I hope everyone had an amazing holiday, filled with family, love, gratitude, and peace. After several weeks of rushing around in preparation for celebrations, gift-giving, and hosting family and friends, you may feel exhausted, burned out, stressed, or any combination.  For me, I feel odd that I have extra time on my hands and have been feeling stressed, as if there are tasks I should be doing, that I forgot about, when in fact, I am now able to slow my pace down and I am not used to it!  

Whether you use this week to continue celebrations or you are starting to think about New Year’s resolutions, you may meet this time with some trepidation.  Perhaps you are disappointed because you had goals that you did not meet in 2024, or you have had the same 15 pounds of weight to lose for years and another year has gone by and you were still unsuccessful.  I have been there, again and again.  In fact, on December 21, 2023, I hit my limit and decided I was going to lose weight, no matter what I had to do.  And I did; in fact, I found out that I was overcomplicating and overthinking everything, which ultimately sabotaged myself.  This was very humbling for a health coach and former exercise physiologist!  For January, I wanted to share my top three biggest weight loss tips, in hopes that it will help you make more progress in less time.  

1. Make a plan and make it specific-Just saying “I want to lose weight” is not enough.  Do you exercise?  If so, do you need to increase this? Do you need to start eating breakfast?  The more specific you are in your planning, the easier it will be to follow it and be successful.
2. It’s not all or nothing-as a recovering perfectionist, this is where I complicated things for myself.  No carbs?  Going vegetarian?  Whatever my plan was, it wasn’t sustainable and the second I “slipped up”, I would get discouraged and quit.  This is the biggest secret the Diet and Health Industry is keeping from you!  In order to lose weight, your plan MUST BE SUSTAINABLE.  If you can’t stick with it, you won’t be successful.  Do you like chocolate?  Find a way to include a mindful portion into your day.  That will keep cravings under control, making it less likely for you to go overboard everytime you see your favorite chocolate.
3. Eat those vegetables!-Admittedly, this is my least favorite tip, but it’s vital.  Last year, I read a piece of advice and it has stuck with me.  I’m paraphrasing, but essentially it said “you are an adult now, so you need to quit throwing a fit and just eat the vegetables”.  Including vegetables in as many meals as possible provides volume with significantly less calories, which is crucial for weight loss.  Eat them first and then move on with your life.  They may taste terrible at first, but you’re an adult, you’ll adjust.  

If you feel like you have information saturation and you need help putting it all together, I am here and ready to help.  All members of my subscription list receive the January Movement Challenge for free to help get you up and moving.  What are you waiting for?  Make 2025 the year you meet the best version of yourself!