While lots of weight loss programs help you shed pounds, too many of them also negatively affect your health, cause physical and emotional stress, and, in the end, they don’t really work because of the high chances that you will eventually regain all the weight – and more.
So when we say ‘safest’ way to lose weight, we also mean the healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off.
A Diet of the Mind
Most people who are trying to lose weight don’t think of it this way, but successful weight loss challenges your mind at least as much as your body. That realization is the first step in safely losing weight.
- Change Your Thinking – Safe weight loss doesn’t happen on a quickie diet that’s just another item on your to-do list. It’s a change in lifestyle. Like moving from a downtown condo to a suburban home, it requires thought, planning and adjustments to your life that go far beyond your diet.It’s not about losing X number of pounds by next Tuesday, or starving yourself to get your calories below a certain level, or joining the hottest new gym. It’s about dedicating yourself and setting your mind to permanently live a healthier lifestyle that inevitably results in a healthier you – including a lower body weight.
- Take Your Time – The safest way to anything is rarely the fastest. And, like any lifestyle adjustment, weight loss can be stressful. If you do everything at once: change your entire diet, jump right into a full exercise program, and completely stop your old habits, you will significantly increase the stress and decrease your chances for success.Instead of making wholesale changes, start with one or two of the more obvious adjustments that are needed. Start eating a few more fruits and vegetables, or snack on raisins and nuts instead of chips and dip.Slowly try to increase your physical activity. Maybe start by just getting up and stretching at the end of every chapter in your book or TV program.That’s it. When you’re ready, you can make a few more changes.
- Keep Everything in Balance & Perspective – If you choose to lose weight only by reducing calories, your challenge will be more difficult to meet. But if you eat a balanced diet, get the nutrition you need and increase your physical activity, you’ll be surprised at how easily you can conquer your weight loss challenge.And don’t let yourself be beaten. Many weight loss programs are abandoned by people who expected to be a certain weight by a certain time. When they didn’t get there, they felt like they failed and they gave up – completely missing the fact that they had lost some weight and had also made big improvements to their overall health.Change your perspective about your weigh scale. It is not the ultimate judge of you or the success of your new, healthier lifestyle.
Stigma and embarrassment mean weight loss is often a lonely journey. But getting help and support from others can ease the transition. Your Herbal One nutrition specialist knows what you are going through and has the experience and advice to help you manage your weight safely, for the long term.