Five Factors that Contribute to Long-Term Weight Loss Success
Posted: Nov 12 in What is Obesity by Staff
Nobody wants to lose weight temporarily, but keeping weight off can be just as difficult as losing it in the first place. What can you do to ensure that your weight loss is long term?
5 Factors that Contribute to Long-Term Weight Loss Success
1. Stay connected to your personal goals. Before you started to lose weight, you hopefully set some realistic goals for yourself. As you continue on your weight loss journey, it’s important to keep checking in with the goals you set, making note of your progress, and adjusting your goals as needed.
2. Practice thinking in the gray area. Many of us have a tendency to classify things as either black or white, good or bad, success or failure. If this is how you’re thinking when you encounter obstacles – and you will – it’s easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed by what you perceive as total failures. Learn to acknowledge progress instead.
3. Create a support system. Surround yourself with friends and family who will encourage you on your weight loss path. Consider enlisting the help of support groups locally or online.
4. Use your resources. Once you’ve created a support system of family and friends, don’t hesitate to reach out to them when you need it. Gather a collection of tools that might help you, including a dietician, food journal or personal trainer. Don’t be afraid to keep using whatever it takes to help you reach your long-term weight loss goals.
5. Identify problems early. Make a point of noticing the things that contributed to your weight gain in the first place, and what has prevented you from losing weight in the past. If you’ve struggled with emotional eating, be mindful of additional stress in your life so that you can anticipate how to avoid repeating past behaviors.
Long-term weight loss is a commitment you make to yourself, but you don’t have to do it alone. Take advantage of the people and resources who are available to contribute to your success.