After a lot of procrastination I have finally decided to start my healthy eating plan in order to lose weight (I don’t like using the word “diet” as, to me, that implies a short-term thing).
In reality, this means having to make life-long changes to the way we eat and to our activity levels in order to reach and, ultimately, maintain our ideal weight.
This is going to take a lot of commitment, especially at the start, to break those old, unhealthy habits and replace them with new healthy habits. And to be honest that is why it has taken me sooo long to reach this point.
In this post I’ll tell you about the 7 key things you need to do to get ready for weight loss success and maximise your weight loss efforts.
The person in the mirror
First of all let me tell you a little bit about what’s been going on with me. For a long time I have been unable to find my mojo and just haven’t been able to bring myself to change my eating habits. I have been pretty much stuffing my face with whatever takes my fancy. However, I recently had a nasty surprise when I went to try on a new pair of jeans in the shop changing rooms.
Now I know the changing room mirrors and lights are not the most flattering things out there but, after closing the door and turning around to put my stuff on the stool I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My tummy was so big, I literally looked like I was 9 months pregnant! I was horrified! I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me when I’m due every since! (as well as sucking in my tummy whenever I stand up!)
That was the kick in the teeth I needed to finally decide to do something about it.
(You can read more about my story and why I started Vegan Recipes for Weight Loss on my About Me page)
Get set up for weight loss success
Before starting a weight loss eating plan I would recommend visiting your doctor or a health professional for advice. It is also important to take time to get yourself ready before launching into your plan, that way you are more likely to be successful with your weight loss efforts.
Below I have outlined the steps I have taken and the tools I have used to get myself ready for the week ahead.
1. The dreaded weigh-in
Ok this one sounds simple but it can actually be one of the hardest steps to do. You have to be brave and step on those scales. None of us will like what we see but without knowing our start weight we won’t be able to see whether or not we’ve been successful with our efforts at the end of the week.
I chose Wednesday as my weigh-in day because that was the day my old Weight Watchers group got together. It worked for me back then so I’m hoping it will work for me this time around. If you will be joining me on this weight loss journey, don’t feel you have to weigh in on a Wednesday, you should choose which ever day you feel will work for you.
I am not going to be sharing my actual weight with you in this or in future weigh-in posts as that is not what I want to focus on. Instead each week I will be sharing my losses; gains (yes. I fully expect there to be some gains along the way); the challenges I have faced and how I have tried to cope with those challenges.
2. Measure up
Making a note of our measurements before we start is an important step. I guarantee there will be times when we won’t see a success at the scales but, instead, we should be able to see a difference to our vital statistics.
You should make a note of your chest, waist and hip measurements; your left and right upper arm; thigh and calf measurements (at the widest points). I would suggest retaking your measurements as part of your weigh-in routine but if you don’t have time or find it a bit too much to do every week then try at least once a month instead.
3. Set some goals
While setting a final goal weight is an important step, as we all need something to aim for, it is also important to remember that this end goal weight may change as we get closer to it.
We also need to be realistic when it comes to setting a time limit – for example saying you want to lose 4 stone over the next 3 months is not realistic. Losing between 0.5lbs to 2lbs a week is a healthy weight loss, once you know how much you want to lose overall you will have an idea of how long it could, realistically, take you.
But don’t get hung up on this final goal and how long it might take to get there, everyone is different and life can throw us all a variety of challenges along the way that will both help and impede our weight loss successes.
It is much more important to set ourselves several, smaller achievable goals. By splitting our end goal down into smaller goals and celebrating when we achieve them, it will help us to feel like we are making progress. This in turn builds confidence and our determination to keep going onto the next small goal.
4. Meal Planning
To help you be in control of your weight loss you do need to plan your meals. This is especially important during the first four to six weeks of your new healthy eating efforts, when you are learning new habits and finding new recipes that you enjoy.
Meal planning not only saves you money by only buying what you intend to eat but you will also be able to stay strong all week as you always have something planned. No more staring into the fridge for inspiration only to opt for an unhealthy, calorie laden take-away.
