Habits of People Who Have Lost and Kept Off 20 – 30lbs (Part 3)

PART ONEPART TWO
Source: Organize Yourself Skinny.com

11. Meal plan along with preparing meals and snacks ahead of time

Creating a menu plan and preparing your foods ahead of time helps you become more intentional with the food you are eating. When you are intentional you think before you eat and most likely will make better food choices.
Both of these tools – used together – serve as the roadmap and vehicle for a healthy lifestyle. Without either of them I would never know what I am eating and certainly would not have the food available when I am ready to eat. And you know what happens next? Yep, take out or quick unhealthy snacks. Taking the time to menu plan and then preparing the foods that you can ahead of time will make such a big difference with your weight loss efforts.

12. Have a cut off time every day with eating

This has been one of my go to weight loss habits. Late night eating has always been an issue for me as I am sure it is for other people too. By giving myself a cut off time I am able to control my night time calories. This habit, as with others I have mentioned, keeps my intentional with my eating.
My personal cut off time is 7:00pm so I know if the clock says past 7pm and I am eating more than likely I am eating unnecessary calories. Now your cut off time can be whatever works for you. I know some people work crazy schedules and 7pm does not work for them.
The point is to stop eating by a certain time to prevent overeating. It has work wonders for me and I believe it can really help you in meeting your weight loss goals.

13. Have a max weight for the scale

This is not something I have practice but I think I will start. I know some people do not like using the scale but for me it works. I weigh myself every week to keep me in check. I try to post my weekly weigh in on my FB page and blog every week or so.
Sometimes I am a slacker and go a few weeks without posting. But I will tell you when I start to see the number go up and up that is enough incentive for me to refocus and get back on track. I love the idea of having a max weight because then it gives you a little flexibility but always you are giving yourself a limit.

14. Cook at home

One OYS reader wrote “weight loss begins and ends in the kitchen”. I absolutely loved this and couldn’t agree more. Early on in my weight loss journey I learned that if I wanted my weight loss to be sustainable I needed to learn to cook real food at home. Trying to lose weight and survive off boxed diets meals was not sustainable. When you cook at home you control the ingredients, portions, and are able to prepare food that you enjoy.

15. Never stop

Even though I did not put the other habits in any kind of order I did want to put this one last. I want you to leave with this. Losing weight and sustaining that healthy lifestyle is a process and journey. It is never over.
I have said this many times before but I will say it again – there will be times where you think you got this whole weight loss thing down then there will be other times where you eat a box of thin mints and feel like you lost all control. But no matter how bad you think you “slipped up” never stop trying. Always keep moving forward.

Habits of People Who Have Lost and Kept Off 20 – 30lbs (Part 2)
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