The 10 Ultimate Commandments for Losing Weight

When it comes to losing weight, there are some rules that I try my best never to break.

These are not the popular suspects like “always eat breakfast” or “cut down on sugar” or “no food after 7pm”

I’ve come up with this list over a long period of trying my best to be my healthiest. It wasn’t something that I just invented overnight. These are rules that I’ve found work for me over time. And this is the key.

Just because these are my rules doesn’t mean you should follow them.

Pick out the ones that you feel will work for you, then add to them and make your own list. If you do this, do leave a comment below. Id love to read your list!

Leggo

1. NEVER eat to boost your mood. Never! Instead, do something from this list here: 10 Things to Distract Yourself When You Want to Eat Your Feelings Away
2. NEVER follow any Instagram account that posts a lot of food pictures. This is ironic because I do post a lot of food pictures on my insta. However, as a rule, I don’t follow any accounts that do that. The last thing I need is to be scrolling through my gram on a dreary Monday morning only to come across a picture of Ikokore. Nah
3. NEVER share your fitness goals before you accomplish them. Is there really anything worse than sharing a fitness goal and then having the person respond with: “which weight do you have to lose?” Or “but you’ll become muscular if you exercise”?
4. ALWAYS look for inspiration. I love Buff Bunny and many other fitness buffs online. They inspire me to see what’s possible so I’m always on the look out.
5. ALWAYS have a plan and remember to write it down. It’s hard enough to convince myself to workout. I don’t have to add the hassle of figuring out which workout to do on top of that. So each week, I pull out my calendar and I write out which exercises I plan to do and which days I plan to do them. You can download my calendar for free by joining my email list.
6. ALWAYS trust yourself and listen to your body. There was a time I was binging on drumsticks and shaki because I’d heard that protein is good for weightloss and building muscle. Needless to say, I ended up gaining weight even though I was working out consistently. When I realized that eating so much meat (and the wrong kind for that matter) wasn’t helping me, I stopped, re-evaluated and switched strategies. I still eat meat – but I no longer feel the need to eat 4 or 5 drumsticks a day in the name of fitness – that’s a lot of maimed chickens Lol! Anyway, morale of the story – trust yourself. If you hear something from somewhere and it’s not working for you, trust yourself, listen to your body, and do what works for you!
7. ALWAYS have grace for yourself. You won’t kill every workout. You won’t eat perfectly every single day. You won’t see results instantly. But you have to love yourself. Respect yourself and most importantly, have grace for yourself. You’re trying your best. You’re putting in the work. Your results will surely come.
8. NEVER leave food out! I find that if there is a pot of stew on the stove, i WILL “taste” a piece of meat everysingle time i walk by. There’s just no two ways about it. That’s the way it is – so now, if i see food out, I put it away because I know that all bets are off once hunger strikes
9. NEVER leave used spoons and bowls sitting out. This is closely related to #8. If it’s there, I’ll be tempted to use it. There is something about the finality of washing my plate or putting into the sink (and pouring water on it) that tells my brain to stop clamoring for more
10. Consider the promise of fruit. For a while, when I was working on breaking the habit of going back for seconds (and thirds, and fourths *pray for me*), I used to tell myself that I was entitled to a piece of fruit after every meal. So instead of going for an extra bowl of rice and pasta, I would drink water and if i was still wanting a little something extra, I’d grab an apple or a mango or something. It’s sweet, healthy, and it removed the taste of the food from my mouth, making it easier to move forward with my life Lol

What are your personal rules for losing weight and keeping it off?