7 Tips for Weight Loss Success

When you’re a newbie dieter, as we all are at one point (or many points), you might think weight loss is strictly about calories in vs calories out. While that is weight loss in a nutshell, there’s so much more to it! Now that I a weight loss veteran, having lost 60 pounds myself, I feel qualified to pass on my weight loss tips!

Figuring out how to consistently live in a caloric deficit is an epic struggle. Luckily for you, I’ve already gone to battle and lived to diet another day. Let me share what I’ve learned from the time I served at war…against food. Going from eating everything you want to feeling like you’re depriving yourself all too often is rough, and I’m here to help you get off on the right foot.

https://youtu.be/N2BXFPW9K-s

7 WEIGHT LOSS Tips

Tip #1: Eat more

It doesn’t make any sense to eat 1200 calories a day. How this came to be the standard goal number for weight loss, I’ll never know! Sure, at 1200 calories you’d lose weight even if you didn’t move a muscle all day long. BUT…it’s such a ridiculously small amount of calories it’s impossible to stick to! Adherence and consistency are key when it comes to dieting, and 1200 calories makes both extremely difficult.

This “magic” number is why I refused to count calories in the first place. I would die a little inside with every glance at that tiny number. I love myself, and food, too much to eat that dismal amount of calories. That’s why I always attempted to lose weight with Weight Watchers, to not have to see that number. However, when I stalled out on WW, I knew it was time to change things up to keep going.

I felt counting calories was the one diet avenue I had never fully ventured down. At first I tried to eat 1400 calories for months and didn’t lose a pound. I was aiming too low, and was failing to be consistent. I was driven off the deep end by hunger into a binge-eating free-for-all…repeatedly. Then my friends convinced me to raise my calories to a higher number. At least, what seemed high compared to what we’re led to believe is necessary to achieve weight loss.

**I am currently, happily eating 1800-2000 calories a day and continuing to lose weight.**

However, I will admit, I am very active. I lift weights 5x/week, run 3x/week, do a short ab workout 6x/week, and walk 30+ minutes/day all on top of my usual daily mom duties. It’s a lot, but I enjoy being active and look forward to my workouts. I am eating 1800-2000 calories per day with that amount of activity, and I’m losing around 0.75-1 pound/week. If the trend continues, I’ll be a whopping 20-24 lbs lighter by Christmas.

I upped my calories, and slowly began to stop falling off the wagon. Now I feel completely in control and I keep losing weight. No one believes I have managed to lose more weight by increasing my calories. I have to argue with them to eat more. Please, don’t argue…just eat more.

Your higher, adequate calorie range may be 1600-1800, or maybe 2000-2200. Whatever your range is, if you tried eating at the upper end of it consistently for 30 days, I’d be willing to bet you’d lose weight. Try it, I dare you. Then report back to me your results. I just love being right. This is my number 1 weight loss tip for a reason, if you can lose weight while eating more…why wouldn’t you?

Pro-tips about calorie counting at a higher amount

-There are some great tools available online to help guide you to a calorie target that supports your goals. Start with this lady and this guy (I’d do both of theirs and maybe meet in the middle if there is a difference). Everyone else gives you a ridiculously low number.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links and other affiliate links. If you purchase through my link, I will receive a small percentage of compensation at no additional cost to you.

-Log your food accurately. By “accurate” I don’t mean “obsessive.” Don’t drive yourself mad dragging your food scale to restaurants, or only eating foods you can find nutrition facts for online. I suggest weighing or measuring, and recording your food 95% of the time. The other 5%, make your best guess and live your life. (Noom is really good for estimates when there is no food scale, as they let you measure in “handfuls”)

-Track EVERYTHING, even if it’s a rough estimate. Your best guess is much better than nothing. This way you can figure out a relatively accurate monthly calorie average. With this information, you can adjust your calories to better suit your goals based on your weight loss trend for the month.

-To avoid binging, you must stay ahead of your hunger. Do not let yourself get desperately hungry. This is so much easier when you eat adequate calories! If you don’t know where to get started with healthy snacking, check out my friend’s latest post.

– If you eat a lot of calories AND apply healthy swaps you will be less likely to experience hunger. Healthy swaps can be as simple as a homemade pizza instead of a takeout pizza.

Sidenote: Check out this tool to help you lose weight on your weight loss journey!

TIP #2: Sleep More

This is often overlooked, but is so important! You will feel less hungry when you get more sleep. You will have the energy to whip up healthy meals and snacks when you aren’t tired. Plus, your willpower to eat healthier throughout the day will be stronger if you are well rested. This is probably my easiest weight loss tip to achieve.

