When you’re trying to lose weight or maintain a hard-fought weight loss, willpower alone often isn’t enough to keep you on track. And even if you think you’re maintaining your goal weight, it’s all too easy for a few pounds to creep back on your frame. A study published online in the Journal of Women’s Health found that a significant number of women were unable to recognize small weight gains — between 4.5 and 8.8 pounds — over a period of six months, and those little gains can add up!
Here are some little tricks and tools that can help you maintain accountability to the one person who really matters — you!
Make Friends With Your Scale
You might have a love-hate relationship with your bathroom scale, I actually stopped using it…normal daily fluctuations can be maddening when all you want to see is 1 fewer pound. But it can still be a very useful tool if used losely. 75 percent of the 10,000 successful dieters enrolled in the registry weigh themselves weekly, and 38 percent do so every day giving the scale a resounding endorsement for weight-loss maintenance. I recommend using the next tip 😀
Use a Tape Measure to Stay on Track
A very exacting way to measure success is with a cloth tape measure. By measuring your waistline, hips, bust, and even thighs and calves, you can record tangible progress toward your goal with the kind of detail that a scale can’t give you. Because muscle takes up less volume than fat, you’ll see inches drop, even when there might not be a corresponding change on the scale. It’s very empowering and encouraging! Unlike the scale, this can tell you better of how youre changing because you can actually gain weight when youre building and toning ..even though youre losing the fat!
Use a Food Diary
I am a HUGE fan of tracking when it comes to food because I think it is an excellent tool and is easier than people think! You can list the foods or calories you’re eating, or simply mark an “X” on the calendar for every day you met your daily goal to, say, eat healthier snacks or avoid nighttime eating. One accountability trick I recommend is to write down what you plan to eat before you eat it, not after. The power in this is that it really increases your awareness and makes you think twice about a food before you eat it. There are also apps that help you do this! See later in the post 😀
Save Your Skinny Jeans
Some people keep a pair of “fat pants” as a tip-off to weight loss that starts to creep back, but this technique is NOT effective for most. You might be better off keeping a different pair the ones you know you always want to fit into! Some people like to keep a pair of pants that is not far from their goal around so they know when they reach it. As for having a pair of fat pants, get rid of anything like that once you reach your goal so you know that there’s no going back. It will help you say a definitive goodbye. Have a funeral and burn those babies! lol
Go Steady With Your Diet BFF
Having a “we’re in this together” buddy not only reinforces accountability, but also provides positive weight-loss and weight-maintenance motivation. You can call your buddy if you find yourself wavering, and you won’t be inclined to hit the snooze button and skip your morning walk if your friend is depending on you, too. You can even get a little competition going, and have one buddy give a reward to the other if they stay on track just be sure it isn’t a hot fudge covered banana split!
Keep the Big Picture in Mind
Setting a specific goal can be a very effective weight-loss strategy. One of the most common reasons people want to lose weight is because they are working towards a very specific goal, like their child is getting married, or they’ve got a reunion coming up, or they’ve gotten divorced and they want to start dating again. However, be careful not to focus so much on a single milestone that your plan falls apart afterwards. Its great to have something that kickstarts your want to move but you need a longer term plan to keep it up! For instance, if you hit your goal for a cruise and then pig out for the whole cruise and weeks after (this is so easy to do) then all of your work is undone and the good habits have been replaced with the bad again! Set the short term goal..with a secondary goal as well.
Chart Your Fitness Feats
Experts agree that physical activity is key to maintaining weight loss, and one of the best ways to stay on track is to keep a fitness log. It can be as simple as marking an “X” on a calendar on days you exercise… it’s motivating to see a chain of Xs that you won’t want to break. Or opt for a more sophisticated record of accountability, noting each time you do strength training and aerobics. At the end of the week, tally it up! You will be very encouraged to find you did more exercise than you thought! Or annoyed and want to try harder next time…but don’t beat yourslef up if you fall off the wagon. I do it too! Just remember that today’s a new day to start again! 😀
There’s an App for That
Ever wish you had a drill sergeant who could put you through your exercise paces? You might not be able to afford a personal trainer who pushes you to complete reps, stick to your weight loss diet, and set new goals, but you can have a virtual one, courtesy of one of the hundreds fitness apps available. I recommend app like MyFitness Pal, Lose It!, and SparkPeople, to name just three. They even have food tracking made simple because a few of them have brands in there food lists!
Push Yourself With a Pedometer
Walking is one of the easiest exercises around, and with the right motivation you can add to your daily tally. An inexpensive pedometer is a great accountability aid that can prompt you to forge further ahead to reach fitness goals. Strive to get to 10,000 steps a day, which is about five miles. That may seem like a lot, but if you have a pedometer and you see that you’re at 8,000 steps, you’ll be more inclined to put on your sneakers and head out after dinner for one more walk. THIS TOTALLY WORKS!
Create Your Own Rewards Program
Losing weight or maintaining ideal weight is a journey..I recommend that you set up little reward program along the way to keep you on the right path. Maybe it’s a size goal, a weight goal, or an inches goal …the trick is to reward yourself along the way! It’s just another way of staying accountable. When I used to bartend, I found myself drinking ALOT of calories away. But when I decided to stop I replaced it with a treat! I signed up for cake decorating class (something I always loved), went to sushi with my husband, and got my nails done! Remember that inside we are all still kids.. if you give yourself that incentive.. it always makes it easier to behave. LOL
Don’t forget to enjoy the process… this is your life, make the most of it …everyday! 😀
