If you find yourself needing to lose more than 10 or 15 pounds, it can be a bit daunting to embark on what is sure to be a challenging weight loss journey.  No doubt, this will be an endurance event.  The question is, can you stick with it long enough to reach your goal? 

Today I’ve got for you just a few strategies that will help you lose that weight without losing your sanity. Even if reaching your goal will take months (or even years!), these tactics will enable you to keep your focus until you reach the finish line.

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Set Milestones

One helpful trick for dealing with long-term goals is to set smaller, easier to attain goals along the way.  Not only will this meet your need for a bit of quick gratification, but it will also give you the opportunity (excuse) to reward yourself. 

For example, if you have 30 pounds to lose, set 5-pound milestones.  Each time you lose a fiver, treat yourself! Reward your progress with something that will enhance your continued weight loss efforts, like some new workout music, or that Restorative Yin class you’ve been dying to try.

Shed Weight, Not Tears

The changes you choose to make will also determine how easy or arduous the journey is.  Yeah, you could live off broiled chicken, brown rice, and broccoli for the next 6 months, but what sort of life is that?  And how will you maintain those painfully-earned results? 

There is a reason most people can only last for a few weeks on these extremely restrictive plans. They are difficult and unpleasant to sustain over time, to say the least! So be sure to make changes that you can truly live with and incorporate long term into your lifestyle. Remember, temporary changes will only give you temporary results!

Changes Worth Making

If you’re truly in this for the long haul–that is, you really want to change your life–you need to make changes you can live with.  In fact, a good test for any change you’re considering is to ask whether you’re doing it just to lose weight or if this is a change worth making permanently. 

Make a list of such worthy changes and, one by one, begin incorporating them into your lifestyle.  As the weeks and months go by, you’ll not only lose the pounds but you’ll also be creating a new way of living that supports your new physique.

Is the juice worth the squeeze?

Finally, as you get started with your goal, it’s always helpful to get some perspective.  As you sit there wondering whether you have what it takes to go the distance, ask yourself one simple question:  If you knew that one year from now–after all the work and diligence and perseverance–you’d have reached your goal, would it all be worth it? 

For some, this question becomes a transformative mantra because they know that one year is a small price to pay for shedding the weight and changing their lives.  One year is a small investment compared to how you will feel at the finish line.

Lifestyle change is never easy, but if the change is worth making, the rewards will be sweet! If you’d like to see examples of everyday people chasing down their weight loss goals, check out my Plan for Success series! You just might find the inspiration and tactics you need to reach your goals.