

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