5 Helpful Tips on Successful Dieting!

I feel as though it has been forever since I last blogged! I've had a crazy week of weddings galore! Summer is TRULY wedding season! Well, as some of you saw on the Facebook page, I posted a picture of my progress. Although it's not a HUGE difference in both pictures, I definitely feel leaner and healthier since 3 months ago!
May 2012 and August 2012
Not perfect...but getting there!

So as I've mentioned before, from what I've researched and just as general rule of thumb with weight loss, it's 20% actual excercise and 80% diet/what you eat. And trust me, I know how hard it is to watch what you eat. I find that whenever I go to parties, it's so hard to stay away from the pasta's and creamy dips (ugh...). But you just have to be able to have self-restraint. That's what a lot of what dieting is all about. So here are some helpful tips that I've read/used that will make dieting more realistic and goal-worthy.

Stick to the Foods

Now I don't mean, eat ONLY one food every single day. That would be SO boring! But people who are successful dieters tend to stick to the same foods week after week. That way, you know exactly how much calories, carbs, sugar, and protein your body is intaking with those foods. Also the foods that dieters tend to eat, are healthy (I know, what I concept?!). That means less fried foods and creams, more veggies, whole grains, fruit, fish etc. If you eat the same things, you can portion control and that'll help you get on track too!

Be Specific

All of us can sit here and say, "ugh... I want to lose weight..." But unless we set specific goals we want to achieve, it'll be very difficult to start losing weight. And these goals don't have to be HUGE goals. They can just be, "I want to lose 1lb in a week" or "I want to fit into THESE pants in 1 month". When you have a goal, you have something specific you are working toward, and it'll help you see the goal more realistically. That said, make sure they are realistic goals! I'm sorry to say, losing 20lb in 2 weeks just isn't going to happen.

Surround Yourself with Motivation/Positivity

This has been something that has helped me a lot. Let's face it, not ALL of your friends are going to be on the same weight loss track as you are. Some people may not care at ALL and will be munching away on their potato chips and hamburgers (curse them!). Obviously I would never tell you to get rid of your friends!! However, what has helped me a lot is to surround myself with people that have the same feelings and goals as me when it comes to my weight. When you talk to people that are trying to lose weight and get fit like yourself, you feel more comfortable talking about your goals, your struggles, your plan. And they REALLY listen because they know exactly what you are going through. These people will become your biggest cheerleaders and when you have positive influences in your life that tell you to keep going, that's going to really help you go that extra mile.

Track Your Success

What I do is keep a log of my weight in a small notebook, and I write the date, my weight, and what time I weighed myself (I try to weigh myself at around the same time every time or at least see how my weight fluctuates during what times). Now to be totally honest, I've been having a few cheat days lately, and I get so DOWN when I weigh myself on cheat days. But, looking through my records, I can see I lost a solid 5lb since a few months ago. I can see that because eventually my weight stops yo-yoing and I stay around the same weight for a few days or weeks. And it's an AWESOME feeling seeing that change!

Instead of "I CAN'T eat that" say "I DON'T eat that."

This is something I read in Women's Health and literally had a MIND.BLOWN moment. This is for situations in which let's say your friend offers you some food that you KNOW is bad for you (i.e fried foods, candy, cookies) When you say "I can't eat that", it shows weakness and you are giving yourself the opportunity to give up and eat that bad food. But, if you say, " I don't eat that." you are showing a firm decision that you choose not eat that food and it shows you have more will-power to say no!

Well I hope these were some helpful, realistic tips that will help you in your goal towards fitness and weightloss! :)

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