Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind: 3 Simple Steps to Stay on Goal

Losing weight can be a long, ongoing process and it is too easy to "throw in the towel", so to speak. This is primarily due to frustrations because of slow results or the seeming lack of results. Keep your sanity in your weight loss goals - learn how to take the little strides to achieve your long term weight loss goals.

1. Make a plan

Do you have a plan? People sometimes get confused by plans and goals. The end-result goal in your case is weight loss; the plan is the means you are going to use to get there. While you will undoubtedly have short-term goals and a long-term goal, they are not your plan. A plan would consist of, for example, eating breakfast; walking a half hour per day; not eating after 8pm; eliminating soda drinks from your daily routine; etc. These are steps of the plan that can help you reach your goal of weight loss. If you've tried certain things before and they didn't work because of your lack of commitment then try loosening the plan a little for something that you could easily achieve without pushing yourself too hard. If you have a plan of working out every morning but you think that you might give up too easily on that, shoot for 2-3 times a week, and, once you've built a habit of exercising 3 times a week, try and add 1 or 2 more days. You're much better off making a plan for fewer training sessions and actually doing them than making a plan of exercising every day and never leaving the couch.

2. Execute the plan

The greatest weight-loss plan in the world will do no good if you don't use it. That's where so many people fail - they want to lose the weight but aren't willing to take any steps to actually meet their goals. It's like someone saying "I want to make $5,000 this month" but doesn't have a job and never leaves the couch to look for one. A job is no more going to show up at your door and give you $5,000 for sitting than you are going to lose weight if you continue to do nothing about it. As I mentioned above, if your plan is not something you think you can commit to, loosen up your plan to something that is feasible - given your lifestyle and situation. Do it one step at a time.

3. See the plan through

Stay focused on your weight-loss goal, keep on going, and don't give up. It is not the easiest thing getting started, but it is a proven fact that it takes about 21 days to form a habit. Stick to your plan for a few weeks, and you'll be well on your way to your weight-loss goal.

By simply creating a plan, working a plan and staying with it, you'll soon begin seeing results - you will feel lighter, you will look better, you will get stronger. Sometimes, all it takes to get fully motivated is seeing the start of results.