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Losing weight can sometimes feel like the easy part in your weight loss journey. The hard part is keeping that weight off and being consistent in your weight loss goals. This article provides 5 steps that the American Heart Association suggests to losing weight AND keeping it off.
1. Set Realistic Goals
Take a realistic goal of where you are at now and where you want to be. Create short term goals that are achievable and will motivate you towards your long-term goal.
The SMART Goals method is a tool that will help you identify realistic short-term goals. This acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. An example of how to use this method is as follows:
Instead of saying “I would like to exercise more” …
The SMART Goal might be, “I would like to exercise 3 days/week for 30 minutes on my recumbent bicycle.”
2. Understand How Much and Why You Eat
Be mindful of what, when, and how much food you are eating. You can track your eating habits here: https://www.loseit.com/. You can also check out our blog from last week that talks about how you can improve your diet. To be successful in this journey, you will need to know exactly what your triggers are that are causing you to eat more or unnecessarily. This method will help you identify those better.
3. Manage Portion Sizes
Try eating smaller portions of your food. A lot of people do not realize that there is a difference between a serving size and a portion size. A portion is what you can control. It is how much food you can eat in one sitting. Serving size is the amount of food listed on an item’s Nutrition Facts label. It may surprise you that the serving size is much smaller than what you may think. These are a few examples of recommended serving sizes:
1 slice of bread
1 small piece of fruit
1 wedge of melon
¾ cup fruit juice
4. Make Smart Choices
Make healthy substitutions to the meals you are already making. Here are a few examples of food substitutions will help you continue your weight loss journey and still be able to enjoy the food you eat!
Instead of french fries, try baked potato, brown rice or steamed vegetables
Instead of hot fudge sundae or ice cream, try nonfat yogurt, sherbet, or fruit ice.
Instead of fried chicken, try grilled chicken and a side salad.
5. Be Physically Active
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that a healthy adult aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity and at least 2 days of muscle strengthening activities every week.
Moderate-intensity aerobic activities include walking fast, doing water aerobics, or pushing a lawn mower. Muscle strengthening activities should work all major muscle groups which consists of legs, arms, hips, back, abdomen, chest, and shoulders.
Tria Health Can Help
For select groups, Tria Health offers a weight management service called Choose to Lose. If this structured weight loss program is included through your benefits plan, you can receive help from a combination of registered dietitians, health coaches and pharmacists, along the best-in-class nutrition tracker app ‘LoseIt!’ and a Bluetooth scale.
Tria Health is a no cost benefit available through select members’ health plans. Tria Health’s Pharmacy Advocate Program offers one-on-one, private consultations with a Tria Health Pharmacist. During your consultation, your pharmacist will review all your current medications, including vitamins and supplements. Tria Health will assist you in identifying any possible drug interactions or savings opportunities! Your pharmacist will work with you and your doctor(s) to ensure the intended outcomes from your medications are being received.
Questions?
Contact the Tria Health Help Desk at 1.888.799.8742