Top Ten Tips For Weight Loss That You Won't Get From a Fitness Guru

A healthy lifestyle is a holistic process where all the pieces need to come together for ultimate success. The energy around you, and your neural pathways can be blocked in un-resourceful ways which prevents us from following through with our efforts to lose weight and get in shape. This I have personally experienced when the trauma, drama, and emotional turmoil of my divorce from my 12 year marriage was a catalyst to my ballooning 30 pounds and well and truly losing my bikini babe figure.

Nothing I seemed to do would cause the weight to fall off and when I did make progress and shed 5 pounds, I would go on a sabotaging binge and gain it all back again.

From being a former slender and healthy figure to what the charts technically deem as borderline overweight, feeling sluggish and out of sorts, and most certainly not feeling 'me', I have been on both sides of the table. And because of this I've learnt something about creating a healthier body and lifestyle. That as of importance in creating the perfect body, is also creating a healthy mind.

Now finally on the way down from having lost 10 pounds in the last few weeks, I'm on my way to feeling great all round again.

So Here's My Top Ten Tips for Weight Loss That You Won't Get From a Fitness Guru:

1. The Holy Trio ~ A healthy body is incomplete without a healthy mind and spirit. There's more to weight loss and getting in shape than eating well and exercising regularly. Well being is an emotional, psychological, and physical process. Leave one out, and chances of failure are high.

2. Self Care ~ Take your focus off weight loss, and onto Self Care. Weight loss is a temporary thing, but self care is forever. Focusing on self care will bring the three factors, emotional, psychological and physical, all together and make a life long practice that increases the ratio of success dramatically. When focused entirely on weight loss with dramatic crash diets and extreme exercise routines, it's all too easy and common to fall quickly off the wagon.

3. You are an Individual ~ Your body is individual. What works for another, say a high protein no carbohydrate diet, or the cabbage soup diet, may not work for you. Listen to your body and let it lead you to what it wants for optimum health and well being.

4. Feeling good is NOW ~ Feeling good about yourself can start today. You don't have to wait till you drop that 20 pounds to feel good. Dress up, make up, feel good today. It's a decision. Make is yours.

A tip: I put around pictures of myself that showed my beautiful eyes and smile. Even though my body was not in the tip top shape I would like, when I look at pictures that show the light within me, it makes me realize the beauty I have NOW. It's not something I have to wait for. Posting those photos on my Facebook and getting wonderful comments from my friends made me feel good too.

5. Real life is not airbrushed ~ Many photos of all those gorgeous actresses, pin up girls, even models, are airbrushed. Don't expect to meet those standards until your pictures are airbrushed too. Case in point.

6. Do what you like ~ Find a form of exercise, or a few forms that you love and do it daily. Don't force yourself in the gym if that's not where you like to be. If you prefer to be outdoors, than run, walk, or work out outside. If you don't like exercising alone, then join a team sport. Be creative about exercise. Even pushing around a heavy wheelbarrow full of horse manure is a workout for me. Exercise does not have to mean trips to the gym.

7. Moderation ~ Face it, you'll probably succumb to some chocolate cake or bag of chips at some time during your weight loss journey. That does not mean you fall off the wagon and give up. Enjoy it. Savor every bite, and then continue on with your goal. It's not the end of the road nor is it failure. It's about allowing moderation into your life.

8. Forget perfection ~ The quest for perfection will kill you. Or at least make you very miserable.

9. Pleasure versus Pain ~ The pain of getting in shape can be more than the pleasure of achieving the loss of those 20, 30 or more pounds. To fit into a size 10 dress may not be a big enough reason to miss out on weekly hamburgers, to endure 5 am rising for a workout, to be counting calories and sweating nasty sweat. Your reason must be a compelling one that is greater than the perceived pain. For me, my mother's recent heart attack and the finding it was a inherited genetic problem was compelling enough for me. I did not want to die. What's your compelling reason why?

10. Don't make it HARD ~ If you are not a morning bird, don't set yourself up for failure by planning a weight loss and get fit schedule that means getting out of bed at 5 am for a run. On that note, don't run if you hate it!! Walk instead and steadily increase your pace. I you like sugar don't try going cold turkey. Cut down a little each week. Take out the afternoon lollies, or the teaspoon in your coffee, and swap the sugar for alternatives such as Stevia or even honey. Look for do-able alternatives.