The One Month Weight Loss Plan to Keep You on Goal

Have you hit the wall on your weight loss endeavors? Need a little boost to get back on track? Try this one month plan to ignite your mojo and get back on track:

Week One

• Cha Cha Changes: Each of the next four weeks you will add a healthy habit-in-the-making to your week. Making successful small changes now can give you the motivation to make more ambitious ones later. Here’s week one: Add an extra piece or serving of fruit to your meal plan.
• Dress the Part: Worn out, baggy sweats and faded T-shirts are great for the role of couch potato but don’t fit the role of a fit mama. Head to your favorite sporting goods store or consignment shop and get some new workout gear.
• Pen to Paper: Take measurements of your waist, (just below the last rib), your thighs (midway between hip and knee), your butt (around the fullest part) and any other body parts you want to monitor. Next, answer this question: Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to look hot at your high school reunion? Or, do you want to avoid getting diabetes which maybe runs in your family? Be specific with your answer and refer to it often. Revisit your measurements at week 4. 

Week Two

• Cha Cha Changes: This is the perfect time for the steady exerciser to shake things up. McMaster University researchers found that three, 20-second, give-it-all-you-got intervals (jumping jacks, jump rope, etc.) can boost your health and mind. When a group of participants did 20-second sprints during a one-minute workout three times a week, they saw an increase in endurance and healthier insulin levels after a month and a half. Do this at least 3 times this week.
• Curb Cravings: Help knock out cravings by adding resistant starch to your diet. This type of dietary fiber is found naturally in foods like potatoes, grains, brown rice, yams, corns, and beans. However, the food has to be cooled for the starch to be resistant. These bulky carbs aren’t digested or absorbed into the bloodstream so they don’t get stored as fat on your hips and tummy like their simple carb cousins. Bonus, they boost your metabolism and make you feel fuller longer.
• Buddy Up: It’s no secret that sweating it out with a friend is more fun and helps you stay consistent, but you can’t always find someone who is willing to go the long haul with you. Sign up for a group fitness class or join a walking club.

Week Three

• Cha Cha Changes: For one week, serve your family dinners from the stove. Studies at the Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University found that people ate 10 percent less than when dining from the dinner table.
• Go Public: Mojo comes and goes so some accountability is in order. Tweet, blog, or Facebook your trials and triumphs for instant accountability. Periodic posts will keep your peeps updated and they’ll be able to provide you with encouragement and tips. When faced with a temptation to cheat or give up, post an S.O.S. before you jump ship and see what happens.
• Peek into Your Future: Visualize You is a free app that creates a visual of you at your ideal goal weight. Just upload a picture of your face and enter in some data. Want a full length version? Visit the Makeovr. Click and see the future new you! It’s fun and can be a great motivational tool.

Week Four

• Cha Cha Changes: In lieu of keeping a food journal, snap a pic of everything you eat and drink. Looking back at the pics just may help you stop and think about what’s going in your mouth and keep you from overindulging.
• Evaluation: On the last day of the month, take your measurements again. Taking measurements is a great tool because toning up isn’t always reflected on the scale. Sometimes, you will see no weight loss on the scale, but if you’ve been toning up with resistance or strength training, you’ll see it on the tape and feel it in your clothes!
• Sign up for a 5K: Sign up for a fun 5K like a Color Run, bike race event, or Tough Mudder race and start training. Not only will you stay on track but perhaps your mindset of just shedding pounds will give way to a goal of staying healthy for a lifetime.
• Victory! You’ve made it through the month. How about rewarding yourself with some new kicks? Some sporting goods stores and shoe stores for runners will put you on a treadmill and monitor your gate. You can get the perfect fitting shoes based whether you’re a under pronator or over pronator. 

What’s your plan for revving up your weight loss resolution?