3 Simple Tips to Lose Weight and Maintain
“You really need to stop saying that to people. It isn’t easy or simple. I know what you mean, but they don’t.”
It wasn’t until my husband made the remark above I realized how frequently, when asked about my weight loss maintenance, I used the adjectives easy and simple.
Once he pointed it out to me, however, I immediately saw his point.
You see, to me, weight loss, weight loss maintaining, healthy living was all very simple…to explain.
In my experience discovering my healthy living path, losing weight and keeping it off was all very easy …in theory.
In no way did I mean the execution of these simple concepts was easy (I’d begged, cajoled & bribed myself to do cardio enough times to know that fact well).
When I said those words to people I simply meant the explanation of how I got and remained fit was a simple one.
No crazy exercise routines.
No numbers crunching, calorie counting or eating for my blood-type.
No hours spent preparing special just for me meals or eons spent toiling away in the gym.
How I lost weight and maintained the loss /stayed fit was easy.
It all came down to three simple rules.
1. Don’t over-think it. Any of ‘it’ from the food to the fitness. Listen to your body. Once we slow down and focus on what our bodies are really asking for, healthy eating becomes simple. For me, this resulted in gluten free foods. It may be different for you. Simply listen- your body knows. The same approach applies to fitness. Try new things. See how you feel. Don’t over-think “what’s the best workout” or what will get you to your goals most swiftly. Stop thinking. Try something. Simply listen to how your body responds.
2. Eat as close to nature as possible. I have no rules when it comes to food. My choice to be gluten free is merely an outgrowth of paying attention to how gluten caused my body to feel. I’ve discovered, for me, simple healthy recipes and foods in their natural state help me to feel my best. Intellectually I’m aware of the advantages of eating healthy, but the only thing I strive for is eating as close to nature as possible. It’s simple.
3. Let go and move on. For me everything became simpler and easier when I finally realized I’m never as far from my healthy path as my very.next.choice. It’s simple. Made a food selection you wish you hadn’t? Make a new and different one at your next meal. Skipped your workout yesterday (and the day before and the day before)? It’s simple. Make today the day you recommit. Let go of past (perceived) mistakes and move forward.
Have you found, when all is stripped away, your approach to healthy living is a simple one, too?
Be well!
Carla
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Apr 12, 2012 @ 02:21:00
You are so right. Honestly, I think the harder a person makes their diet/fitness, the sooner they’ll give up. For me, the less I have to think about food, the more weight I lose.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 02:43:00
and everything else in life, too huh? just the basics and adhered to and DONE = success
Apr 12, 2012 @ 02:50:00
This is such a great post! Your rules are key. Don’t over-think being healthy. Enjoy living the lifestyle. Simple.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 03:31:00
Yes. I would even step back from “listen to your body” and say “listen to yourself” and figure out what YOU need. If you are really craving some TLC, that slab of chocolate cake won’t really satisfy, but some time with a friend, some fresh air, a good book, or a bubble bath might.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 03:46:00
Carla, I ‘wish’ it was, but I’m a BIG over thinker… so, by the time I’ve analysed everything to death I’m confused!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 04:16:00
Love it!!! spot on on all 3 tips…you truly are my dark o clock twin
Apr 12, 2012 @ 04:33:00
I LIVE by #3!!! (great post, Carla!)
Apr 12, 2012 @ 04:40:00
Simple rules that can sometimes be tough to apply. But, if we all followed them, especially #3 when we don’t follow #1 and #2, we’d be a weight-losing world!
Good advice, thanks!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 05:10:00
oh oh oh SCHMIET I so get that (and lived it. that’s next months post here in fact!).
