How to Lose Weight and Actually Keep it Off

Did you know that 95% of people who go on a diet experience failure and regain their weight lost within 1-5 years? The majority of people eat unhealthily on a regular basis, and on occasion they will try to eat healthful meals. Wouldn’t it be much more logical for us to eat healthy all the time and then treat ourselves once in a while?

Most Americans are not receiving proper vitamins and nutrients due to lack of eating fruits, vegetables, complex carbs, etc. The standard American diet contains way too many simple carbohydrates, refined sugar, sodium, saturated fat, and trans fat (the list goes on). People who are over-weight are over-fed but are still considered to be nutritionally starving.

For the past 6 months, my main goal has been to create for myself a long lasting healthy lifestyle. I use breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between as opportunities to nourish my body with the nutrients it needs to function properly.

The main issue with dieting is that it is temporary. I know so many girls my age will want to go on a 3 day juice cleanse to prepare their “bikini body” but then will continue eating unhealthy afterwards. Diets like Nutrisystem that deliver meals to your door is very convenient, but let’s be honest, you are not going to have every meal pre-packaged and delivered to you for the rest of your life. Liquid/shake diets are also setting you up for failure. Simply put, it is not realistic to be on a shake diet forever. It is impossible for your body to receive all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals from a shake.  You need to be eating a variety/an abundance of healthy foods in order to fuel your body with everything it requires. Weight watchers is another one that is difficult to maintain for the long-term. Although all of these diets may very well help you lose weight in the short term, they are extremely unrealistic to maintain for the long term.

So, do you want to lose weight and actually keep it off for good?  What I am about to tell you is actually quite simple and is definitely no secret. Instead of “dieting” for short periods of time and then going back to your old ways, try making a new lifestyle for yourself.

In the beginning of my health journey, I knew in order to be truly successful I would have to make eating healthy a habit. You know when smokers are trying to quit they always talk about getting over that 3-day-hump? Well, you can apply that same principle to healthy eating. Once you make a habit out of eating healthy, it will become your normal. After you have made it into a lifestyle, of course you can treat yourself once in a while. However, I do have to say, there are plenty of ways to make healthy desserts, and healthier ways to make your favorite comfort foods.

When you actually change your lifestyle, you change the whole course of your life. You set yourself up for success instead of failure. When it comes to healthy eating and working out, most people abuse the phrase “I’ll start tomorrow”. Why start tomorrow when you can start right now! Changing what you eat for a week is not going to help you lose weight and keep it off. Changing what you eat for life will.

Need help getting started? I am now offering health coaching services! Email me at daniellejkeith@gmail.com so I can help you begin your journey to a healthier, happier you!

BEST COOKIE RECIPE EVER (these are guilt-free and healthy) – http://detoxinista.com/2014/07/the-healthiest-cookies-ever-paleo-vegan/