5 SIMPLE GUIDELINES:

1. Journal your food. The first advice I would give anyone starting a weight loss program is to begin tracking your calories. You can't base a diet on guessing, you have to know exactly what you are taking in. Almost everyone we talk to who has struggled with losing weight is taking in more calories than they think. Journaling not only holds you accountable, but educates you and helps you find hidden calories. Journaling is not something you have to do forever, through the daily process you will learn correct healthy portions and food options. Most named diets are based on 1200-1500 calories a day. It is advised to consult a physician before beginning a diet.

2. Eat 5-6 meals/snacks a day. A successful diet is eating less but eating more often. Eating smaller meals and snacks helps boost the metabolism and increase energy. People who think they have to starve in order to lose weight struggle with the thought of eating more often but it works. Once you get in the habit of eating less, but often, your energy increases which is one common complaint when dieting the wrong way.

3. You are what you eat. I would love to say you could lose weight by just coming in to Longevity every day, but I would be lying. It take 3500 calories to lose one pound. Most people only burn between 300-500 calories in a good workout. It's not uncommon for someone to consume 1,000 calories in one bad meal. In other words, you can blow several great workouts in one high-calorie meal. You can workout every day, but if you are taking in as many calories as you are burning (or more, you won't lose weight. You MUST watch what you eat in addition to exercise to get results.

4. No cheating. This may seem unfair or unrealistic, but the truth is you can workout and diet six days a week and blow it all in one day. This happens to people all the time. You must remain in a caloric deficit in order to continue losing weight. You can lose 2 pounds in 6 days and not see it on the scale because over the weekend you made up for all the calories lost in poor choices. It is essential you remain on your diet everyday until you reach certain set goals. Healthy living is a lifestyle, not a trend or season - it's for life. Once you are in maintenance you won't have to be quite as strict, but until then dieting and activity must be applied everyday.

5. Consistency is key. Yo-yo diets don't work and never will. Yo-yo fitness doesn't work either. The key to success is consistency. It is easier to workout and eat healthy on a consistent basis than it is to do hard-core diets and exercise programs. Our bodies respond well to consistency and so does our mind. Healthy living is first a habit and then a lifestyle. It may take a while to get into the groove, but once you are in the groove, it's a lot easier to maintain the lifestyle.

6. Discipline is mandatory. You can not wait on motivation to get you started or keep you going - success is built on discipline. Healthy living is not much different than going to work, it is something you HAVE to do. So in essence, we need to quit letting how we feel affect what we do. The good news is we can cling to the fact that weight loss is pure science and it works. What you put in is what you get out. Even if you are down, depressed or feeling blah. If you follow through, you'll still get the same great results whether you were motivated or not.

 

VIDEO CLIPS FROM ONE OF BONNIE'S DIET TALKS: