Ten Favorite Weight Loss Tips & Tricks Linkup

Amber over at Crafty Healthy Mommy is hosting a Ten Favorite Weight Loss Tips & Tricks Linkup today and I decided to play along. I'm at the beginning of my weight loss journey, but here are a few of my tips & tricks at this point:

1. WATER. Drink it. Drink TONS of it. I keep a 32 oz water bottle on my desk at work at all times. I shoot to drink a full bottle before lunch, a full bottle after lunch, and a full bottle at home in the evenings. Yes, that's a lot of water.  Get used to the bathroom being your favorite room in the house, because you'll be spending plenty of time in there. But your body will thank you. Water works miracles. Your skin will look better, you'll feel better, have more energy, your immune system benefits and on and on. Just do it.

2. WORKOUT: Weight loss depends on one thing: burn more calories than you consume. You will never regret any workout, but you will regret it if you skip one. 

3. LOG IT: Log everything. Log every bite and drink you take. Log your workouts. Before I started my "get healthy journey", I logged a "normal" day. I was shocked by how many calories I was consuming. Shocked by how much mindless snacking I did. Now, I log everything that goes into my mouth. MyFitnessPal is a great app and is what I use. During my "Get Healthy Journey Take 1" pre-baby, I logged everything in a notebook. I use my BodyMedia to track calories burned, steps and sleep efficiency. Do whatever works best for you. 

4. PLAN AHEAD: I plan my meals in advance. On a good week, I have nearly every meal planned a week ahead of time. Sometimes things get crazy, and I plan meals the night before. Plan ahead for unexpected things to come up. Have a healthy back up plan in case you need to grab a meal on the go. Plan ahead for your work outs. If I know tomorrow is going to be a crazy day, I plan my workout for bright and early in the morning. I set my workout clothes out. I put Jillian in the DVD player. In the morning there's no scrambling around, half awake like a drunken idiot trying to get ready to work out. Don't make things harder than they need to be.

5. MOTIVATION: 

Find something, or someone to keep you motivated. It might be your family/kids, a blog, pictures and quotes on Pinterest. Anything to keep that spark alive. Or if you're like me, it might take browsing Instagram to find a pic of Mama Laughlin having a "Big Ass Salad" for lunch to make you second guess the double cheeseburger you were planning on picking up for lunch.

6. EAT CLEAN: Plain and simple. The more clean foods you eat, the faster your body is going to transform.

7. PRIORITIZE: I treat my workouts like I do my job. Unless I'm sick, I have to get it up and get it done.

8. SWITCH IT UP: Keep it interesting. If you do the same exact workout every day, you'll drive yourself crazy. If you eat the same boring salad every day for lunch, you're going to get tired of it. Add some variety. Browse some healthy, low calorie foods. Give a new workout a try. You'll give up in a hurry if you do the same 'ol thing over and over.

9. SMALL GOALS: Break your over-all goal into smaller ones. It can be overwhelming to look at the over all picture. It's a fast way to get discouraged. Weight-loss and healthy living shouldn't be a temporary thing. It's a life change. Not a diet. 

10. NO EXCUSES: Don't give up!!! Just get it done. I made excuses for the past three years. "I'm too tired after working 9 hours" "Wyatt's sick again, I can't possibly fit a workout in" "Oh, my favorite show is on tonight, no way can I miss that" "I'll start tomorrow... or Monday. Monday's better." "It's too expensive" ... I came up with every excuse in the book. Then, one day I had a reality check. Losing the weight, being healthy, it will NEVER be convenient. The perfect day is never going to just jump into my lap, "Here you go, Tiff. Today is the day where you have nothing better to do than bust your butt in a workout. Laundry is done, house is spotless. Now is the time." Yeah, it doesn't work that way. Don't kid yourself. You have to decide to make the time. You have to take control of your life.

Oops... I have one more:

11. EMBRACE IMPERFECTIONS: Don't be perfect. Perfect is boring. Enjoy that piece of birthday cake. Have yourself some sour gummy worms that are screaming at you in line at the gas station. It's ok to have a crappy workout. It's ok to splurge. Just keep going. Enjoy the journey. Even the imperfect parts.