Paralysis by analysis kills success for me in all realms
I just need to *make* myself pick, move forward and remember I can ALWAYS change course.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 05:56:00
“paralysis by analysis” is exactly the reason it has taken me 15 years to figure out the best course of action for me. But now that I have figured it out – it does seem very simple.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 06:16:00
OMG, Carla, this is a loaded question. When all is stripped away, EVERYTHING is simple… but stripping it away is the issue. Some things can’t be stripped away, it’s too intwined. But you know that. Ultimately, we all do. I do think 1 and 3 are especially oversimplified, though. Maybe we could just reduce the whole thing to #2.
1) Our bodies sometimes lie. We need to be aware of the difference between what our bodies NEED and what our bodies CRAVE. They’re different things for some of us, who have trained our bodies to want and expect the WRONG things… unnatural things with lots of sugar, for example.
3)And as for letting go and moving on? While we can’t DWELL in the past, I think it’s important that we learn from it, and experience the discomfort of our errors… that’s what makes change possible.
I’m reminded of the scene from The Lion King when Simba tells Rafiki that he’s let go of the past, and it doesn’t matter. Rafiki hits him with his staff, and Simba says objects. Rafiki replies “What does it matter? It’s in the past.” and Simba replies “yeah, but it still hurt”. Next time Rafiki swings, Simba ducks. He’s learned from his pain. Unless we experience it, can remember and re-experience that feeling (although not obsessing or dwelling in it) we don’t change. I believe that instant self-forgiveness is often an excuse for doing what we know we “shouldn’t”… it shows a lack of commitment.
We need simple… because we DO often not know what the root is of our issues with health and weight loss. People go from diet to diet because they don’t understand that the root of the issue isn’t to lose weight (which you can do in all sorts of unhealthy ways) but to be healthy, and losing weight is a by-product of that. Being (physically) healthy involves two simple things: Challenging your body through movement and fueling it with healthy, real foods. That’s the simple root of the matter. How we go about doing those things and to what degree are where it gets messy.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 07:34:00
I wish I could say my approach is simple…but it’s not. And while I know, through educating myself, that weight loss as a concept IS simple…it’s not, as a goal, simple. I love your tips…especially about letting go. The more we contemplate and analyze what we do, etc. the more it becomes a task. You’re right…it’s never any farther than your very next choice.
I’m working on simplicity.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 07:38:00
I agree, Carla! Losing 100 pounds may have taken me a long time and was hard work, it really WAS simple. I counted my calories, I exercised. Period. I didn’t do any special diet–don’t over think it–just stay the course.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 08:33:00
and as always you nailed it Kate. The root—to be healthy—is so challenging too. What is healthy? How do *I* define it? What will it look like for me? How will I behave/eat/act when I am (fingerquotes) healthy (unFQ)? It is indeed a complicated and a simple concept. All at once.
Apr 13, 2012 @ 05:10:00
and as you know, “Healthy” is such a relative term. I talk about optimum personal health a lot. Having Lupus, I know that healthy to me isn’t what other people consider healthy. And we never know what our best really is. At some point, however, we have to pick a comfort level, knowing that whatever level we say “this is where I want to be” may change as we learn that (a) we’ve sold ourselves short and can do better or (b) find that goal unreachable for one reason or another.
I’ll never find my optimal health in being an olympic high-jumper, for example, but some day I dream of running/walking a marathon. Most days, however, I’m glad to be able to run up a flight of stairs without getting winded and beating the doctors who’ve been telling me I’m going to be in a wheelchair soon (for the last couple decades!) I suppose in 30 or 40 more years they may be right, but for now…
Apr 12, 2012 @ 08:50:00
So true! I’m at my lightest weight ever and I don’t really watch what I eat except that I follow the rules: Eat as close to nature as possible and MOVE!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 08:51:00
Thanks so much for these ‘simple’ reminders! I think the key is tuning in to your body; when does it feel good/bad? What can you do to make it feel better? Training yourself to ask those questions before you reach for that cookie or drive past the gym is hard, but oh so worth it!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 08:58:00
Yes, I LOVE the simple rules! Easy to execute, not always, but it does produce the best results.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 09:05:00
which almost tangents Tamara but Ive found it REALLY helped clients who had weightloss goals to ask themselves: HOW WOULD MY FIT SELF RESPOND IN THIS SITUATION? and then act as if…
Apr 12, 2012 @ 09:10:00
Love this & yes, the concept is simple but the execution & then the maintaining is hard for people. Like you Carla, it came down to choices & willingness for me to change things in my life. Once I did that, OH YES, I listen to the bod. I did then & do every day – it tells me a lot about life in general!
