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I don’t know if you are like me, but I ALWAYS make resolutions to start the New Year. On top of the list are weight loss goals for the New Year.
You know what I mean? Losing those pounds that seem to creep on over the holidays.
I am not alone. It's estimated that approximately 55 percent of New Year's Resolutions are health-related.
Health-Related Resolutions
Go to sleep a little earlier
Manage stress by reading more, enjoying museums and the arts more
Be more patient, kinder, gentler, and more considerate of others whether I know them or not
Spend more quality time with my husband
Eat a healthy diet, cook more at home and eat less fast food
Start a regular exercise routine to maintain and improve health
Organizational Goals
Organize closets and cabinets
Donate what I don’t use and don’t need
Spend 15 minutes picking up and putting away before I go to bed so I wake with a neat and tidy house
And on and on I go. There are so many things that I have good intentions to do, but like everyone, life often gets in the way.
Sticking to Weight Loss Goals
The New York Post reports that only 8% of people who make resolutions keep them. In addition, those that start out with the best intentions lose their motivation by about the second week of January.1
Too little time, too many new activities lead to too few resolutions getting ticked off my list. One way I have found to be more successful is to have a plan.
Writing down your plan to accomplish your resolution or your goal is key to success. Take a peek at my post on Weight Loss Tips to Lose Weight and Keep it Off for setting goals and making a plan to accomplish your goals and resolutions.
Whether your resolutions are to get more organized and declutter your home or improve your health, the above post will get you started.
Weight Loss in the New Year
So the focus of today's post is about starting or if you have already had them in place, continuing your weight-loss resolutions.
The holidays make it a challenge for most people to stay on their weight loss and fitness routines. There are too many parties, too many treats at the office, and too many temptations for most people to stay on a strict eating plan.
Pressure from friends and family is also difficult to manage. They just don’t understand that one small piece of your favorite French Silk Pie that your mom always makes you will derail your weight loss for several days.
And for me, once I taste the sugar, I am more likely to taste other high carb dishes and before I know it I am off my diet.
But:
Once the holidays are over and life settles back into a routine, and you step on the scale, you are probably ready to start back on your diet and your exercise routine.
10 Tips for Weight Loss
Commitment and a Plan
Clear Out the Carbohydrates
Pick a Weight Loss Diet
Make a Meal Plan
Collect Recipes to Keep Things Interesting
Buy Meal Plan Food to Have On Hand
Start Fresh On the Weekend
Stay Motivated
Forgive Occasional Slip-Ups
Get Moving
Weight Loss Commitment and a Plan
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to make a plan for how you are going to accomplish your weight-loss New Years' resolutions.
Having a plan written down will help you make this new year's weight loss resolution more of a lifestyle change rather than just a goal.
Because making this change is a good thing. Something you will want to continue.
There is something about writing down the plan, detailing how you will go about losing weight. What you will do and what you won't do is essential.
Think about how much weight you want to lose, when you will start, the steps you will take to lose the weight, plan how you will prepare for temptations, detail what, when, and how for exercise. Basically, write it all down.
For tips on setting up your plan for success, read my post, Weight Loss Tips to Lose Weight and Keep it Off,
Clear Out the Carbohydrates
Starting or restarting any diet requires a mental commitment to change your eating habits and follow the restrictions of the diet. Most diets will require giving up all carbohydrates for low-carb diets or at least simple carbohydrates. One of the hardest carbohydrates to give up is sugar. These compromises are required to a diet and lose weight.
So clear your cupboards of sugar and other high carbohydrate foods. Now is the time to remove chips, crackers, cookies, candy, sugar, all-purpose flour, pasta, bread, and any other high carbohydrate foods that have snuck into your fridge, freezer, and cupboards.
This purging is a great way to get the momentum started.
Pick a Weight Loss Diet to Follow
Getting Started on Keto Diet
A popular diet is the keto diet. This diet is one that promises quick weight loss. The core of the diet is to avoid almost all carbohydrates. Non-sugary carbohydrates are limited to 20 to 25 grams per day. That is not a lot.
The balance to limiting carbohydrates is including fat in meals. Fats are suggested to account for 70-75% of daily calories.
Protein intake is moderate.
This mix of food sets the body up to start using stored fat in the body as fuel.
To learn more about the Keto Diet, read my post, Keto Diet Essentials.
Make a Weight Loss Meal Plan
Just like a plan to reach any goal, a weekly meal plan will go a long way to helping you be successful on your diet.
Knowing what you are going to eat and having all the ingredients available to make your recipes is so important especially in those first few weeks of the diet.
After the first few weeks of the diet, you will probably be satisfied with less food and will have fewer cravings.
Keto Diet Meal Plan
Want to start the keto diet, but need a meal plan. Sign up for my Tips and Strategy Newsletter and I will send you PDF links to a Free 7-day meal plan and grocery list to help you get started so you get a feel for the keto diet.
