Written by: Georgette LePage, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Happy 2022 and Happy new you in 2022! Are you feeling confident about your health right now and are ready to keep your good habits going as the new year begins or are you scrambling to start fresh and to make drastic changes due to holiday overindulgence? Either way, the new year is starting and you have some decisions to make about your health TODAY!
It’s no surprise that typically less than 10% of people who set a weight loss or healthy eating goal on January 1st actually end up achieving their goal! Think about it: that means that 90% of those who set intentions do not follow through after a few months. Gyms are packed in January and people buy exercise equipment and start new diets to rid themselves of holiday weight gain. Can you relate to this? Does it feel overwhelming and impossible to ride the same roller coaster of weight loss over and over again to little or no avail? You’re not alone!
I want to offer the possibility of not having to go up and down physically and emotionally again. It is very possible and will take some effort and determination on your part. Willpower is temporary and fizzles out after a while, so we have to take a different approach. Habit change is the long lasting way to lose weight and keep it off. It’s the way to become healthier and to stay that way without dramatic highs and lows that lead to discouragement and ultimately quitting our efforts.
Here are a few tips to shift your mindset and to focus on small steps toward your goal:
Be kind to yourself and shift the way you think about weight loss. It serves you so much better to think about improving your health which leads to looking better and feeling better. Forgive yourself about your overeating during the holidays and focus on the action steps to get results. How you think about this is up to you because you get to decide your thoughts. How empowering!
Set a realistic health goal in a reasonable amount of time. This means to choose something that you are willing to work for that can actually happen. For example, instead of setting a goal of losing 50 pounds in a month, set a goal of losing 50 pounds in 10 months with detailed, small steps. You can then focus on implementing one new step at a time with clear measurable goals along the way.
Write things down. By writing down your goal, it becomes more visual, almost like a promise that you are making to yourself. Using a calendar to write down your start date and achievements along the way gives you a clear look at your progress. Using visuals can be very powerful. Do what works for you, either on paper or electronically.
Take a before picture and weigh yourself to get a benchmark of where you started. This can be very intimidating and scary because you have to face the facts and that can be tough to handle. I understand and encourage you to own your numbers and use them as loving motivation to take the weight off. If you have lab results from a doctor, that can be very helpful when you measure your progress along the way. Do what works for you and just get started.
Surround yourself with resources that offer you truth and sound advice. Get an accountability partner if it’s easier for you to stick with it. Better yet, hire a health coach who will guide you along the way and who will support you and keep you accountable. I love walking alongside clients on their journey and seeing them get results that last! That’s the point of weight loss for life and that feels so much better than panic after holiday time year after year.
As you begin your weight loss journey this year, I want to offer the idea of this being a lifelong skill that will end your yearly frantic feelings of starting new year’s resolutions. It is my wish for you that next year at this time, you will already be at your goal and will be enjoying life without the stress of starting fresh on January 1st because you will have the skills and tools to eliminate that anxiety once and for all. I want to challenge you to give it a try this year and to intentionally improve your health so that you can look better and feel better inside and out! I’m here for you if you’d like a coach who lives exactly that way and who understands what you want. Let’s make 2022 happy, healthy, and more joyful as we improve our health one small step at a time! Cheers to you in 2022!
Georgette LePage, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Georgette LePage is a certified Health and Life Coach who empowers women all around the world to lose their mental weight first in order to then lose their physical weight. Her approach is honest, real, clear, and genuine with transformational habit change and mindset reset methods. Georgette's energy and enthusiasm are contagious. Her focus on healthy lifestyle inspires her clients to leave behind old diet culture thoughts and patterns in order to embrace fresh and simple ways to live their best lives without diet drama. Empowerment, self confidence, and self care are cornerstones of the programs that she offers. She helps her clients to get the results that they want with realistic, real-life strategies. She lives her own life the way she coaches others. She listens to what her clients want and guides them with compassion and accountability as they achieve their goals. She works with people of all ages (teens to seniors and every age in between) who are ready to live a healthier, more joyful life. Georgette also hosts the talk radio show WHY WEIGHT? with Dr. Pat Baccili on Transformational Talk Radio. In addition to speaking English, she also is fluent in French and Spanish. Georgette has 32 years experience as a World Language Teacher, as well. Her coaching motto is: Feel better. Look better. Be your best self!
