How I lost 25 Pounds in 3 Months and Kept it off without any Gimmicks: Part 2 of 2: Staying on Track

Before

After

This post is the shorter section of my two part series. If you haven’t read part 1: Getting on Track, you can view it here.

We have all been there. You work extremely hard to eat right and exercise and you FINALLY get those pounds off, maybe it was 5 lbs; maybe it was 50 lbs, regardless of the number, you reached your goal! Everyone is so proud of you and you feel GREAT! Then it happens, you let your guard down, you maybe visit the gym 2-3 time/month instead of the 2-3 times/week you were doing. You decide to indulge a little bit… every day. And then suddenly, you realize it: that new wardrobe you just bought yourself… it’s getting a little tight! Millions of people struggle with this cycle of dieting, losing weight, and then putting the weight right back on! So how do you keep it off? Read on to find out…

1.    Tell yourself that this is a lifestyle change

I mentioned this concept a bit in part 1 of this series. The only way you are going to continue staying fit is if you don’t stop doing the things that worked for you. In order to do that, you have to have your mindset on this lifestyle as being a permanent change. All around me, I hear friends who are trying to lose weight saying things like, “3 more weeks of this and then I will be done” or “Only 2 days until my cheat day, man this is miserable.” While the lifestyle may truly feel miserable, those are not the words that should be coming out of your mouth. Even if you feel that way, allowing yourself to say it ingrains that attitude into your brain and helps you start to believe it. This attitude is setting you up for failure! If you tell yourself, “3 more weeks,” you are encouraging your brain that after the end of that time period, you don’t have to keep up the great habits that you have worked so hard to create!

When you feel the urge to complain, instead, remind yourself of how far you have come and keep this idea in your head: This is the new you. Not just your body, EVERYTHING! The eating habits, the sleeping habits, the working out, ALL OF IT is part of the new you and once you reach your goal, it doesn’t need to stop. If you have trouble being positive about your new habits, write these thoughts down, put them on your mirror, car, work computer, anywhere that you will see them. It will remind you to stay positive and help keep you on track.

2.    Stay Accountable

One of the most important parts of your weight-loss journey will be the friend/family member that you choose to share it with. If you don’t already have someone with similar goals in mind, I suggest you find someone. They will help you by sharing their success and it’s sooooooo much easier to work out with a friend! However, we often stop calling that accountability partner once we have both met our goals. There is more than one reason you should not do this:

1. When you start to gain weight (if you have been naughty), you probably won’t want to share that information with your accountability partner, but that’s why you need that person. If you have the dread of telling your friend that you gained 5 pounds last month, this will be enough motivation to get you back into your good habits.
2. If this person wasn’t already your best friend, you have most definitely created one as you shared this journey with each other. Why would you let this relationship that you built go to waste? Value the time that you have spent getting to know each other and supporting one another. You can continue spending time working out, but now, it might also be good for you to simply spend some quality time together. Reward each other with a spa trip, vacation, lunch without the kids; Whatever you can afford!

3.    Celebrate Yourself

As you continue your journey you will start to learn the value of reward systems. We use basic reward systems every day: disciplining our kids, training our dogs, even in our spousal relationships. You will soon learn that you can effectively use reward systems on yourself. Here are some suggestions:
Side Note**If you have terrible self-control, you can also give a friend or family member the power of this job so that you only receive rewards when you actually deserve them!

1. Set up daily rewards! Buy a small bag of treats. These can be candies, chips, ice cream, etc. Determine the amount that you could eat at the end of the day that is worth 50 calories or less. If you have a great day in eating/exercising, reward yourself in the evening. My favorite rewards were these little coffee caramel chews. One was 27 calories, and goodness, when I had a good day, these little rewards were the best part of my day!
2. Have weekly/monthly rewards set in place for the times when you reach your weekly/monthly weight loss goals (1 lbs/week, 5 lbs/month, whatever your goal is). These types of rewards require a little more planning. My biggest suggestion (from part 1) is to give yourself a cheat day. These days of increased calorie consumption can help keep your metabolism high and serve as effective rewards to help keep you on track. In addition to these, you can reward yourself in other ways:
   1. Have your family/friends support you by having surprise rewards ready for you when you meet a small goal (examples: gifts, tokens, flowers, notes of encouragement, or one of my favorites: a custom trophy!)
   2. Have a party for yourself. No, I am not talking about inviting large crowds into your home, cooking and decorating, and expecting people to bring you birthday presents. A party for yourself can truly be anything that you want it to be. If you have a family that is supporting you, maybe you can turn on a favorite song and dance together. This will help your children learn the power of encouraging one another, and for an added bonus, you will burn some extra calories that day!
3. This is it, the big kahuna! You have worked so hard for months on end. You have endured the miserable outings and gatherings in which you turned down the delicious looking treats that were offered to you several times. You exercised your butt off (literally) and you no longer crave that sweet soda like you used to. You met your weight loss goal! You look great, you feel great, and everyone is so impressed with you! This is the exact time that you need to give yourself a huge reward! You earned it! Some suggestions:
   1. A trip with your accountability partner. This can be a weekend deal or maybe a week-long paradise excursion. Whatever you desire and can afford. Bonus: Planning this trip ahead of time will be a great incentive to help you stay on track throughout your journey!
   2. Give yourself a personal day. Maybe you are not in the position to drop $1,000 or more on a trip. That’s okay. Ask a family member to watch the kids for the day, take your spouse/accountability partner (or just yourself if you prefer) and have a day to yourself. Maybe you go to the spa, get that mani/pedi, go hiking, go shopping (you’ll need new clothes anyways), or do absolutely nothing! Just do something that you love and that you will look forward to.
   3. If you really want to feel like you are being rewarded, you could consider this: Ask your supportive friends and family to commit to donating a small amount of cash ($1-5) to you when you reach your goal. Many people value money way more than other things. Keep up with the running total and when you reach that goal, cash in your reward. Now you’ve easily made $50+ and no one had to break the bank for you!

All of this sounds great, right? Great! If there is anything that you get from this post, please remember this: nothing can combat the power of having your friends/family supporting you. I asked my husband to help keep me on track. Even now, after reaching my weight-loss goal, he continues to remind me of my bad decisions. While I might find it annoying at times (because I really wanted that ice cream) I know he is doing for more than one reason:

1. I asked him to.
2. He loves me and wants me to stay happy and healthy. He has seen how proud I am of this goal that I reached and he continuously reminds me that I don’t want to back-track to where I was.

I highly suggest that you ask your friends and family to support you and help keep you accountable. If they are on board (which they will be) ask them to support you in other ways: like the reward systems I mentioned. Finally, don’t forget to tell yourself positive things. This is a permanent life-style change. If you are negative about it, then you will NEVER be able to create a habit out of it.

Keep persevering! You CAN do it! When you have a set-back, it’s OKAY! Remind yourself WHY you wanted to lose the weight and who you are doing it for. These things will help you, I promise!

Do you have a success story that you want to share? Give us your suggestions or tips in the comments below!