I also tend to eat mostly whole foods but I don’t get worried when I had in my treats that have “junk” in them or I decide to have something that is not usually part of my food plan. I just get right back to it as you wrote above. No, I ruined it now so I have to give up. None of that!
I think with people, the hard part is that they just don’t want to give up certain foods “Most of the time”. You can’t lose weight eating anything you want. SURE, we can have a little this & that every so often or for some people they plan for it BUT eating anything you want anytime you want, it just does not work that way & I think a lot of people get caught up there. The “little this & that” goes on too long, they get frustrated cause they don’t see what they are doing & give up.
It is about balance but when it comes down to it, there has to be compromise about things one just can’t do all the time…
I love your attitude!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 09:25:00
But I’m so good at complicating things!
I do agree about figuring things out by trying new things and seeing how your body responds. That’s how I learned some important things about eating a few years ago.
I think you still make it appear too simple.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 09:28:00
Haha I’m with you, Deb!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 10:10:00
yes! sending this to my mother to read!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 11:03:00
#1 is so very important! Well they all are, but I know from experience that feeling good is sometimes more important than actual weight loss. Thanks for sharing as always…and I love Attune too!
Apr 12, 2012 @ 12:29:00
I’m finding that food is *becoming* much simpler now that I’ve stopped tracking and journaling. I know what I should eat. I rarely overeat anymore. And if I do indulge, there’s no longer guilt attached.
I still overthink the exercise portion, though. I find there that while the *concept* is simple, it’s the *execution* that I get caught up in.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 14:31:00
Love this. So very true. Let go of the guilt of past decisions/behaviors and make a better one the next time. As I often tell my clients, every healthy choice you make is one poor choice you didn’t make.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 19:29:00
I have never really known anything except exercising and eating well- so for me, yeah it’s been pretty “simple” I guess.
Apr 12, 2012 @ 19:34:00
Ah I’m the queen of making simple things look difficult. My healthy routine can get very complicated – especially thanks to my research addiction – but I do best when I take a deep breath and simplify. I love your three rules. The only thing I’d add (for myself) is to trust my gut. I know my body better than any scientist and learning to trust my own intuition about it is huge!
Apr 13, 2012 @ 02:28:00
oooh MCMMama I love that concept. I never framed it so succinctly
but would frequently tell a client who lamented to me she’d made a “bad’ (her words) choice to stop and think about the choices she would have made BEFORE we started down this healthy path. 99% of the times even what she perceived as a “bad” choices was AMAZING in comparison.
)
(see? I told you it wasnt as succinctly
Apr 13, 2012 @ 07:08:00
You said it sister! I still “count” calories, but more to keep me aware. But really, I look at what I’m eating and thing – do I have enough fruits and veggies in there? And while I like a good fish and chips once in a while, the next time I have a big leafy green salad with chicken and lots of different colored veggies. It’s about balance. Yesterday I had a hard run because I took 4 days off for a cold. It was hard, but it felt good to get back at it. Instead of feeling guilty for missing those days, I was proud that I got back up again.
Apr 13, 2012 @ 09:09:00
YES CARRIE!!! That’s so it. You should be proud….
Apr 17, 2012 @ 18:22:00
Carla, this is an excellent post. I try not to over think food + calories otherwise i’ll make myself and everyone around me nuts. Healthy, whole foods in moderate portions make the world a happier + skinnier place!