Healthy Weight Loss Strategies That Work

Happy New Year! 

Did you add "healthier lifestyle" to your New Year resolutions list? Or have you scratched that one off the list already?  Yeah...I know, because........I did the same thing for years!  Until last year, when I committed to do better with my up and down weight loss goals.  Healthy and permanent weight loss is possible when you know what it takes. The only difficult part is your honest answer to this question:  Are you
willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes?

In our super-size, eat-on-the-run, death-by-sugar society, healthy permanent weight loss can be a real battle. And winning the battle of the bulge takes weight loss strategies that work, combined with your own die-hard commitment. I've christened 2012 to be the year we love ourselves enough to commit to better health!

By now, most of us know that fad diets and quick fixes are not the healthy way to go when it comes to permanent weight loss. So, what are healthy permanent weight loss strategies that work? Here's the strategic battle plan you need to stick with it through thick and thin:

7 Healthy permanent weight loss strategies:

These healthy weight loss strategies that work are based on studies of people who lost weight and kept it off  for at least seven years. End result:  healthy and permanent weight loss!

1. Start keeping good records. To face the challenge, you need to know what's going on. Mindlessness will get you nowhere. Write down everything you eat and drink and exercise times. At first you won't like what you see, but clarity and awareness can gradually move you forward.

2. Make a long-term commitment. "Permanent" means you won’t be done in twelve weeks or even twelve years. Healthy permanent weight loss is about making a commitment to lifestyle changes for the long haul.

3. Plan your strategy and do it. What are you going to eat tomorrow? How can you handle family meals, work lunches and travel? What about emotional cravings? List your challenges and create solutions.

4. Pay attention to your calories. To lose a pound a week requires cutting about 500 calories a day. Almost everyone who achieves permanent weight loss counts calories – usually by writing them down.

5. Increase your physical activity. Exercise burns calories. Most people who lose weight and keep it off exercise between 30 minutes and an hour a day. If you're squirming over those figures, realize you can start out slowly. Any amount of exercise is better than none at all.  In January of this year, I started my "exercise" regimen by merely stretching for 10 minutes a day.  By September, I was in a Zumba (cardio dance fitness) class....and keeping up with the Zumba pros!

6. Keep yourself motivated. Maintaining motivation is the biggest challenge.  Be your own best cheerleader!  Don't let your moods, failures or the numbers on the scale define you. Take time to nurture yourself, get enough rest and find healthy entertainment that doesn't involve food indulgence. Most of all....don't give up all the foods you like at the same time.  There's nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with your favorite sweets every once in a while.  I eat all my favorites during my birthday MONTH!  But I also make sure that I double up on these 7 strategies during the month.  Balance is the key to everything, including permanent and healthy weight loss. 

7. Eat a healthy high fiber diet. People who lose weight and keep it off tend to eat a healthy, moderately low-fat (25-30% of calories) high fiber diet.


Success in using these healthy permanent weight loss strategies will make you look and feel better and reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, arthritis, some cancers, diabetes and many other health problems.


Healthy Hair Source will keep you covered, inside and out, on safe solutions for healthy hair, skin and health care. If you want more information on any of our topics, please leave a comment. Thanks for reading!