15 habits of people who have effectively lost over 20-30 lbs and kept it off. Great advice for losing weight Part 1

A few weeks ago I rediscovered the book 7 habits of highly effective people. I am sure you heard of this book considering it has been around forever. Anyways, I did not read the book again but the title did get me thinking.

What are the habits of people who have effectively lost over 20 – 30lbs and sustained that weight loss?

The key part of that sentence is sustained that weight loss. As someone who has lost over 30 pounds I can tell you that losing weight in my opinion is easy compared to sustaining it.  But I have sustained my weight loss for over 3 years now. I know what I do and I write all about here on my blog. But I was curious what other people do or have done to sustain their weight loss. So I decided to ask this question on the Organize Yourself Skinny Facebook Page.  125 of you responded and gave some great responses.

Credit : organizeyourselfskinny.com

Before I share a summary of the responses I want to talk about an observation I made as I was reading all of them. I found it very interesting – though not surprising – that not one person mention a fad diet or strict diet program when talking about losing weight and/or sustaining their weight loss. A couple people did mention Weight Watchers but I think that program does work for a lot of people because it focuses on lifestyle and habits. I personally don’t think paying for a program like Weight Watchers is necessary but out of all the programs out there I think it is the most realistic.  Anyways, my point is that almost every single habit that was talked about was free and did not require a specific “plan” or “program”.

Now of course this is not a scientific study by any means but only what I found by asking people who follow the Organize Yourself Skinny Facebook page. You can view all their responses in full here.

Please note these habits are not in any kind of order. All of them are equally important. I summed up all their responses into 15 habits, added my thoughts, experiences, and resources if available.

I think you will feel relieved and pleasantly surprised –or not – to find that all 15 of these habits are real everday habits that anyone can implement into their lifestyle. All without sacrificing yourself or any of the food you love. These habits don’t require a monthly fee, for you to buy special diet foods, or the need to follow a list of complicated rules.

15 Habits of People Who Have Effectively Lost Over 20 – 30lbs and Kept it Off

1. Do not eliminate foods or deem certain foods as bad or “off limits”

With all the restrictive diets flooding our tv’s and computer screens you would think the only way to lose weight would be to completely eliminate food groups and only live off kale and water. Well that is not the case. Most people who lose weight and sustain their weight loss do not do so by removing certain foods completely from their diet but finding a way to fit them into a healthier lifestyle. For weight loss to be sustainable your lifestyle needs to be sustainable.

2. Develop routines and make it your lifestyle

Losing weight has everything to do with creating healthier habits. To do this you need to switch up your routines. Basically, if you do what you always do then you are going to get what you always get. Once you have created new routines and stick with them those routines will eventually turn into habits and become your new lifestyle. Keep in mind that it takes 21 days to form a new habit so don’t give up on those new routines so quick. Also, don’t try to overhaul your life in one week. Slow and steady friends. Too much to soon will cause you to burn out and get discouraged.

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