So now we know that setting goals can definitely make losing weight and keeping it off much easier than it is when we don’t have goals in place. After all, it’s much easier to get to your weight loss goals if you have a path to take to get there. But it doesn’t stop with just setting goals; once you have those goals in place to help you lose weight, you need to be able to stay focused on them so you stay on track; and I’m going to share some simple tips to help you do just that.

Set realistic goals: This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned this, but it’s important to set realistic goals for yourself. It’s hard to be motivated to stay focused on your goals when you don’t reach them, and if you set unrealistic goals for yourself, then you run the risk of this happening.

Journal: Keep a diet and exercise journal of your daily activities and food intake. By doing this daily, you’ll have a picture of your progress on a regular basis so you’re always aware of how you’re doing and where changes need to be made so you can achieve your weight loss goals.

Accountability partner: An accountability partner does what the title implies—they hold you accountable. An accountability partner may be a friend, a workout buddy, or a weight loss coach. I discuss this in more detail in my article “Accountability & Weight Loss Coaching”.

Reward yourself & be gentle: Another great way to stay focused on your goals is to reward yourself when you meet your goals, and be gentle on yourself when you don’t. Some of my favorite rewards are to get a pedicure or a message.

Move at your pace: And finally, your weight loss program is designed for you and no one else. So do what is best for you and don’t compare yourself to others. Move at your own pace. If you find you’re meeting all of your weight loss goals, then you may want to make them a bit more challenging. On the flipside, if you’re never meeting your goals, then you may want to reevaluate and make them a bit easier to achieve. But regardless, it’s your race and no one else’s, so do what’s best for you.

By following these tips, you’ll find it easy to stay focused on your weight loss goals to lose weight as quickly and painlessly as possible. After all, life’s about having fun!

You are not alone if it has!  It is normal to get off track sometimes but the most important thing to remember during your natural weight loss journey is to be easy on yourself.  Life is supposed to be fun. With both my girls are back to school, Jessica is a Senior in High School and Linda (yes I named her after myself, why not, right?) started 1^st grade, I am ready to take a look at my goals and adjust them accordingly.  Goal setting is essential to achieve anything we want in this life, and it’s especially important when attempting to lose weight! So this week, all of my blog posts  and articles will provide you tips on setting goals, achieving goals, staying focused to achieve goals, accountability for goal achievement and more. 

Setting goals: Setting goals can seem like a daunting task, but there are some simple tips to keep in mind when setting goals for natural weight loss, like determine your final ‘goal’, be flexible, be realistic and develop a road-map to get from point A (your starting point) to point C (your final ideal weight).  I discuss these points in more detail in “Goal Setting Tips for Natural Weight Loss”.

Staying focused: Focusing on goals is a must in order to achieve them. By taking simple steps, like using a diet and exercise journal, can help you stay focused to achieve your goals, and in turn, your ideal life and weight! My next blog will cover this topic.

Baby steps to take to achieve goals: Losing weight isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon, and it’s important to keep this in mind so you focus on goals that take you day-by-day to meeting your overall weight loss goals. I’ll discuss this more in my blogs later this week.

Accountability: When you’re accountable to someone else, and not just yourself, it can make meeting your weight loss goals all that much easier. A weight loss coach is a great resource for accountability, and I discuss the value of a weight loss coach in goal setting in more detail in my article “Accountability and Weight Loss Coaching”.

All of the above are helpful and in most cases, essential, to you successfully achieving your weight loss goals in addition to the life you want to live. And the great news is, once you get started on goal setting and make it a part of your regular routine, it simply becomes part of your daily life, especially after you see for yourself the true benefits in taking goal setting seriously to help you lose weight naturally!

Natural Weight Loss can be a fun adventure (and it should be), but we’re all human, so it can also seem stressful at times, especially when you add in the crazy life that most of us lead these days. As discussed in previous blogs this week, it’s important to be aware of stress and identify stress triggers to help avoid and eliminate stress from your life. Today, I’m going to focus on some early signs of stress so you can be aware of times when stress has crept in and impacted your life and body so you can reverse its effects. By reversing its effects, you will have an easier time losing weight in addition to keeping it off.

Early signs of stress include:

The need or urge to eat or overeat: Studies have shown that stress is linked to overeating and obesity, as I’ve mentioned previously, so it’s definitely important to be aware of the times when you feel the need to eat when you shouldn’t. For example, right after a meal, or when you’re not truly hungry.

