10 simple habits you can implement now to support a weight loss goal
You don't have to get friendly with MyFitnessPal and track everything you eat in order to lose weight. Small incremental changes implemented consistently are probably the best thing you can do.
Do you struggle to stick to a weight loss plan? Here are 10 healthy habits you can start implementing TODAY that will help you to lose fat and keep it off forever.
I bet you've lost weight before right? Weight Watchers maybe, Slimming World, Low Carb, Keto or a strict Macro or Calorie plan provided by a well meaning personal trainer. It's easy to stick to something when you see instant results and the scales keep going down. Even better when you have some support, a weekly checkin or weigh in - keeps you accountable. There's nothing like the fear of stepping on those scales in front of the WW leader.
Low Carb does work, so does Intermittent Fasting, so does Keto, the South Beach diet, avoiding ALL Ultra Processed Foods, cutting Sugar etc, etc.
You will lose weight if you stick to any of these. Every one of them will result in you eating less food and therefore taking in fewer calories.
It's easy to lose weight. We've all done it at some stage....
In the case of something like Weight Watchers, it works for months, until you reach your goal weight, you stop going, stop following the plan and go back to your old way of eating. The weight starts to creep back on and the cycle begins again. I've been that soldier, heading back to Weight Watchers to start again many many times.
I know it works, it did before!
Then why do you have to keep going back? That's the crux of it - whichever of these you've tried before, you convince yourself it's successful, it worked last time after all.
The problem is never finding the cause of your weight gain.
We all gain weight for different reasons. Some of us are emotional eaters, some are stuck in a restrict/binge cycle, some spend more time looking after others than themselves and some of us spend too much time in environments that are not conducive to healthy eating. A lot of us have been conditioned to eat mindlessly or were never taught how to eat healthy balanced meals and for some of us our hormones and brain are just a bit out of whack causing our appetites to increase. All of that before we deal with a busy life, anxiety, depression, lack of sleep, low energy, stress and all of those external factors that come into play.
The causes of weight gain are hugely multifaceted.
The diets mentioned above will work if you can stick to them no matter what the root cause of your weight gain is. However, without addressing that root cause, as soon as you stop adhering to the rigid rules of whatever diet plan you've chosen, you will inevitably regain the weight.
And that's where these good habits come in...
If you can build some of these habits into your daily life, then you will feel amazing, be fitter and healthier and can lose weight and keep it off for good.
Habits and habits for Fat Loss specifically...
I assume you know what a habit is - we all have bad ones e.g. biting our nails, spending too long scrolling on our phones, going to bed too late. We all (hopefully!) have good ones too, brushing our teeth, washing ourselves, drinking water.
A habit is something you do or a decision you make regularly, often without even thinking. Life is the sum total of our habits. You are what you eat, sleep, drink and do!
A fat loss habit is something that you do without thinking that supports your goal of losing weight and maintaining it long term. So instead of always going on a diet, you just live your life with some good habits in place and it becomes just something you do.
Ok, but how do I build some fat loss habits?
In theory it's easy, but it's not THAT easy to build new habits. If you really want to dive in deep to learn more about habit formation - I can't recommend these books enough: Atomic Habits by James Clear or The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Like dieting, it's simple to start a new habit and stick to it for a while, but it's difficult to create one that sticks around for life. I'm here to help though...
3 steps to form new habits
It takes patience and consistency to build a new habit. One problem people have is that they take an all or nothing approach and try to do everything at once.
If you want to build some habits that will stick, these are the 3 things you need to do:
Start Small: The bigger the change you want to make and the more out of your usual routine it takes you, the less likely it is to stick. Choose a habit that is small enough that it fits in with your life without too much effort or willpower. E.g. don't try to start jogging for 30 minutes a day, try to fit in a 10 minute walk - go out your front door in whatever clothes you are wearing and just walk for 10 minutes.
Work on one habit at a time: If you try to make 10 changes all at once, it will overwhelm you and you'll drop them all. Wait until your first habit feels easy and part of your normal routine before you pick up another...
Make it a daily thing: You have your simple habit, you're focused on this one thing (the 10 minute walk), now you need to do it consistently. Daily if possible or at least on the same days every week. If you don't make this routine then it's too easy to let it slide. One tip from James Clear: Avoid The Second Mistake. Shit happens, sometimes you can't go for that walk but try not to miss it two days in a row.
REMEMBER: Consistency over Perfection
Ok, enough waffling, time to get to the habits you can use to support your weight loss goal.
1. Keep it boring - eat similar foods
Variety is the spice of life but it's also the cause of decision fatigue. Hands up who gets tired of trying to think of something new and exciting to cook every evening? (My hand is up...)
I'm not saying you need to eat Chicken, Broccoli and Rice every day but realistically most people tend to eat the same or similar breakfast and lunch every day. So, think about a few options that are balanced and easy for those meals and you'll remove a lot of the stress out of eating healthily.
Try and include a protein source, something wholegrain and some fruit/veg.
