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5 April 2009
The Most Effective Secret To Losing Weight -
Planning Ahead!
Cliff Baker
Remember the old poster that had the saying "Plan Ahead" on it. It started off looking great, but the word "ahead,"
got squashed when room ran out.
Did you ever feel as if as if your weight loss plans were like that sign? Yes, we know your intentions are good. But
we also know that "life happens."
You mean to go to the gym and exercise. You intend to wake up early and walk. You really did want to call about that
yoga class. But, each time something or someone interrupted you. Or you completely forgot about it as you went about
your work day.
Do you know the difference between a successful diet and a failed diet? Planning! You groan. I know. But it's true!
Studies have even confirmed this. So here are a few quick and easy tips to help you plan (yes, that dreaded four-letter
word) the success of your weight-loss program.
Plan Your Meals
This doesn't mean that you have to know exactly every single ingredient you're planning to use for your dinner tonight.
But, you should know before you get home after work what you are going to eat. And once you get good at this "planning"
thing, you may even have the food waiting for you -- completely cooked -- in a crock pot.
This isn't as difficult as you might think. Before your regular trip to the supermarket, check out the food you have in
your house. Pay especially close attention to the healthy food that is allowed on your particular plan.
Now, sit down to see how you can create at least one week's worth of meals out of these -- with a few added ingredients
from the grocery store. When you begin this routine, don't try to be so rigid that you plan a month in advance. Even
knowing the night before what you'll come home to the following day and how you'll prepare it is absolutely essential to
sticking with a healthy eating plan.
And don't think this "planning" has to be done formally. It could be as simple as taking chicken breasts out of the
freezer the day before, so you can cook them the following day. If you do this, you don't come home at the end of a
long day wondering what to eat. And while you're searching through the refrigerator or pantry, you nibble on a few
chips and then some cheese puffs and maybe some . . .
Well, you get the picture!
Once you become really good at this planning "thing," you may even find yourself cooking ahead and freezing healthy meals
for those days you just know you won't have time to cook.
You need to take this same approach to your exercise routine as well. Exercise needs to be as regular an "appointment" in
your day planner as your weekly meeting with your supervisor. Nothing -- but nothing -- should interrupt it.
If that means setting your alarm 45 minutes earlier to accommodate this need, then do it. If you need the help and moral
support of an "exercise buddy" to hold you accountable, then find one. Just make sure that your buddy is as motivated and
serious as you are.
Another great method for adhering to an exercise plan involves knowing exactly what exercise you're going to perform. It's
useless to rise an hour earlier if you're not sure if you're walking around the block this morning or going to the gym.
When you plan your exercises, think about them in concrete terms. Don't just think, I'm going to exercise three times this
week. Plan (there's that word again!) exactly what days you'll exercise. If it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday, write it down
on the calendar or in your planner. Now view this commitment in the same sacred terms you would a parent-teacher conference,
or an appointment with your doctor.
Then write the exact time you intend to exercise. But wait you're not done. Now be sure to know exactly what you're going to
do with your exercise time. If you're walking around the block, then write that down as well. If you plan to go to the gym,
have the whole scene played out in your head prior to going.
Are you going to need to take water? Set it out ahead of time? A change of clothes? Towel? Don't leave anything to chance.
All it takes is one small item out of balance for that stubborn human nature to kick in to spoil all your plans. Don't let it.
Losing weight means too much to you.
Once you know that planning ahead is the key to a successful weight-loss program, you've got the battle just about won! When
you make your goals important -- and what's more important than good health! -- and you lay them out in black and white and
commit to them, it's hard not to stick with them!
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