So you’re going to finally do it – you are going to get healthy and lose weight!  If you’re like most people this isn’t the first time you have made this decision, is it? So let’s make this time different. Ready?

First things first, you have to decide it’s all about “getting healthy”. You need to decide the scale does not matter. Technically what size pair of jeans you wear is meaningless. That’s right this is not about what the scale says or whether you look hot and sexy. You see I discovered over the course of 933 days that when I focused on achieving a long-term healthy lifestyle that I no longer felt defeated by the scale.  Let’s face it – living in this busy, crazy world that can be extra stressful at times the number on the scale fluctuates from time-to-time – especially for us ladies with the whole water weight business.  Once you decide this journey is about getting healthy-4-life though it sure makes the fluctuating numbers a lot easier to accept.  Plus in most cases, when you begin to focus on getting healthy you begin to make smarter, healthier choices which results in weight loss!!  Bingo! You begin to win the game of weight loss just by changing your focus a little.

Secondly, whether you are thinking about exercise or food you MUST decide what you can live with for the rest of your life. You see chances are whatever avenue you choose to pursue in order to reach your “health” goal will be the same (or close to the same avenue) you use to maintain your new healthy lifestyle.  This is why diets don’t work. A diet is thought of as a temporary restriction to small amounts of food in order to lose weight. Remember — your focus is long-term health now and in most cases when you make small changes in your life to achieve “long-term health” the weight loss will follow. So, decide what you can live with for the remainder of your life.  For instance, I chose to follow the Weight Watchers “points” system because it was a plan that I felt would work for me. A typical day of food for me is, as follows:

Breakfast:

* Greek yogurt with fruit

or

* Veggie omelet with grapes on side

Lunch:

* a lunch baggie of favorite veggies: sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, kale, cucumbers, mushrooms, and carrots

* a Tupperware of favorite fruit:grapes, oranges, apples, mango, blueberries, and kiwi.

* hard-boiled eggs and tuna or maybe a protein shake.

Dinner:

* this is my favorite meal – so I usually saved most of my points for dinner. Usually something like grilled chicken or salmon, green beans, apple sauce, and maybe risotto.

Since I’m not a veggie lover though I had to pick veggies I could deal with. Notice how many of them are sweet or sugary veggies. You can sort of see where my weaknesses lie :). The point is I picked a plan that I felt I would work for me and that I could live with for the remainder of my life.

Lastly, my recommendation is to surround yourself with a good support system. In my case, I was surrounded by support consistently. My family and friends have been amazing – the absolute best and I am so thankful for them; however, I also surrounded myself with folks online that would be a great support for me. I followed folks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram that I felt would be a good resource to me. It is very helpful to surround yourself around supportive, positive people and those with similar goals to yours.

Hopefully some of these suggestions will be helpful in you reaching your goals. Remember YOU can do it!  Never quit, keep going and you will achieve your goal to long-term health.  The most important thing is don’t give up!

For extra support follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/HealthIsMyGame, or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/healthismygame/.  Register for a free membership on the Beachbody website: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/healthismygame.

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