Take on a Healthy Lifestyle for Weight Loss, the Mediterranean Diet
Another popular diet is the Mediterranean Diet. Known for its health benefits for many chronic health conditions. These benefits are linked to the foods eaten on the Mediterranean Diet. Foods like, fish and seafood, whole grains, beans and legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and even the spices that are used to flavor recipes.
Learn more about the Mediterranean Diet in my post, Mediterranean Diet Basics.
Collect Recipes to Keep Things Interesting
When you put together your first meal plan you will probably create pretty basic and straightforward meals. After a while, you may be looking for variety in your meals or maybe you are missing some of your favorite recipes.
There are ways to recreate these recipes and make them fit into the guidelines of your diet. Knowing how to make the conversion may be a challenge. Especially if you are substituting almond or coconut flours for all-purpose flour. Consider having meal plans and recipes delivered right to your phone. See below.
Food to Eat on the Diet
Keto Diet Foods
Just like there are foods you need to purge, there are foods you need to have available for your diet. Your daily food on the keto diet is defined as 20% protein, 75% fats, and is restricted to 5% carbohydrates.
Proteins such as chicken, seafood, beef, and pork. Cuts of meat should be fatty to help you meet your daily fat requirements. Protein on the keto diet is allowed in moderate amounts but should be weighed and monitored because eating too much protein at one sitting can potentially knock you out of ketosis. Too much protein can convert into glucose by the body. So plan about 4 ounces of protein at each meal.
Fats are the icing on the keto cake. Most low-calorie diets restrict fats and you are constantly trying to figure out ways to limit fat intake. The keto diet, allows you to add fat back into your diet.
Make sure you have olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, avocado oil, nuts such as almond, and pecans. Other allowed fats include kefir, seeds, and moderate amounts of whipping cream. Adding these fats back into your recipes will make them flavorful and satisfying. Check out 8 Must-Have Fats for the Keto Diet.
Carbohydrates are limited. You will see the grams of carbohydrates often listed as 20 grams per day. This is based on a 2000 calorie per day diet. See my post Intermittent Fasting and Other Weight Loss Tips to see how to calculate your macronutrients for the keto diet.
For more on the best foods to eat on the Keto Diet, check out my post, Best Keto Diet foods.
Mediterranean Diet Foods
The Mediterranean Diet is much less restrictive than the Keto Diet. Really no food is totally forbidden, yet there are general guidelines to follow. The diet focuses on fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood, beans and legumes, whole grains, extra virgin olive oil, and nuts.
It's probably a good idea at least when you first start the diet that you keep a rough idea of your daily calories if your goal is to lose weight. After you become accustomed to the foods on the diet you will become more comfortable with what you can eat and still lose weight.
For more on the foods to eat on the Mediterranean Diet, check out my post on the food list Mediterranean Diet Food List.
Start Fresh on a Weekend to Ease Into the Diet
Starting a diet on the weekend gives your body time to become accustomed to new foods. To manage cravings and also the symptoms you may experience when you change the food you are eating takes a little planning.
I like to start on a Friday or Saturday so that when I return to work on Monday I am strong and humming along on the diet.
Something you need to watch for the on the Keto Diet is the Keto-Flu. It typically hits on early in the first week although for some people it may occur in the second week. Many people on the Keto Diet experience flu-like symptoms that last a couple of days up to a week.
There are a few things you can do to prepare and manage those symptoms. Check out my post on Ketosis.
Stay Motivated
Staying motivated is key to any diet.
your weight on the scale is always important. Rather than weighing in every day, I recommend picking one day a week to be weigh-in day. Only weigh on that day and it should limit daily fluid fluctuations that we all experience.
Take baseline measurements with a cloth measuring tape. Check these body measurements on weigh-in day. There may be weeks where there is little or no movement on the scale, but you will see a decrease in body measurements. Progress monitoring is important.
Remember to take a selfie. Before you start and each week. This will allow you to see changes in your body as you lose weight.
Forgive Occasional Slip-Ups
Let's face it, we all want to be in total control of our lives. And, we are most of the time. But there are going to be situations where you are not going to be perfect and in total control of your diet. You will slip up and not follow your diet perfectly. For whatever reason.
Yes, it's disappointing and frustrating, but the important thing is to forgive yourself and move on.
When you don't is when you risk reverting back to previous eating habits and regaining all the weight you have lost. This, my friend, is when you aren't in control.
So forgive and move on. The important thing is to keep working your plan. Remember the one that you wrote out before this weight loss journey began.
Lastly, Get Moving
It’s a good idea to add light exercise such as walking to keep your metabolism humming. For many people this doesn’t mean joining a gym, it means a brisk walk for 15 minutes at lunch, or before or after work.
A daily walk provides many benefits besides metabolism. Read about those benefits on my post Why Run When You Can Walk.
So these are my steps for restarting or even starting a weight loss diet for the first time. Use these tips when keeping your weight loss New Years' resolutions.
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Medical Disclaimer
This site contains general information about diet, health, fitness, and nutrition. This information should not be used to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition. Please consult with your physician before using any dietary supplement or before beginning a diet or exercise program.
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