Expecting everything to be flawless from the beginning of a weight loss journey is one of the most typical mistakes you can make. Highly effective dieters understand that taking action is always preferable to inaction. They are aware that there will be good and terrible days, but they are also certain that they will succeed as long as they keep moving forward with consistency.

Dieters who are successful focus on achieving as many tiny victories as they can because they understand that each one brings them closer to achieving their aim. I am going to break down the seven habits of highly effective dieters, key habits that I’ve seen my most successful clients use consistently, and not only that, these are habits that you’re going to see your favorite fit influencer or fitness professional use regularly.

These aren’t necessarily hard guidelines that you have to do, but they will make the dieting experience so much easier, they’ll also make staying healthy for the long run much easier because the goal here isn’t just to lose weight the goal here is to lose weight and keep it off.

Having the right habits in place while you’re dieting will make keeping off the weight that much easier because you’re able to stick to these habits for longer. You can watch the video or read below for the full list:

1- THEY DON’T DRINK LIQUID CALORIES

You’ll see your favorite influencer or person eat whatever food they want burgers, pizzas, or donuts but you’ll rarely ever see them drinking a high-calorie milkshake, having sodas that aren’t diet sodas, or any other high-calorie beverage. Nine times out of ten, it’s going to be just water, because they know they need to stay hydrated. They are also aware that eating their calories is much more fulfilling and enjoyable than drinking the calories.

2- THEY MOVE DAILY

This doesn’t mean they’re having a really hard workout every single day, but maybe they are doing some stretches to get their joints loose, maybe they’re going on a walk for 10-20 minutes in the middle of their day, maybe they take a few extra laps around the grocery store when they’re shopping, but the point is they find some way to move and move often throughout their days and throughout their weeks.

3- THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR MEALS AHEAD OF TIME

I don’t mean this in an obsessive kind of way where they have to know exactly what they’re eating before they eat it, but just having some forethought with their planning so that they can have a successful day.

If they know in the evening that they’re going to be going out with their friends, having desserts, eating at a really good restaurant, and they want a little bit extra flexibility there to enjoy themselves, their meals earlier in the day are going to consist of lower-calorie options, high nutrient-dense foods, more proteins, more fibers, more vegetables, more color, and vice versa.

If you know you’re going be going out to brunch and you’re going to be ordering a double chocolate waffle, your meals for the rest of the day got to be more in check, it’s a balancing act here and if you can know what you’re going to expect later in the day or earlier in the day, you know how to plan out to balance things appropriately. i.e when you can eat whatever you want, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can eat it whenever you want and how much you want it’s a balancing act.

If you already had one high-calorie low nutrient-dense meal in the day, you’re not going to be helping yourself if you have three more the rest of the day. It’s better to spread it out over days. After time you’ll feel better, your body will feel better and you’ll maintain the weight loss
that you’ve hopefully lost to this point or are continuing to lose as well, but the main key here is you’re being proactive about your food choices and your environment regardless of the circumstances.

4- THEY BUILD THEIR MEALS AROUND PROTEIN

Protein is the most important nutrient when it comes to dieting and it’s also the most under-consumed nutrient as well. If you want to maintain a toned physique, if you want to maintain the muscle you built, if you want to keep a high metabolism and get in the proper nutrients, you need to feel fuller for longer.

Getting in enough protein is key, so having a solid protein source with every meal and making sure that you start with that and then build the side components around that protein source will help make sure you’re getting enough protein, you’re limiting the chances of overeating and you’re giving your body what it needs to stay healthy.

5- THEIR WORKOUTS ARE AUTOMATIC IN THEIR SCHEDULE

It’s not a matter of whether or not they’re going to work out, more so, when they’re going to work out, they don’t see these as optional activities but as something they want to do, something they enjoy doing, and something they always look forward to following through with. Whenever it’s time to work out, it’s an automatic behavior, it’s never a fight of willpower or something they have to drag themselves to do.

Maybe their workouts aren’t scheduled at the same time every day, but they find a way to Tetris their schedule around working out so that they can do the activity they want to do. This is because they know how good it helps them feel, they know how important it is to their health and it is also for their long-term weight loss maintenance and healthy lifestyle success.

It’s something like brushing your teeth, you know you’re going to be doing it, it’s just a matter of when you’re going to be doing it. This small perspective shift can make all the difference when planning your workouts and following through with them

6- THEY HAVE A SET OF STAPLE MEALS

Not everyone likes eating the same meal for every single meal of the day, that’s true for everybody. I wouldn’t want to eat the same thing every single time, every single day, but most people are usually okay with eating one to two meals pretty similarly on a day-to-day basis. Maybe they have a go-to lunch that they always make or a go-to set of snacks that they always turn to that meet their protein needs. It is always handy in their home.

These few go-to meals will always help you out in a crunch and will always create a good foundation to your day to make sure you’re getting the baseline nutrients you need to live a healthy lifestyle, and create the weight loss or maintain the weight loss that you’re looking to achieve.
That means finding that staple meal for yourself, maybe one to two options that you like to have for breakfast, and alternating between them throughout the days and the weeks. Start your day on the right foot, get all those baseline nutrients you need, and have that reliable handy go-to that you can always rely on.

7 – THEY DON’T STRESS WHEN THEY DON’T DO ANY OF THE THINGS ON THIS LIST

Whether or not they do or don’t do any of the previous six things, things are going to come up, things are going to change. You’ll be traveling some days, maybe you’re running low on certain food supplies, maybe one-off situations, like a person’s birthday party, your birthday party, and a surprise party for you which throws you off of your eating game for that one day.

You guilting yourself over missing a meal, missing a workout, having a calorie drink, and not having a meal built around protein isn’t going to ruin or derail your life or your weight loss goals.

Feeling guilty, creating stress around that, and extrapolating that one negative situation to be the end of the world or the leading cause of your weight regain is going to make things worse for you internally and lead to poor decision-making further down the line. One negative decision isn’t going to ruin you, even a couple of negative decisions in a row aren’t going to ruin you.

Hopefully, you enjoyed whatever reason caused you not to do those things, but the next day, the next meal, and in the next decision that you’re making get right back on track with doing the things that you find valuable for yourself and are conducive to your goals. These aren’t hard rules that you have to follow to be successful but these are helpful guidelines that I have seen work time and again to help people lose weight, be a successful
dieter, and keep the weight off in the long run.

If you need help getting your mind right and habits in place to lose weight for good, apply for a strategy call with one of our coaches today!