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5 tips to keep in mind when you want to lose fat forever.

With two-thirds of our population overweight (one-third in the obese category), controlling our weight is no longer something we are doing to look more attractive, or perhaps even thinking about doing. It has become a necessary action to prevent diseases and increase health costs.

With reduced physical activities in schools and backyards, and more opportunities to sit in front of televisions, computers, and game boys, even our children are joining the ranks of the sedentary lifestyle that an overweight population promotes. Diseases of adults are becoming more prominent in children. Adult-onset diabetes has been renamed to accommodate all children who are diagnosed, some as early as infancy.

So if you’ve “given up” because counting and exercising haven’t worked for you, consider the following five tips. Which ones can help you?

1. Check if you are sabotaging yourself in any way. Many of us find very unique ways to sabotage ourselves. Although they are not related to food, they can wreak havoc on our weight. Sabotage often happens when we are not aware of it. Being aware of sabotage is important, but it is only the first step. We must also be prepared to put our sabotage behind us. If we ignore the sabotage and keep trying to lose weight… well, you know the story.

2. Get the right nutrients. It’s not just about the right amount of carbs, fat, or protein. A proper balance of the nutrients contained in those carbs, fats, and proteins can play a role in whether you’ll happily lose weight and keep it off or if it’s just another diet you have to endure to wear a smaller size. A client of mine said it best when she told me that she “died her way to morbid obesity.” She started at 106 pounds and after years of dieting peaked at 255 pounds.

3. Use a balanced approach to lose and maintain your weight. Yes, it is important to watch what you eat. Yes, it is essential to exercise in order not to lose lean mass (muscle, bone, organ tissue). It is also important to examine your stress levels and where that stress is coming from. We all must eat. We all have to move. We must even have some stress. But what kind of diet, exercise and stress and how much of each we should have is important. A good balance of each individually and in balance with each other is of great importance in reaching and maintaining our weight goals.

4. Modify your lifestyle. “Lose 20 pounds in 10 days!” “Look great in your bikini in just 30 days!” We are led to believe that weight loss is a quick fix and anyone can do it. I went to college with a beauty queen who told us I could lose 5 pounds in a couple of days when I had to make an appearance. At that time she impressed me. Now I know that we can all do it. All we have to do is stop drinking water and eating food. The food in our digestive system at any one time and the water in our blood and cells can easily weigh 5 pounds. But isn’t losing weight supposed to eliminate fat?

Well, the scale doesn’t know the difference. Long-term weight loss success comes from understanding that extra pounds don’t add up in a few weeks or even a few months. If we are willing to make weight loss/management a long-term project, we can achieve a lifetime of success. By making small, incremental lifestyle changes and having the right support system in place, we set ourselves up for a happier, healthier journey toward our weight goals.

5. Forget losing weight and work on being healthy. Have you ever met someone who has been on a diet for decades and all they got was sporadic success with long-term failure? Then, when they finally decide to learn to love themselves just the way they are (all? pounds of themselves), and turn their attention to becoming healthier…the weight loss begins! Well, our body doesn’t care how we look, but it does care if we are healthy. Our bodies continually strive for homeostasis (a state of balance).

When our bodies are balanced, we are healthy. When something is out of balance, our organs and cells will work hard to bring it back into balance (no wonder we get tired). When we sabotage (that word again) our bodies by not giving them the nutrients and exercise they require and/or giving them too much stress or the wrong kind of stress, they can become overworked, resulting in loss of energy, weight gain ( or inappropriate loss) and/or illness.

So if you want to look your best and feel energized, you may want to shift your thoughts from losing weight to improving your health. Just changing your thought patterns from losing to winning can put you in a more positive state of mind and could be the first step on your personal journey towards your goals.