And like I always say, “If you’re sleepin’, ya ain’t eatin’.” Trouble with nighttime snacking? Go to bed earlier. But look on the bright side – the sooner you go to bed, the sooner you get to wake-up and start eating again! I have strategically utilized Saturday sleep-ins and Sunday naps to avoid consuming extra calories. Sleep is your friend for multiple reasons, so sleep more!

TIP #3: Stress less

Stress gets the best of all of us. Life alone is overwhelming, so throwing a diet into the mix can feel like mission: impossible. You have to simplify your life to some degree.

One of the ways I have been able to simplify my life is by eating pre-made meals from Splendid Spoon. As an affiliate, I got the chance to try a box at no cost, and I am shocked by how delicious and nutritious it is. It is delivered to your door frozen and completely prepared. Just heat it up and you have a fast, tasty, healthy meal, with no planning or meal-prepping required. It tastes fresh and homemade, and I barely had to lift a finger.

Splendid Spoon has taken thought and effort out of my lunch routine, and provides much needed nutrients to my life. It’s perfect for busy moms who want to eat healthy, but could use a break from packing one more lunch, even if it is their own. I stay home with, and home-school, my kids, and it saves me an amazing amount of time during the day.

Pro-tip to reduce diet stress: Getting rid of weight loss timelines and deadlines also helps cut down on stress. Telling yourself have to lose X pounds by X day will only add unnecessary STRESS and pressure to the already annoying process of weight loss. Please don’t do that to yourself. Take it a week at a time, and celebrate each small loss, habit changed, or healthy swap made.

TIP #4: Change one habit.

Focus on changing 1 habit at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed. As new dieters, we often set ourselves up for failure trying to change every bad, lifelong habit all at once. We get overwhelmed, start to drown, get discouraged, and quit altogether. My advice is to start with one habit and master it. For me, the habit I changed was going from sporadically exercising to consistently exercising. Diet changes happened from there.

Your confidence will build as your new habit becomes the norm, and you can start forming the next habit. This isn’t my concept, it’s science. When I read this book, I realized how powerful changing just one small habit could be.

New dieters tend to attempt to completely overhaul their exercise and nutrition routines simultaneously. Do not get me wrong, exercise is absolutely important for physical and mental health…but is it necessary to change such HUGE bad habits together, at the same time? No, it’s not. Taking consistent, manageable baby steps toward your goals is more productive than taking one giant leap. A leap that ends up backfiring because it’s too hard to keep up with, and you all together quit.

If you want to lose weight, I suggest focusing on your eating habits first. Nutrition plays a far more important role in weight loss than exercise. Start there and, when you have the energy, go for a 30 minute walk. That’s it.

Related Post: How to Lose Weight

TIP #5: Think less

You don’t have to have it all figured out to start. You just have to start. If you are far from where you want to be and you’re waiting until you have a perfect plan all laid out, you’ll be waiting forever. Trust me. Don’t overthink this. Start now: before you’re able to grocery shop, before all the junk food in the house is gone, before Monday, and without knowing what workouts you’re going to do. Just start.

Pro-tip: If you make an unhealthy decision during the day, do not – I repeat, do not – throw the whole day away! Just adjust and be flexible. Giving yourself grace and not giving up will pave the way for consistency.

TIP #6: Get a support system

I wouldn’t be here without my amazing friends and family supporting me along the way. It is so hard to change your life and your habits. Some people can do it alone, but I am not one of those people. In my darkest moments of dieting, whether they knew it or not, someone reached out and lifted me up. These awesome people cheer me on and see things in me I don’t always see in myself.

Without my support system, I would have lost steam and not gotten where I am today. Get one for yourself, whether it’s friends and family, or a workout buddy, or a stranger – who becomes a real friend – on the internet. Having a weight loss friend can make diet success more likely, and a lot more bearable. I have people supporting me in real life and on Mom’s Kids. With all that support, it’s become harder and harder for me to fail.

Finally, Weight loss TIP #7 Take a Break

When dieting becomes particularly soul-sucking, take a step back, but don’t quit. Don’t give up, just take a break. It’s ok to gain a few pounds to have a bit of non-logging freedom. I often take a few untracked days here and there. After my diet break, as I’m dealing with the 5 pounds I gained, I sometimes wonder if it was worth it. But diet breaks are always worth it, because they give me the energy to go forward. Taking a break is always an option, and it is so much better than quitting.

That’s it for weight loss tips!

These are the top weight loss tips I would give to someone just starting their weight loss journey. Losing weight isn’t easy, but anyone can do it – and that includes you! I spent years learning what didn’t work before finding what does. These seven essential weight loss practices of mine will get you well on your way to weight loss success!

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7 Tips for Weight Loss Success