It’s time to stop thinking about your weight loss destination and start enjoying the weight loss journey. Switching your perspective on how you look at this exciting time in your life can make the weight loss process easy and fun. So how do you do that? Weight loss is really about building a series of healthy habits that then get you to your weight loss goals.

At Fitmate, our personal weight loss coaches help you design a plan where you’re introducing a few new habits into your routine each week. These gradual weight loss steps eventually build out into a whole new healthy lifestyle that will stay with you even after the pounds are long gone. 

‍Why Does the Weight Loss Journey Matter?

After you’ve figured out how to start a weight loss journey, the way you choose to navigate that journey will affect how you feel while you're on it. How you feel on your weight loss journey will affect the results you get and whether or not you’re going to be able to sustain your results. 

Calorie Restrictive Diets

If you’re only thinking about your end goal then you might adopt some very restrictive ways of eating so you can get to the goal faster. When you restrict calories rather than focus on the types of foods you’re eating, you end up in a cycle of losing and regaining weight.

That’s because of the body’s response to starvation mode which increases your appetite and lowers your metabolism. Instead focusing on the journey by adding more healthy filling foods like lean protein and fiber will give you better results for sustainable weight loss. 

Focusing Primarily on Exercise

Once again, if you’re hyperfocused on the destination rather than the journey, you may simply rely on exercise to lose weight instead of changing eating habits. You may get good results from doing this in the beginning, but in the long term, it could be hard to maintain due to a lack of motivation or time constraints. Instead, introducing exercise you enjoy and can include as a part of your lifestyle will make the journey more pleasant and allow you to keep up your results. 

GLP 1

GLP-1 agonist drugs like Ozempic have recently risen to fame as tools that may help in weight loss by restricting your appetite. However, research shows that people regain weight once they stop taking the drug if they don't simultaneously adopt healthier habits in nutrition and physical activity.

The Power of Establishing Healthy Habits for Long-term Weight Loss

Establishing healthy habits in nutrition, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors like stress and sleep management is key to ensuring a quality weight loss journey. A quality weight loss journey doesn’t end when the weight comes off, rather the healthy habits that you picked up along the way stay with you so you can keep the weight off. 

Having Sound Weight Loss Principles

Losing weight based on sound weight loss principles instead of quick fixes and fads provides a long-term payoff. We know adding filling foods like lean proteins and fiber into your diet helps you lose weight by preventing overeating. We also know that adding movement to your life also helps you burn more calories. Incorporating these healthy habits based on sound weight loss principles into your routine provides a good way to lose weight and keep it off.

Making Healthy Routines More Manageable

You make your healthy routine more manageable by adding just one or two new healthy actions each week. Once those actions become habits then your healthy routine is much easier to maintain because the habits become a part of your daily life without requiring conscious effort.

‍The Role of Weight Loss Coaches in Building Healthy Habits

Figuring out which healthy habits you need to develop and how to develop them can be a challenge when you don't have expertise in nutrition or fitness. That’s where weight loss coaches come in. They have deep knowledge of sound weight loss principles and use that knowledge to guide you in the building of healthy habits and provide tips for weight loss journey success.

Identifying Which Habits to Adopt

The first thing your personal coach helps you with is identifying the best healthy habits for your lifestyle. Not only do they help identify the habits, but also provide you with practical information on why and how you should adopt them. For example, you might not realize that lean food can fill you up better than fatty foods, but once you start eating in this way you’ll notice the difference.

Your personal coach will guide you into introducing new habits into your life gradually. It could start with incorporating more lean foods, then reducing excessive fats and reducing foods with added sugar. The same approach is applied to slowly introducing a combination of cardio and resistance training into your routine. Your coach can also identify lifestyle factors that can hinder your progress like lack of sleep or high stress levels. Additionally, certain approaches to weight loss like intermittent fasting may not be for everyone, your coach can help you decide the best habits for your lifestyle.

Teaching You How to Consistently Apply Routines Until They Become Habits

Habits are formed through repetition. Coaches can guide you on how to consistently repeat a behavior until it becomes a habit. You’ll receive friendly reminders and advice to encourage you to flex that repetition muscle week after week. The added accountability to your coach also helps you stay consistent until the new behavior becomes a habit.

How Can Weight Loss Coaches Help You Repeat Healthy Behaviours?

There is an art to developing new habits, if it was easy everyone would be their best self every day. Your weight loss coach plays a crucial role in helping you develop each new healthy habit by employing some proven strategies that keep you motivated to perform the new behavior and stay consistent on your weight loss journey. 

Breaking Down Healthy Behaviors into Manageable Steps

One of the key strategies used by coaches to help you create new healthy behaviors is to break them down into smaller, more manageable steps. Instead of completely changing your diet, you make small changes each week like drinking more water. The same approach is used when introducing cardio and resistance training activities into your life. This approach allows for early successes and provides clear weekly targets, making the process less overwhelming and more motivating.

Recommending Activities You Enjoy

Your personal weight loss coach understands the importance of fun, enjoyment, and pleasure for motivation. Whether it’s a new food habit or an activity habit, there are tons of choices, your coach will help; you figure out the ones that satisfy your health need and also provide you with enjoyment. That way you can truly enjoy the whole weight loss journey. 

‍Monitoring Your Progress

Your personal coach monitors your progress which means you’re not the only one on this journey. Coaches use a variety of methods for tracking your weekly targets and your overall movement toward your goal. This level of accountability has been shown in research to boost motivation and encourage consistency.

Providing Feedback

Coaches provide valuable feedback on your meals and activities, helping you to improve over time. They show you how to start weight loss journey habit-building and then monitor your progress with feedback. This feedback can also boost your confidence and reinforce the feeling of "I can do this". 

Addressing and Overcoming Setbacks 

Life's unpredictability can sometimes throw a wrench in your plans and sometimes those wrenches can cause setbacks on your weight loss journey. However, it’s not necessarily the setback that matters as much as how you move forward. Coaches are there to help you navigate these setbacks.

Fitmate on-demand coaching means your coach is there to help you navigate any setbacks right away. They can help you identify the root cause and implement solutions quickly so you get right back on track. 

What to Look for in an Online Weight Loss Coach?

To have a lifetime of weight loss success, your weight loss journey should start with a coach that has the expertise, knowledge, and ability to help you create new habits, help you through setbacks, and do it within your budget. The right online coach will have the tools to ensure weight loss longterm.

Comprehensive Knowledge of Weight Loss and Habit-Forming Principles

Your coach should have a thorough understanding of both weight loss and habit-forming principles. The combination of those two things provides the backbone to a great weight loss strategy that provides sustainable results.

Availability On Demand 

Your online coach should be available almost daily and when you need them. Timely feedback can significantly increase your chances of success.

Affordability

Coaching services can be expensive, especially when frequent interaction is required. However, with the use of technology things are getting more affordable. Of course, at the end of the day, the best coach for you is going to be the one that you can afford and can get you the results you are after. 

The Bottom Line: Fostering Lifelong Healthy Habits

A great online coach is going to be able to guide you on your weight loss journey and help you enjoy the trip. The journey becomes more enjoyable when you’re not worried about the end goal, but rather setting the habits that are going to get you to the goal and help you sustain your weight loss for a lifetime. Coaches help you set new behaviors and show you how to stay motivated for consistent results, so the new behaviors become habits.

They also provide the support, knowledge, and accountability you need to make your weight loss journey a success. With the right coach and the right mindset, you can embark on your weight loss journey with confidence and achieve your goals sustainably and healthily. Learn more about what it's like to work with a 1:1 coach, by checking out Fitmate success stories and take our quiz to see if you're right for the program.