The majority of the population is looking for ways to loose weight. The following tips include different aspects that need to be considered in order to have success for long term weight loss. My favorite part of these healthy weight loss tips is that they don't include calorie counting as part of the plan.

• Tip 1- STOP dieting! You've heard it a many times, yet still you diet. Consider this, studies show that 95% of all people who loose weight gain it back plus more in 5 years. Realize that your daily habits and mind set about diet and exercise created your body. Changing and keeping new daily habits are the only solution for long term weight loss.
• Tip 2- To lose weight long term, you will have to permanently change five aspects of your life: 1- the foods you eat 2-how you eat 3- your exercise habits 4- your behaviors 5-how you think about food.
• Tip 3- Don't rationalize that you will loose the weight on a fad, reduced calories, or some type of restrictive diet "just to get started". This never works long term and can set off binging patterns. Stop looking for the magic pill, diet, or exercise plan. Nothing in life that is important changes instantly including weight loss. Many people need to work on patience to replace the mindset of instant gratification for long term weight loss success.
• Tips 4- Recognize what your particular patterns for sabotage during weight loss include. Is it motivation, physiology, exercise, emotional eating, understanding nutrition, or thought processing? Each person is individual and unique to their own habits they have created.
• Tip 5 - Think about how your weight affects your health. This should be part of what motivates you to move in a healthy direction. The dangers of being over weight include diabetes; high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease. Make changes in your diet that support a healthier long term outcome vs. short term weight loss that compromises your health.
• Tip 6- Don't think about exercise as an option. Think about exercise as something you just do everyday. Schedule it in like everything else you make important and make time for. If you give yourself permission to skip exercise because your tired, have no time, would rather do something else or have some other excuse, you will end up rationalizing why you can't do it rather than why you will do it.
• TIP 7- Be realistic. Set your goals for five to ten pounds at a time. Realistic goals will be easier to attain and keep you motivated in the process of long term weight loss. Think about it as one meal at a time and one day at a time.
• TIP 8- Develop strategies to cope with emotional eating. Many people with weight issues have habits of eating in response to emotions and stress. Think about how overeating makes you feel before the process of eating rather than after. Ask yourself when you go for the food cabinet, am I hungry? If you can answer no, create a new habit to replace the food. Reflect about why you are stressed. Learn to deal with stress in healthier ways. Overeating ultimately stresses your body and emotions in a negative way and does not help cope with stress.
• Tip 9- Motivation. The feeling of motivation to loose weight or exercise might help you get started, but motivation always fades at some point. Realize when this happens you need to have your schedule in place and support that will help to encourage you. A certified and experienced personal trainer is an excellent person to help you to develop strategies when motivation fades.
• Tip 10- Accept your body during the process of trying to improve your health and loose weight. If you are negative about the way your feel about your body, you will find ways to sabotage your healthy plans by giving into the negative mindset regarding how you feel about yourself. Remember, positive attracts positive outcomes and visa versa.

Diets don't address the root causes of why people are overweight and in turn success rates are minimal. Yes, you may have to count calories to some extent, but that should not be the main emphasis of weight loss. Think about a new approach including a comprehensive plan that will change your way of thinking, living and moving every day. A lifestyle overhaul may not be fast and easy but the rewards will be great.

By Carolyn Phillips

Carolyn Phillips has a 20 year history as a certified personal trainer with the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, teaching lifestyle management, nutrition, weight training, cardiovascular, fitness testing, and behavior modification.  Carolyn is featured on WFSB Channel 3’s, Better CT and on radio 96.5 TIC FM with Damon Scott as the fitness expert every Wednesday.

Carolyn Phillips is founder and CEO of Fit Behavior (http://www.fitbehavior.com) and. Carolyn’s Menu of Life (http://www.Caroylnsmenuoflife.com) The facility has a 13 -year history and has been awarded winner of the best place to workout and best Pilate’s studio by the Hartford Magazine and voted best by The Hartford Advocate for its nutrition and cardio program. Carolyn won the prestigious 40 Under Forty award from the Hartford Business Journal for outstanding leadership in the greater Hartford area.

Carolyn has over 25 years of combined comprehensive sports and education experience.

• ·         2000-2010 ACE Certified Personal Trainer
• ·         2010 ACE Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant
• ·         2007-2010 Featured on Better CT Channel 3 as a Fitness Expert
• ·         2009-2010 96.5 TIC FM's Damon Scott radio show as the weekly Fitness Expert
• ·         2007-2010 The Mary Jones Radio Show, WDRC-AM 1360 - guest Fitness Expert
• ·         2008-2010 West Hartford Community Television - Fitness Expert and Group Instructor on air
• ·         1990-2010 Guest Speaker on ESPN, WHCN, WCCC, WDRC
• ·         2002-2010  President - Board of Directors at Chrysalis Center Inc.
• ·         2009 BS in Organizational Leadership, Quinnipiac University
• ·         2007-2008 Published writer for Natural Nutmeg Magazine
• ·         2007-2008 Nutmeg Community Television - Fitness Expert and Group Instructor on air
• ·         2000 40 Under 40 Award from the Hartford Business Journal
• ·         2004 Licensed Professional Mountain Biker
• ·         1998-2004 CT State and Regional Mountain Bike Champion
• ·         1990-1997 CT State Bodybuilding Champion and National Competitor
• ·         1974-1980 VT State Gymnastic Champion and Junior Olympics Competitor
• ·         3 years coursework in Health Sciences

·         Currently studying for Master's Degree in Nutrition

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