Lifestyle Habits for Sustained Weight Success

by Mariana Bozesan

In addition to nutritional and exercise habits, there are a few lifestyle habits that need to be observed to achieve lasting weight success.

Some of the most powerful ones are:

Choose supportive peers: We become like the people we hang out with. Thus, to make sure you achieve your weight loss goals, surround yourself with people who will support you 100 percent on your new path. Stay away from those who drag you down, are jealous or afraid of losing you because you may change and be different from them.

Make no exceptions: Until you have achieved your goal of losing weight by adopting new habits, make no exceptions in anything you do. If you decide to practice proper food combining, alkalize your body and exercise regularly, do it every day until the new habit has been established in your life.

Cultivate flexibility: Change doesn’t happen over night. It takes time to find the right journey. Stay focused on your goal and be flexible in your approach. Make adjustments to your weight loss program until you find the right path for you.

Bowel care: Honor the call of nature and go to the bathroom when asked to do so by your body. Make a habit in taking an inner shower regularly by taking a self-administered enema once per week during your weight loss program. In addition, get at least six professional colonics, also called colon hydrotherapies, per year. Plus, take your friendly bacteria daily to ensure healthy bowels.

Food shopping: Don’t shop for food when you are hungry. Eat a cucumber, an apple or an orange before going to shop for food. Always purchase organic foods wherever available. They not only taste better, they are 300 percent richer in minerals and vitamins and have fewer pesticides and herbicides. In the long run, you will save money by having fewer doctor bills, which might compensate you for the possible higher prices of organic foods.

Also, reduce your purchase and consumption of prepackaged and processed foods. Make a habit of reading labels.

Watch what you drink: Give up drinking ice cold drinks, because you want to use the energy in your body to lose weight and not to bring the drinks up to regular body temperature. There is a reason why the human body has that specific temperature — honor it! Also, make a habit in drinking one green tea per day, preferably before noon. It not only tastes great and might be a good replacement for coffee, it has potent antioxidants that protect your body against free radicals and boost weight loss. In addition, stop drinking acid-producing soda pops (diet or not) and alcoholic beverages of any kind.

Snacks: Never eat prepackaged snacks that have forgotten their source of origin. Instead, make a habit of carrying with you soaked raw nuts and seeds, carrots, celery sticks or other fruits and vegetables that you can eat when you need to snack during the day.

Cleanse and detoxify: Begin to fast and cleanse your body at least once a year, preferably by joining a group at a retreat. Give yourself that ticket to an ideal body and a long-lasting life full of health, energy and meaning.

Digestive enzymes: Make sure you take a digestive enzyme every time you put anything in your mouth, including a drink. Carry digestive enzymes with you everywhere you go. Along with the green drink, digestive enzymes are a sure ticket to successful digestion and proper weight management.

Learn how to listen to your body: After a meal, if you feel tired and heavy, or bloated and have reflux, your body is telling you that you have eaten the wrong foods. Avoid them next time until you desensitize your body through cleansing and enzymes.

Commit yourself to lifelong learning and growing: Continue to grow by attending seminars, reading inspiring literature, listening to tapes and belonging to a peer group that supports you. Get a life coach to help you stay focused on creating a life of meaning and fulfillment where having an ideal healthy and vital body is a natural by-product.

Review and measure your goals regularly: To stay on target and make sure you are still on course, review your weight loss goals on a regular basis. This way you will notice whether you are making progress. This will also put you in a position to make the necessary adjustments to achieve what you want.

Keep a journal: In your journal write down every day how you feel, what you do and how you are progressing. Be kind and loving to yourself by acknowledging the fact that you are on the right track and that the universe is conspiring to help you succeed.

Be 100% committed and stay accountable: We all need to find ways to measure our success and to keep ourselves accountable for our progress. Thus, use every possible way to stay committed on your path: Commit your goals to a buddy, a friend or your partner, who will support you and keep you on track in a loving way.

Handle relapse: Be gentle, kind and forgiving with yourself. If you fall short on your commitments, accept the fact that you are human, learn from it and move on by getting back on the track that you have committed yourself to. Remember that "success is an inside job" as Dr. Wayne Dyer reminds us.

Reward yourself (not with food) and celebrate every single step on the way to achieving your goal of sustained weight success.

Practice emotional mastery by cultivating gratitude and forgiveness.

Most of all have fun!