If I had to choose one question that I’ve been asked the most over the past few years it is this:  how have you kept the weight off?  Of course I get those ‘how did you do it?’ questions but mostly it is the ‘how do you continue to do it?’ questions.  Here is my answer:

I focused on my habits.

I have heard, and have even used myself, the phrase ‘I did it by changing my lifestyle’ but rarely is there any real explanation of HOW someone went about doing that.  Your lifestyle is just an accumulation of habits that you’ve created over a lifetime.  Obviously, if you’ve found yourself in a position where you are overweight, not all of those habits have been good ones. 

In an effort to try to answer the question of how you change your lifestyle to increase your chances of long term, or sustained, weight loss success, I have compiled a few ideas that I hope will help.

Habit #1:  A consistent exercise schedule

This habit gets my number 1 spot on the list even though I don’t intend for these to be in any order of importance.   Are you a morning person and want to work out before work or have more energy in the evening and prefer to workout then?  Choose a time of day and stick to it.   I have absolutely no scientific data to back it up but I’m going to make this statement anyway.  By being consistent in the time of day that you work out, you will drastically increase your chances of making exercise a habit.  You will eventually start to build your day around this time rather than just trying to find a time in your day to fit it in.  Your body will start to expect it and it will become a habit…and a very good habit to have.

Just for an example, I get up every day at 4:45 AM.  I leave for the gym at 5:15 AM.  I finish my workout around 6:30 AM, shower and go to work.  My day just isn’t right if I don’t do this.  I feel miserable because I made this a habit.

Habit #2:  A consistent eating schedule

I view this as almost as important as habit #1.  There are those that claim they forget to eat and there are those who eat at the first signs of hunger pains.  Being as I’ve identified two general categories, we’ll look at each one separately.

For those that forget to eat, you’re eating schedule may be all over the board.   You may forget to eat a meal or go long hours between meals.  Your body never gets a chance to expect nourishment on a consistent basis.  You may not experience hunger pains until you are absolutely famished which can lead to overeating or binge eating.  If you fall into this category, here is my tip:  set an alarm to let you know it is time to eat…and then eat.  Get you’re body on a consistent feeding schedule and, before you know it, it will become a habit and you’ll no longer need the alarm.

For those that want to eat at the first sign of hunger pains, your body is conditioned to get food on demand.  You’re not really starving.  It’s just your body whining.  My tip to you is this:  just like I said above, schedule your meals and stick to it.  When those hunger pains hit, you can trick your body by drinking a glass or two of water.  Water will make you feel full and will trick your body into thinking you fed it.  Before long, your body will get used to when it receives food and adapt…therefore, you increase the chances of your eating schedule becoming a habit.

Habit #3:  A consistent sleep schedule

Oh boy, is this one that I have yet to master!  I admittedly do not do well in this area but at least I know it!  That’s half the battle, right? 

Here’s the deal with sleep.  You have to do it and you have to do it for an amount of time that is long enough to allow your body and mind to repair itself.  Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep for the body to do all it needs to do.  During the first half of your sleep, your immune system kicks it up a notch and goes and attacks anything harmful that may be floating around in there.  During the second half, your mind takes over and you go through a ‘psychic regeneration’.   This is where your brain releases all sorts of body healing chemicals that help boost your immune system.  All throughout your sleep, you are moving from light sleep to deep sleep where your mind deals with everything that has happened in the past day. 

See how important it is to make sure you body gets all these things done?  I hope so.  If you’re like me, it may be hard to develop a habit of going to bed at the same time and getting enough sleep.  Studies have shown that those that don’t get enough sleep have higher levels of cortisol in their system than those that do get enough sleep.  Excessive levels of Cortisol, as you may or may not know, can lead to weight gain, lowered immune system, and much more.  Cortisol secretion is caused by stress and it has been proven that sleep deprivation elevates stress.  But, at the same time, stress can be a cause of sleep deprivation.  It is a vicious cycle!  Whichever the case, you can see just how important sleep is when logic essentially says sleep deprivation can not only interfere with your weight loss efforts but can also lead to weight gain.

Habit #4:  A sustainable meal plan

Notice that I didn’t call it a diet plan.  I want to draw a distinction between a long term meal plan and the term diet.  The term ‘diet’ really just means what you eat and drink but it’s common use today is to refer to a way of eating to lose weight. 

The best advice I can ever give someone that is wanting to know what they should be eating to lose, and then maintain, weight is this: the diet you use to lose your weight should be the same diet you use to maintain your weight.  There are exceptions to this but, as a general rule of thumb, I truly believe it is the best course of action.  During the time you lose your weight you should be developing eating habits that you can use to your advantage when you are ready to maintain your weight.

This is one reason I urge everyone to steer clear of the fad diets.  They are often only sustainable for short periods of time.  If you do stay on the fad diet long enough to form habits, they could actually be unhealthy, bad habits! 

Habit #5:  Continuous Learning

In a number of my blog posts, I’ve made the statement, “Do your research!”  For me, doing research is synonymous with continuous learning.   Make a habit of continuously expanding your knowledge.  There are thousands of health and fitness blogs on the web with a ton of information.  A lot of good information…and a lot of baaaaad information.  Can you tell the difference? 

Get in the habit of checking EVERYTHING for validity.  It seems like everyday there are new weight loss programs and fat loss theories on the market.  Even if it is from a normally reliable source, still research it…see if anyone else has tried it.  What were their results?  Are there any other expert opinions on it?  If you have to pay for the program or diet, double your research efforts.  After all, it is your money.  I have paid for three books in three years and only after I had assurance from many other experts in the field and testimony from those that had tried it.

Habit #6:  Continuous Goal Setting

Just because this one is farther down the list than the others doesn’t make it any less important.  You should always be shooting for your goals.  Give yourself something to work toward and celebrate when you get there.  There is nothing like reaching a goal that you’d previously thought was unattainable.

The most important part of goal setting is to have both long term and short term goals.  It is great that you want to lose 100 lbs!  That is a very reachable and admirable goal.  However, it is going to take you some time to get there.  Along with attainable long term goals, you should form the habit of making smaller, short term goals that can be achieved in a shorter period of time.  There is no magic number of days or weeks…just something reasonable.  For example:  My long term goal is to lose 100 lbs but my immediate short term goal is to exercise every day for thirty minutes and lose 8 pounds this month.  Those are both short term and attainable.  Once you reach them, celebrate.  Then, make more short term goals and reach for them.

Habit #7:  Make a habit of breaking bad habits

It may seem odd to thing of breaking bad habits as a habit and, admittedly, I could be stretching it a bit.  However, as I said before, if you find yourself overweight, I can guarantee you have some bad habits that need to go!

My advice to attack your bad habits is to first identify them.  Is your normal downfall that insatiable sweet tooth and that’s why you have to have cookies during the day?  Replace the cookies with a healthier option and get out of the habit of satisfying your cravings with the unhealthy options.  Do you have the habit of plopping down on the couch and vegging in front of the TV until its time for bed?  Start a ‘habit’ of going on a walk after dinner or going to the park.  If you have a family, you can see some other suggestions in one of my previous blogs, 10 FUN Activities to Promote Family Fitness.  I think you get the picture: identify the habit, break it, and form a newer healthier alternative.

And there you go!  Dave’s 7 Habits for Sustainable Weight Loss.  Do you have any questions or something to add?  Just leave them in the comments below!