5 Ways to Keep Pounds Falling Like Leaves

Tweet

I love fall! I think it's the prettiest and most dramatic season of the year.

I was flying into Boston last week and, as I was looking out the window during the descent, I couldn't help but notice the sporadic dots of reds, yellows, and orange colors starting to take over the green foliage.

Fall starts out gradually and slowly, so much so that if you don't take time to notice the one leave here, one leave there... you wake up one morning and fall has suddenly spray-painted the landscape.

But like all things, the changing leaves got me thinking about weight loss and what we can learn from nature.

Weight loss doesn't happen overnight any more than fall's glorious showing. Instead, it gradually and slowly adds up until the big picture is dramatic and show-stopping.

I realize that every person who wants to lose weight, myself included, wish that we could wake up in the morning and discover that we are suddenly and gloriously thinner but it just doesn't happen that way.

The ONLY way to realize show stopping weight loss results is to do so gradually, slowly and steadily.

With that said, it doesn't have to feel slow or not realize benefits and results along the way.

Here are five simple, cost-effective and productive changes you can implement today that will keep the pounds dropping like leaves from a tree!

1. Proper "fertilization" and care!

If you are a gardener you know that you can't just hope for great plants, flowers and trees-you must ensure their proper care. Your body requires great nutrients to ensure the desired outcome.

Weight loss is NOT about starvation but rather it requires food to succeed. Just be sure you are giving your body the proper amount of the right foods. Rake up a week's worth Diet-to-Go meals and see how good proper eating makes you feel!

2. Eating smaller portions!

This is the key to lasting weight loss. Having pre-prepared meals makes it easier for you. But there are also ways to make your body satisfied with those portions and have the feeling of satiety for hours, control your blood sugar and control your cravings.

The magic bullet is FIBER... and lots of it! You can take an entire bottle of Metamucil, eat a bushel of apples or swallow a few capsules. I opt for the latter. The research on fiber is too important to ignore. It's instrumental in helping you lose weight and then maintain that weight loss.

Who wouldn't want to control cravings, control blood sugar spikes and not feel hungry all the time?

3. Exercise!

NOTHING gets you ready to drop some unwanted weight than upping your cardio exercise time, intensity or duration! I LOVE doing Body Pump classes and the elliptical machine. Do enough of it and your body will be glorious in no time!

Just know that when it comes to proper eating and regular exercise it's not an either/or proposition - for best results you need to do BOTH!

4. Visualize yourself thinner.

You may think that visualization - mentally seeing something and then accomplishing it - is a bunch of garbage. But I have witnessed far too many successful people from all walks of life practice a strong belief in the power of visualization.

It's a powerful weight loss tool, so take a few minutes to make a vision board.

A vision board is basically a poster that you cover with images of people and things you desire. Start by cutting out pictures of women you'd like to look like. You have your own beauty so key on body types and lifestyles. Now cut out a few "power words" - SUCCESS, HAPINESS, ENERGY work for me - and paste them all over the board in a collage. You can include photos of you at your ideal weight.

Look at the poster every day, a few times a day and say a positive affirmation such as "I believe in myself and my ability to succeed. I am worthy of the best that life has to offer." Good luck!

5. READ!

It is so important that you read self-help books and not necessarily just weight loss books. Check out books that are rich in advice on how to go from point A to the desired point B in life. Start making WHO YOU ARE bigger than what your body looks like and you will never again have problems with the scale!

So who's ready to fall in and keep the weight loss on track as we head into the holiday season? It's time to leaf your old habits in hibernation and stick with proven tactics like the ones above.

Julia is the author of the bestselling weight loss books, Awaken the Diet Within (Warner Books) and The Vice Busting Diet (St. Martin's Press). She has been endorsed by Oprah's Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. David L. Katz! Having lost and kept off 130 pounds, Julia not only offers effective advice, but she knows firsthand that her advice works! Learn more at http://www.ViceBusting.com

Archived posts 2009

Tweet