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January is here and this Lose Baby Weight team can mean only one thing – New Year’s resolutions. Many of us will have one New Year’s resolution in particular – to lose weight, get slimmer and drop a dress size or two. But how do you plan to stick to your New Year’s resolution? To help you out and to keep you motivated, the have come up with the pledges that we are going to make in 2013 to help us lose weight and become healthier. Why don’t you try them too?

I Will Enjoy Treats

This might sound like a strange pledge to make when you’re trying to lose weight. But one of the most important things in sticking to a healthy eating regime is to be able to enjoy it and to be able to apply it to real life. If you don’t enjoy any treats and you cut them all out of your diet, it can make you miserable – and it can make you less likely to stick to your healthy eating plan. Include treats in your diet, enjoy them, learn how to eat them in moderation and you’ll be much more likely to eat healthily well into the future.

I Will Enjoy Food

Dieting is difficult, and if you are new to healthy eating, it can be bewildering as to what you can eat and what you cannot eat. It can be incredibly confusing and many people tend to stick to a few “safe” foods, such as plain chicken or fish, vegetables and boiled rice or potatoes. Because of this, dieting can actually make people fall out of love with food – and this is totally the wrong thing to do. You need to enjoy food – it is something that is designed to nourish us, but it’s also something that is supposed to be enjoyable and that should bring us together. Diet food can be boring, but it’s your responsibility to jazz it up and make it fun and interesting – add spice or herbs to your cooking, or snack on high flavour low calorie foods such as smoked ham or olives.

I Will Change One Thing at a Time

So you want to lose weight. How are you going to do it? Overhaul your diet and exercise regime, right? Yes – that is how to lose weight. But if you try to overhaul your diet and exercise regime all at the same time, you can be overwhelmed with the new choices that you have to make – which can make your new lifestyle all the more difficult to stick to. Change one thing at a time and get used to the change before trying to implement another one.

I Will Walk for At Least Half an Hour Every Day

Walking is one of the best exercises that you can do and it’s excellent for people who are completely new to exercise. Pound the pavements for at least half an hour every day and you can boost your weight loss and burn off plenty of calories. You’ll also tone your legs and bottom, and you’ll feel healthier and happier!

I Will Respect My Body

It’s perfectly normal to make a mistake when you’re on a healthy eating regime – you might overindulge or you might skip an exercise session. This can make you feel guilty, which can cause you to punish yourself, either through exercise, eating less or just by beating yourself up all day about your mistake. Instead of punishing yourself, respect your body and remember that making a mistake is all part of the process – you’re only human, after all.

I Will Drink Plenty of Water

To lose weight, you need to stay hydrated – and you need to learn to recognise the difference between hunger and thirst. Often, we can misread thirst signals as hunger signals and will eat instead of getting a glass of water, so start drinking water instead of going straight to the fridge. With time, you’ll learn whether you are thirsty or hungry, and the extra hydration will make you feel more alert – it will also help you to exercise, too.

I Will Focus on Nourishment, Not Fast Results

When we decide to lose weight, often, we want it all – and we want it all now. This can result in us taking drastic steps to lose weight, such as eating too few calories or signing up to a punishing exercise regime. Instead of focussing on fast results, focus on nourishment – giving your body the vitamins and nutrients that it needs to run and function. You need to restrict your calorie intake, but you also need to eat enough so that you can function properly.

I Will Weigh Myself Once a Week

We often hear that people weigh themselves every day. Often, we hear comments like, “I’ve put weight on!” or “I haven’t lost any weight today”. One of the main pledges that we want to enforce is that you should weigh yourself once a week and once a week only. Weighing yourself every day will cause you to fixate on the number on the scale, rather than your diet and how it is making you feel. Your weight also fluctuates by up to a kilo a day, so weighing yourself daily will not give you an accurate idea of your weight loss.

I Will Not Take the Number on the Scale to Heart

Sometimes, the number on the scale may go up by a few pounds one week, instead of down, even though you tried your hardest. When this happens, it can make it really difficult to focus on the week ahead and it can make you feel very despondent. Don’t take that number to heart – instead, take your inches instead and take them every two months. Even if the number on the scale is staying the same, your inches will have gone down – which will help to put everything in perspective.

I Will Love Myself

Instead of focussing on the exact number on the scale, you should focus on how losing weight makes you feel. Focus on the emotions, rather than the exact numbers, and learn to appreciate yourself at whatever size. The more confident you feel of your own abilities and the more confident you are in yourself, the happier you’ll feel.

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  • What a great list of affirmations. These would be a fantastic help to a lot of people

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  • I love that they are all I will instead of I won’t.

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  • Great article i think it is important to not be too strict and enjoy life – we all have slip ups as long as you get back on track thats all that matters.

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  • great article, and easy to stick to these pledges, before you know it healthier and fitter you would feel. thanks for sharing

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  • My body and I have a terrible relationship. I am always up and down with how I feel about my eating habits and being positive about myself. Reading this made me feel inspired to be happy about what I do with my body. thanks so much!

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  • I need to drink more water. I’m trying to work on it as we speak.

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  • Great steps to go by. I lost 60kg in 2011… I was extremely obese and got down to a awesome 70kg. I then had 2 little girls after being told and trying for over 8 years I would never conceive. Love yourself and have fun in your life :-)

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  • Great advice!! I have just started eating healthier and trying to lose weight. I have decided not to go with a diet but however look at as a lifestyle change and choose nourishing natural food that doesn’t come in packaging. Your right about the blandness, but I now add all kinds of spices and jazz it up in different ways and I’m really enjoying it. Who knew that healthy food can taste good! I have started walking a few times a week, not everyday yet as you suggest but I’ll get there! And I need to learn not to get disheartened by that number and learn to love myself, it’s hard but I will get there.

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  • Like one of the other MoMs I’m more for going by the fit of my clothes too. The number on the the scale would be too disheartening at this stage, but my clothes are a little looser!

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  • Great ways to start a healthy lifestyle.

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  • Just loved pledge number one

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  • I love occasional treats!

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  • I think I need to work most on the i love myself, that i struggle with

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  • If I feel like something I will have it, just in moderation.

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  • I don’t weigh myself, I go by the fit of my clothes.

    Reply

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