315 SLIM-DOWN SECRETS
Want to drop a few pounds? These easy tips can help.
1
Rethink your goals.
If your objective is
too broad, you can
flounder. For example,
“have a salad with dinner
every night” is more
tangible than “eat more
vegetables.” But even a
specific target needs to
be narrowed. Your big
picture vow can be “lose
20 pounds,” but break
it down into 5-pound
chunks. Then when you
hit each mini target,
celebrate. Being positive
about small successes
helps to keep you
moving forward.2
Uncover the root of
your motivation.
“Few people ask
themselves why they
set the goal they
chose,” says Christine
Whelan, Ph.D., a clinical
professor in the School
of Human Ecology at the
University of Wisconsin.
“Accomplishing your goal
can feel empty without
understanding the
motivation behind it.”
So if the real reason
you want to lose weight
is because you want
to have more energy
to play with your kids,
remind yourself of that
often. When you’re
clear about what you’reaiming for, you have
a greater incentive
to make the necessary
changes to achieve
your objective.3
Start tracking your
progress.
Keep a food diary, an
exercise log, or simply
a list of the steps you
took that day toward
your goal. “Such self-
monitoring increases the
probability of keeping
your resolution,” says
John C. Norcross, Ph.D.,
distinguished professor
of psychology at the
University of Scrantonin Pennsylvania and
author of “Changeology:
5 Steps to Realizing Your
Goals and Resolutions”
(Simon & Schuster, 2013).4
Stop trying
to go it alone.
Making a public
commitment to a
change in behavior
increases your likeli-
hood of success. Join
a diet support group
or find an exercise
partner to help keep
you accountable.5
Get your
priorities straight.
“Sit down with your
calendar and be brutally
honest about what
you’ll have to say no
to in order to make
time to achieve your
goal,” Whelan says. For
example, if you plan to
get to the gym five days
per week, that’s an hour
of workout time, plus
showering, changing, and
driving back and forth—
meaning those five gym
sessions could take up
to 10 hours per week.
Can you find that much
time? If not, maybe you
should start off with
three days first.