Physical pain in the body: Stress often manifests itself in the body through pain, such as headaches and shoulder and back pain. Many of us ‘where the weight of the world on our shoulders’ which basically means we carry our stress around in that area of our body. Be mindful of this so you can focus on relaxing and breathing to ensure you maintain a balance throughout your day to avoid manifesting headaches and body pain. Who needs that, especially when you’re focused on losing weight!?!

Depression and mood swings: Stress can often lead to bouts of anger and depression, or mood swings, so if you find that you’re having a hard time emotionally, be gentle on yourself and take a step back to see if the emotions are linked to a buildup of stress in your life. Often, stress can make things that would normally be small matters seem a lot larger or worse than they really are.

These are just a few early signs that may indicate stress is impacting your body and life. Be mindful and do what you can to avoid symptoms manifesting in your body, but if they have, then do what you can to eliminate it. This will make your path to natural weight loss a much more enjoyable one!

We’re all human, so stress is inevitably going to come up for us, but what’s important is that we know how to alleviate it once it’s there, especially when we’re trying to lose weight naturally. This week, I’ve focused on different aspects of stress, from recognizing it, to avoiding it, to identifying triggers. Today, I’m going to focus on how to snap out of it once it’s hit you so you can get back on track with your weight loss goals.

First, recognize and be aware of the signs of stress in the body and what triggers stress for you. Are you overwhelmed at work? Do you feel pain in your body? Is your immune system taking a hit? These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself to help you identify and eliminate stress from your life.

Next, have some techniques handy to help you eliminate stress once it’s there. Some great techniques include:

• Breathing exercises
• Visualization
• Shifting your mindset

Breathing exercises. Breathing exercises are great because you can do them anywhere at any time. Take a few minutes whenever you need it and pay attention to your breathing. One technique is to take slow breaths in and out and count to 10. You’ll be amazed at the relief you’ll feel.

Visualization. Visualization is a great way to relax your body. One suggestion is to sit for a few minutes and focus on your breathing. Then, close your eyes and pay attention to any tension in your body. Next, visualize a relaxing scene for you, whether it be a beach, your favorite spot, or whatever. What’s important is that it feels good and relaxing to you. Do this for 5 to 10 minutes if possible, but even for a couple minutes at a time can be helpful.

Shifting your mindset. When you’re in a bad mood or thinking negatively (which typically means stress is around), then try slowly shifting your mindset by thinking about something that feels better to you. Within a few moments, you’ll notice your mood start to shift and the stress will be released. Positive affirmations, for example, can help you achieve this mindset shift.

These techniques can be very helpful to snap out of a stressful moment or situation. And by eliminating stress, you will be helping to shift your focus to a more positive weight loss attitude and adventure.

Losing weight naturally can seem stressful in and of itself, so it’s very important to be mindful of how you’re responding to stress, and more importantly, you want to do what you can to avoid and eliminate it from your life to help achieve your weight loss goals. In addition, stress can be a primary factor in why people have a hard time losing weight, so this is another reason why it’s very important to be mindful of stress and how it impacts us on a daily basis. This is why my blogs and articles this week are going to focus on stress and natural weight loss to ensure your can identify stress triggers, put tools in place to help you avoid stress, and tips to snap out of stress if you find that you’ve crossed that line into a stressful environment and/or life.

There are three key areas that I will focus on as it relates to stress and natural weight loss this week.

Recognize stress triggers. First, it’s important to be aware of what triggers stress for you. Often, the list is similar for many individuals. For example, being overwhelmed at work, putting too much pressure on yourself to be ‘super-human’ and accomplish too much, fighting or arguing constantly with coworkers and family members, and financial challenges can all be triggers for stress in an individual’s life.

Put steps in place to avoid stress. Once you’ve identified what triggers stress for you, you can start putting steps in place to avoid it. For example, if you find you’re often stretched for time, you can start putting good time management skills and programs into place to help eliminate time issues and thus, eliminate stress related to time management, which means more time to focus and put positive energy towards your weight loss goals. 

Develop tools to snap out of it once you’re in a stressful situation. We’re all human, so it’s not uncommon to find ourselves in stressful situations. What’s important is that we are aware and identify this quickly and do what we can to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. There are some techniques, such as breathing exercises and visualization techniques that can help you calm down and get out of the stressful situation or moment quickly. I will discuss this in Blog 2 this week, “Natural Weight Loss & Snapping out of Stressful Situations Quickly”.

Being mindful and aware of stress and what triggers it for you is important to stay grounded and focused on your weight loss goals. Not to mention, it will make the process more enjoyable for you, so check back later this week for more info!