Weight Watchers Get Healthy Freestyle Journey – Week 7

TIPS FOR STAYING MOTIVATED

It’s time once again to reflect on my week. Over the last few weeks, I have been thinking about how to best use the Zero Point foods as well as working on some strategies for dining out. Both of which I have covered in my posts recently. This week was spent working, taking family members to doctor’s appointments, and worrying more than usual about my son who lives out of state and my youngest who went to Florida for bike week (no matter how old they get Mom’s always worry).

My mom and my sister both lost weight this week. My sister, after several weeks of small losses, reached the ten-pound milestone this week, I am so proud of her for sticking with it. They sure are keeping the pressure on me to stay on track! Even with a busy and stressful week, I found myself encouraged to stay focused on my goal. It is easy to lose your focus after you have been on a diet for a few weeks or months. Trying to make good choices day after day and the seemingly never-ending temptations make it easy to lose focus or just give up.

TIPS FOR STAYING MOTIVATED

Document Your Efforts: Visually seeing your progress can help you stay motivated to continue losing weight. I track everything that I  eat (most of the time immediately after eat it) and record my weight on a weekly basis. This way I can make adjustments in my eating and exercise as needed.

Don’t Go It Alone: Join a weight loss support group that encourages its participants to keep trying to reach individual goals while teaching habits that can lead to lifelong healthy eating. My sister, knowing me all too well, removed any chance of me backing out. She covers the cost of my membership to Weight Watcher’s Online. However, there are many online groups have no registration fees and offer you the ability to ask and answer questions about weight loss. You can always ask a trusted friend or spouse to help you stay accountable and focused. 

Find a workout partner: The experts say that if you set an appointment with a workout partner, you are less likely to skip workouts. A good workout partner is someone who you enjoy their company an wants to do a similar workout at the same time as you. I believe the experts are right, unlike when I work out by myself and are tempted just to cancel my workout if I am tired or busy, having a partner makes it harder for me to skip it. Also, a workout partner makes the workout more fun and motivating.

Set Goals: Set realistic short and long-term goals. Setting small daily goals such as staying within your plan limits for the day will keep you motivated on a day-to-day basis. While setting long-term goals such as participating in a local charity walk will keep you focused on your ultimate objective.

Health First: It is important to concentrate on your health rather than a clothing size or the number on the scale. Write down your health reasons for losing weight. When you focus on eating right and improving your overall fitness level, it is easier to stay focused on your long-term weight loss goal.

Understand Our Bodies: Learn to listen to your body, and be aware of your hunger when it’s in its early stages. Many times we are not conscious of how hungry we are. We ignore our bodies because we’re too busy thinking about other things. As a result, we only eat when we’re famished, and that’s not a good time to eat. We don’t make healthy eating decisions when we’re super hungry. 

When you first feel the hunger, don’t put it off until it builds into an insatiable monster. Eat just until you are satiated. If you eat mindlessly, you will most likely overeat. Don’t allow that to happen. Remove distractions and be mindful of your eating and your hunger. I find that when I eat while working on the computer that before I know it my plate is empty and I don’t even remember eating the first bite.

A good habit that I am currently working on is to eat slowly. By taking pauses while eating and drinking some water during the pauses I have a chance to think about whether I am really still hungry. Also, before I go back for seconds, I stop and take a break for a few minutes. Often you’ll find that you are sated and really don’t need seconds.

Drink Water: Keep a bottle of water with you at all times. When water takes the place of food in your stomach not only will you stay hydrated, you’ll get hungry less. In addition to helping you lose weight, there are many health benefits that drinking plenty of water gives you. Some, of which, are increased energy, flushing out toxins, improved complexion, keeping your bowels regular, helping your immune system, and more.

Cheat: Too strict of a diet plan is a bad one. If you feel deprived of good foods, you won’t last long. To avoid feeling deprived, allow yourself an occasional dessert.  It’s important to listen to your body, not only when your body is hungry, but when your body is craving a specific food. Often your body just wants a taste of that food and if you give your body what it wants, and really pay attention to the taste and texture of the food and how you feel after you eat it, you will probably crave that food less and less.

Throw It Out: Clear your home and workspace of all unhealthy snacks and foods. Replace them with healthy foods and take them wherever you go. Always have some fruits, nuts, or other healthy options by your side. I think of my little stash in my purse as my diet survival kit. If you do this and eat when you’re hungry, you’ll find that you’re eating the unhealthy stuff lass and less.

Forgive Yourself: If you mess up or cheat more than you should, don’t just give up or beat yourself up. If you binge, just forgive yourself and get back on track. Remember to keep looking forward, not backward.

Get inspired. Motivation is important and accountability is a great motivator. My being open and honest about my weight struggles is my way to inspire others while being accountable. It is the number one reason why I have been writing each week about my journey and sharing it for the whole world to see. I find it inspiring to read success stories on blogs and in magazines and books. I have positive messages placed around my home to reinforce good thoughts. You can put up a motivational poster, a sticky note of the fridge, whatever it takes to get inspired. Find your inspiration!

When you better understand your relationship with food, it will be easier for you to stay motivated and focused on your weight loss efforts. Plus, be better able to keep it off.

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How my freestyle weight loss week went:

Even with a busy week, staying focused and on track was much easier than it was was just a month ago. The changes that I’ve been making are not just in what I’ve been putting in my mouth but also in my thinking. I’ve learned so much about myself and how flawed the way I looked at myself has been up to this point in my life.

After several busy days this, I had to fix meals when I was tired and hungry. Usually a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, I had purged the quick and easy highly processed foods from our lives. So even on these nights, our plates were filled with healthy, well-balanced items.

After another week filled with appointments and temptation, it was the moment of truth. I found my way to the scale for my weekly weigh-in. As always, I nervously stepped on the scale. I was pleased to see that I had lost 3.8 pounds this week! Total lost is 21.2 lbs – Way to go me! Until next week… Remember to stay positive and keep looking forward.

Where are you?

Where are you on your journey? What motivates you? Have I forgotten anything? I would love if you would let me know.

Share your thoughts below or on my Facebook fan page.

I am not a medical professional. The contents of this website are for educational purposes and are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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DID YOU MISS LAST WEEK’S POST?

Weight Watchers Freestyle Journey Week 6 – DINING OUT TIPS