It is important to remain flexible. If you have seven meals to choose from you can chop and change which days you actually eat them. To help you, I have already pulled together 14 low calorie main meals that you can mix and match to get your weight loss started (lunches and breakfasts to follow soon):
5. Get your cupboards (and fridge/freezer) ship shape
Now you know what you will be eating this week, you need to go through your cupboards to clear out any out-of-date items (if they’re less than 6 months out of date consider donating them to your local Food Bank) or anything you no longer want to eat.
Now you need to make a list of items you need to buy for all the meals you planned this week and go shopping. When it comes to buying veg, unless you are really good at using all your veg before it goes off, you can buy tinned (in water where possible) or frozen as they are just as good as fresh. In fact, I’d argue that frozen are fresher than the ‘fresh’ items that were sitting on the supermarket shelf for a couple of days before sitting in your fridge for a few more until you get around to using them.
Because my son is away at University, most of the time I am only cooking for me and having frozen veg means that nothing is wasted plus I always have veg available whenever I need them.
I usually buy frozen onions (diced), butternut squash, kale (shredded), edamame beans, broad beans, broccoli and cauliflower florets, mixed peppers (sliced), peas, sweetcorn and carrots. I have tried frozen courgettes but, once they were cooked, they had a funny taste so I don’t recommend those. These days you can buy most vegetables frozen, even garlic and herbs so take advantage!
6. Food diary
Yes, I know… eeeveryone tells you that you should keep a food diary. I could point you towards any number of studies that show people who keep food diaries are more successful in their weight loss efforts.
But going from my previous weight loss journey and my experience as a Weight Watchers Leader, I can honestly tell you that keeping a food diary works.
It really does.
Every time I had someone be disappointed when they weighed-in at one of my WW meetings, I would ask if they had kept a track of what they had eaten and 9 times out of 10 the answer would be no (by the way, if they said yes more often than not they’d also be able to tell me where they thought they went wrong).
Yes, it can be tedious but it only takes a few minutes each day to do and you will see the benefits. Believe me when I say you will not remember everything you eat unless you write it down.
Besides, if you don’t track your food, how can you know for sure whether or not you have enough of your daily calorie/Syns/SmartPoints allowance left for that last little snack that you’re craving?
Having a bad week? Keep tracking, even if you’ve gone wildly over your daily allowance. That way you will know where things went wrong and be better prepared next time around.
Having a phenomenal week? Fantastic! use your food diary from that week as a meal planner so you can try to repeat that success.
There will be times when you won’t have a clue how many calories/Syns/SmartPoints an item or a meal is. At these times it is equally important to still track the food you’ve eaten and guesstimate the calories/Syns/SmartPoints you’ve used. Writing something down will help you to keep your resolve the rest of the week and increase your chances of success.
7. Choose your eating plan
Now is the time to choose the eating plan you want to follow. There are many plans out there to choose from and whilst I do recommend Weight Watchers (because that is what worked for me the first time around) everyone is different and you need to select a plan that is suitable for you and your lifestyle.
Throughout this blog I will be adding the nutritional values for all recipes so that you can take from them any information you need to stick to your chosen plan. Please note: these values are estimated and it is recommended that you re-calculate the nutritional values based upon the actual ingredients you use when recreating these recipes (please see my nutrition disclaimer).
Calorie Calculators
If you want to keep an eye on your calorie intake then there are many tools that will help you work out how many calories you should consume daily in order to lose weight. I used the NHS BMI Healthy Weight Calculator to work out how many calories I should be eating each day:
Use these handy calculators to find the nutritional values of the foods you eat:
Or use this handy recipe analyser to work out the nutritional values for any recipe:
Let’s go!
Ok, so now you should know your start weight (write it down!); you’ve set some goals; planned some meals; and have your food diary at the ready, you’re all set to get started on your weight loss journey. If you haven’t already done so, why not sign up to my newsletter so we can go through this journey together – nothing helps more than being able to share your experience with friends.
Let me know in the comments below if there is anything you think I’ve forgotten.
Good luck!
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