13 Quick Tips to Help You Lose Weight and Keep It Off Permanently

Over the past year I’ve lost just over 50 pounds, with a combination of healthier eating and a more active lifestyle. I’m proud of myself. But I’m also scared.

I’m scared because I know that putting that weight back on is a real possibility. If I stop eating well or stop exercising even just for a little while, I could end up back where I was a year ago.

Here’s a list of some tips I’ve found most helpful so far, and that I hope will keep working for the rest of my life.

13 Tips For Losing Weight and Keeping it Off

1. Make it a lifestyle

The biggest moment for me was when I realized I wasn’t dieting, I wasn’t doing a boot camp, I was changing the way I lived my life. I shifted my mindset from temporary gain to permanent accomplishment and haven’t looked back.

2. Take regular photos of yourself

I take regular progress photos every 3 weeks in the same outfit in the same place in my apartment. When you see yourself every day it’s hard to notice that your body is slowly changing. Getting to look at it three weeks apart helps you to see your progress and inspire you to keep at it.

3. Focus on major muscle groups

By building muscles in your legs, back, and chest you can raise your metabolism and thus, burn through fat at a faster rate. If you really want weight loss to be lasting, putting on a few pounds of muscle is actually a very good idea.

4. Don’t weigh yourself all the time

I actually don’t even own a scale. Weighing yourself all the time can be really discouraging. You eat a big meal and weigh three pounds more. You wake up in the morning and weigh four pounds less. It’s a rollercoaster and it’s not productive.

Consistency is the key to long-term success and weighing yourself only once in a while is the best way to stay on track.

5. Do exercise that you genuinely enjoy

It’s hard to make a lifelong habit out of regularly dragging yourself to the gym for hours of torture every day. You have to find something you enjoy. A dance class. Aquafit. Yoga. Soccer.

I actually lost a lot of weight by doing a ton of garden work in the summer, but have since joined a gym and tried a bunch of different classes. More than anything, I’ve found that exercise becomes more enjoyable the more you do it. These days I almost enjoy push-ups.

6. Find some friendly support

Your friends and family, a jogging buddy, a supportive class at your gym or yoga studio, anyone who encourages you to stay active. The world is full of negative influences that will try to throw you off track, so it’s a good idea to have some people who are in your weight-loss corner.

7. Allow yourself to cheat

Sometimes it’s okay to take a break, allow yourself to eat a treat you normally wouldn’t, to skip one day at the gym. The trick is to make those cheats further and further apart until you no longer even want to.

I used to drink sugary beverages way too often, like once a day or more. And when I stopped I found myself craving sugar all the time. If I never gave into that craving, I probably would’ve cracked after a week and started drinking them all the time again. But instead I allowed myself to cheat once every few days, and then once a week. And now I barely crave them at all.

8. Sneak in exercise whenever you can

These days I almost always take the stairs. I get off the streetcar one stop early so that my walk to work is a little longer. When you’re driving, park a little further away from your destination. The idea is to burn calories whenever possible and to really make fitness a lifestyle.

9. Set small goals and aim for slow progress

Some fad diets can help you lose 10 pounds in five days, but the chances that you’ll regain that weight are almost 100%. Everything in our society is instant nowadays, but weight loss should be a slow and gradual thing. Aim to lose one or two pounds a week, and think long-term.

10. Eat a healthy breakfast

One of the biggest improvements in my diet has been my breakfast. I’ve swapped out toast and cereal for overnight oats with raw, organic honey, half a banana and some flax seeds. I find it helps to keep me full all morning and reduces my snacking cravings.

11. Your clothes don’t lie

Often because of the media, we’ve convinced ourselves that we don’t look good and that nothing we do will help. But if your clothes fit better and your pants go on easier, you know you’re making real, undeniable progress.

12. Celebrate your accomplishments

When you reach a goal, go out for dinner or to a movie. Buy a pair of pants that actually fit. Life should be about feeling good and losing weight and keeping it off is a great feeling, especially when you celebrate it with your friends and family.

13. Spice it up

When I started eating quinoa, kale, apple salads for lunch every day, I quickly got bored and found myself craving unhealthier lunches. But instead I started mixing it up. Some days I eat wraps. Some days I put strawberries and spinach in my salad instead. There are a lot of healthy options out there and a lot of fun activities, you just have to keep it exciting by mixing it up.

Of course a list of good weight loss tips could go on forever. How to limit your portion sizes, what to eat to boost your metabolism, and what foods to avoid. How you should be drinking more water and eating more fiber rich foods. Or that 10 minutes of exercise is better than nothing.

But the most important part of losing weight and keeping it off is not to think of it as weight loss at all. It’s about living a life that promotes a healthy heart, a healthy mind, and a healthy body. If you do that, the weight will keep itself off.