Long Term Sustainable Weight Loss

When deciding to make a lifestyle change, or setting a goal for yourself to lose some weight- it can be so tempting to take a dramatic approach and think that you have to change EVERYTHING and anything about your diet. Trust me, I have been yo yo dieter Jones for a large portion of my life. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and no longer fitting into my shorts. “ THIS IS DISGUSTING”, I told myself. “You are starting your diet on Monday, and all you’re eating is lean protein and salad leaves”. I was always in a rush. A rush to lose the weight and the quicker the better. This just lead me to a cycle of yo-yo dieting mayhem. Until I discovered the secret: Small changes help you see big results. This is the key to long term sustainable weight loss.

Get Started On Permanent Weight Loss

There Is No Rush To Get To Long Term Sustainable Weight Loss

So back to my story. I would google “quick weight loss” and come across cringeworthy articles with pictures of dragon fruits and titles like ‘eat this fruit and drop 10 pounds over night’. Additionally, I would then also come across several articles about how there are certain foods that are good for weight loss and others that are bad for weight loss! I would google “is popcorn fattening?” and the whole story.

It would feel like an intense urgency, like I had to LOSE THE WEIGHT NOW. I would pick the latest trend/diet, and follow it whole heartedly and extra diligently. Only to be a couple of weeks in and I would then start to waver, and go back to my old eating habits slowly but surely.

The problem? I was always in a rush. I always wanted to see quick results and didn’t want to dedicate the time and energy to actually put into changing my lifestyle. When it comes about doing something for life, and you go into it with this mentality- you’ll be a lot calmer. You’ll be willing to be realistic about it. It’s no longer about quick fix results, but more about long term sustainable changes.

The Smallest Changes: The Secret Sauce to Sustainable Weight Loss For Life

People often think that they have to make huge changes to their diet, and make it look exactly like their favourite influencer on Instagrams diet. But without all the noise, have you ever asked yourself the question: What is sustainable for you?

We all have different preferences, food choices, eating schedules etc. How could there possibly be one diet that encapsulates this all? For one person, eating a salad every day for lunch may be what she is already doing, and her small change may be to swap from having normal guacamole to having my protein guacamole. For others, you may be so used to going to McDonalds for lunch and your small change may be to go from having a big mac, large fries and milkshake to having a normal burger, small fries & water. See the difference?

When it’s sustainable weight loss for life, you’re in less of a rush to make BIG and drastic changes. Instead, you know that it is a long term game and start making small do-able changes that you may not see immediate results but will help you see results LONG TERM. This is why I love my healthy cookies, or brownies! Because for me, making the small swap of having one of these brownies daily, instead of lets say a Starbucks chocolate chip cookie is an effortless swap- that leads to huge results long term!

Where To Start With Changes For Sustainable Weight Loss

How to get started? Sometimes people feel extremely overwhelmed and don’t even know where to start. Here is where my 1 change per day meal rule comes in. Look at your meals that you would typically have in a day, and find one small effortless change that you can make for that meal.

Some examples may be:

Swapping out your thick crust pizza for thin crust
Deciding to go with an open faced sandwich instead of having two slices of bread
Swapping out your Starbucks breakfast muffin for my blueberry breakfast muffins
Deciding to include a serving of veggies with your meal
Eating half your fries and having a side salad as well
Swapping out your tea time cookie for one of my low calorie cookies
Swap your soda for water, sparkling water or a diet soda

As you can see, it is nothing drastic! Do this for every meal and see how you feel. You would honestly be surprised at the huge impact it can have on you and your diet! This is honestly the foundation of sustainable weight loss for life!