Ten tips for keeping your New Year weight loss resolution

Do you resolve to lose weight every New Year only to give up by the second week of January? Follow our weight loss tips and improve your health and lifestyle for good. The most important thing is changing to a healthy lifestyle has to be enjoyable. If it feels good, you will want to continue. So, good luck and here’s to a healthier 2015.

Ten top tips for keeping your New Year weight loss resolution

1. Be realistic – Don’t set unattainable weight loss goals, you will fail and then probably give up on your resolution completely. Set an achievable weight loss and when you get there set a new goal.
2. Plan your weight loss campaign – Don’t just resolve to lose X amount of weight. Plan how you are going to do it. Decide on menus, plan your food diary, work out your exercise regime. If the steps are clearly in place following them will be easy.
3. Change your mind set – Don’t think of dieting as a hardship or endurance. Instead, look on it as a real benefit and something you enjoy. Focus on feeling healthier and fitter, not on what you think you are missing out on.
4. Know you are changing your lifestyle – Don’t look at your new healthy eating and exercise regime as something you must get through for a few weeks or months until you attain your target weight. It is a lifestyle change. If you are to succeed you must enjoy eating healthy food and exercising and you will then want to keep feeling and looking better always.
5. Eat tasty food – You will never succeed if you are forcing yourself to eat food that you don’t like. Healthy food can be tasty, too! Treat yourself to some new healthy cook books and experiment with flavours.
6. Find support – Like many things in life, changing to a healthier lifestyle and shedding those excess pounds in the process is easier if you are not doing it alone. Join a slimming group or gym where you can get the support you need to keep you on track. And, if you don’t like the first group you join, find another one. It is important that you enjoy going or you won’t keep it up. The most important thing is to have fun.
7. Take up a new sport – Don’t make exercise a chore that you have to force yourself to do. If you don’t enjoy it you will quickly give it up. So, find a sport or gym class that is fun for you. There are plenty to choose from.
8. Consult your doctor – If you have a lot of weight to lose or are really struggling then talk to your GP. There may be other health reasons why you are finding it hard to lose weight, and even if there are not your doctor can help you to work out a diet that is good for you.
9. Practice positive thinking – If you think you can lose weight, you will. If you think you can’t you won’t. Keep telling yourself that you CAN lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle and you will. Try yoga or meditation if you need a positive thinking boost.
10. If you still can’t get into the weight-loss, healthy-lifestyle way of thinking give hypnotherapy a go. A few positive suggestions planted deep into your subconscious may be just that little extra you need to get you on track.

At Medcare, our GP and nurse can give you diet advice and our hypnotherapist could give you the extra resolve you need. Also, check out our special offer on health checks for the New Year. You will get a complete health MOT and advice on changing your lifestyle.