Greek yoghurt, an oat granola, berries
Wholemeal toast, some peanut butter, a banana
Oats made with semi skimmed milk, with diced apple, some berries and a handful of seeds
Eggs on wholemeal toast with some tomato
A bagel with avocado, lean rashers and tomato
A pitta with chopped salad veg and baked/roast chicken
A ham and cheese sandwich
A tuna pasta salad
2. Prioritise Protein
Protein is important for many reasons and it’s not just for the gym bros. It’s used to build and repair muscles and in making hormones, it’s at the core of most of your bodies processes.
It is known to be the most filling of the 3 main macronutrients (Carbs, Fat and Protein) so building each meal around a good protein source really can help with weight loss.
Good sources of protein:
Lean meats (Chicken, turkey, low fat mince, lean steak)
Fish (White or oily fish)
Eggs
Greek yoghurt, milk , whey protein
Soya products (Tofu, Tempeh)
Quorn products (A mycoprotein, made from fungus and a great vegan/veggie substitute - just watch for the products with added egg if vegan)
Note: All of the above are considered complete protein sources but there is some protein in most foods we consume, a varied diet from mainly whole foods is always good!
3. Never skip a habit twice
If you want these habits to stick then you need to do them consistently. Remember consistency not perfection is the key here, life happens and sometimes you don’t do the thing. BUT, If you want to make sure you keep the habit up, don’t skip it twice.
A good read on this again by James Clear - Avoid the Second Mistake
4. Move your body
Especially key if you have a sedentary job - try and make some time to move more. Go for a walk, do some gardening, potter about the house.
After your Basal Metabolic Rate (your BMR i.e. the energy required to keep your body alive) most of your daily energy burned is through something called NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)
You can go to the gym 3 times per week and while that is amazing for your overall health, energy burned during planned exercised is typically quite a small percentage of the total.
So, try and get a bit more active. If you sit for your job, try and take a 10 minute break a couple of times a day to walk around. If you have some kind of step tracker, try and increase your daily average by 2000 extra for a few weeks, then increase again…
5. Have Fruit and Veg with most meals
A good idea for many reasons but mainly for these two:
To increase the overall volume of your meals. If you’re eating larger amounts of food you are going to feel more satisfied.
These are the healthiest foods you can eat, full of fibre and micronutrients. Your gut will thank you.
Again, aim for this with most meals. If you’re having pancakes for breakfast you don’t need to eat a side of steamed veg, though some berries wouldn’t go astray!
6. Lose the Liquid Calories
I’m not saying never have another coke, a latte or a glass of wine but choose your indulgences. If you would like to lose some weight then this is an easy way to cut some excess calories. Stick to water, diet drinks and black coffee most of the time.
Black coffee is better than milky coffee anyway and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees. (Not really, I am a wuss.)
7. Pay attention to your portion sizes
Ok, so you’ve decided that you’ll have wholemeal toast, peanut butter and a banana most mornings for your breakfast. Don’t eat 2 doorstop slices of toast with a heaped tablespoon of PB on each. Be reasonable.
Are you a small person who isn’t very active? Eat smaller portions. There’s no need to track all of your food but it’s good to have an awareness of the calorie content of foods you consume regularly.
8. Track your progress
Not everyone is comfortable with the scales but if it works for you as the measurement tool it’s meant to be then I recommend that you weigh yourself daily in the morning and keep an eye on the overall trend (never the individual data points) if weight loss is your goal.
Just keep in mind:
The scales are not an accurate measure of your body fat. Putting on a couple of KGs on the scale does not mean you have gained 2 KG of fat.
If the scales go up, it can be for many reasons, your time of the month, how much food you ate yesterday, more salt than usual, a change in diet (a holiday is a great example). It may just seem random at times but don’t let it put you off, keep ticking off those habits and over time you’ll see a trend.
If you find the scales triggering then other good ways to track your progress are using photos, measurements, tracking a performance improvement like how long your walk takes, how fast you can run or just taking a daily note of how you are feeling.
9. Lift some heavy stuff
Go on, hit the gym - time for squats and deadlifts and all that jazz.
Jokes.
While the benefit of resistance training cannot be over emphasised enough for it’s health benefits, you don’t have to go from 0 to powerlifter to get the health improvements associated with it.
Particularly as we age, doing some form of resistance training is essential to maintain our muscle mass. From a weightloss perspective, muscle is more metabolically active i.e. it needs more fuel.
We’re talking about small health habits here so a good one to try is do 10 body weight squats and 10 push ups while you’re making your morning coffee.
10. Make time for you
I like to regularly remind my husband of that saying ‘a happy wife = a happy life’.
Well, a happy you = a happy life too. If you don’t show up for yourself then you won’t be able to show up for the people you need to in your life.
Self care is not just about massages or holidays. It’s 10 minutes with a cup of coffee outside in the morning, it’s taking the time to read a book, do your nails or go for a walk or run if that’s your buzz.
So try and carve out 10 minutes a day that are just for you and fill them with something you love, the benefits will be immense.
I hope you find you get some benefits from implementing these!
Rosanna xx
Brilliant ifo Rosannna. I hate having t keep track of what I am esting. Excellent information