Improve Self-Efficacy to Lose Weight

How Do I Build Self-Efficacy?

So how do you turn a negative belief system into positive thoughts? Researchers have identified four things that impact self-efficacy: mastery of experiences, social modeling, social persuasion, and emotional responses. You can learn more about each one from Kendra Cherry, the About.com Guide to Psychology. But if weight loss is your goal, here's how you can improve each self-efficacy factor to lose weight.

 Ways to Improve Self-Efficacy to Lose Weight

Set and reach small goals. To improve your mastery of experiences, you want to successfully complete small goals that will act as stepping stones to larger accomplishments. Break each long-term goal into smaller achievable goals, and as you complete each one, acknowledge it in your journal and remind yourself of your success. The completion of each small task will build your level of self-efficacy for completing larger tasks in the future.

Surround yourself with positive messages. If the people that surround you are successfully completing the goal that you want to achieve, you're more likely to believe that you can do it, too. Find friends that have some habits you admire. Skip the lunchroom snacks and spend your break with a crowd that eats a healthy meal. Instead of going to happy hour with your buddies, find a few friends that want to hit the gym and exercise.

You can also surround yourself with positive messages electronically. Sign up for newsletters that provide healthy messages, fill your Facebook feed with posts from weight loss coaches and successful dieters, and follow health-oriented Twitter feeds.

Social Persuasion. Talk to your family and friends. Let them know that their encouragement and positive messages make a difference. Then, make it a habit to acknowledge the compliments when you get them.

If your friends and family are not supportive, this is another area where social media can help. Several recent studies have found that positive messages sent electronically can help people lose weight. Get connected with others and with me! Sign up for my newsletter, my Facebook page and my Twitter feed. You’ll find messages from me and other dieters who have lost weight.

Learn to Relax. If you have intense emotional reactions to situations, your self-efficacy with regards to your ability to handle that situation will probably be low. Take some time to identify the situations that cause you to react strongly. Then, learn relaxation techniques that will help you to manage them with a calm demeanor.

If the concept of self-efficacy is new to you, don’t worry. Simply your awareness of your positive and negative beliefs may help you change the things you need to adjust in order to lose weight. Remember to start small, make changes gradually, acknowledge your successes and move forward from there.

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Diet pills, supplements and surgery

Diet pills and surgery can help with weight loss — when combined with a healthy diet and physical activity. But diet pills aren't for everyone. Neither is surgery. In fact, many doctors consider them only if you have weight-related health problems.

If you're in that group, you and your doctor need to carefully evaluate the potential benefits of diet pills or surgery and weigh them against the possible long-term risks. Your doctor will also counsel you about the lifestyle changes you'll need to make to be successful over the long term.

 

  Reduce Your Sugar Intake to Lose Weight

 If you're looking for the simplest way to slim down and improve your health, learning to reduce your sugar intake would probably be it.  Sugar is in many of the processed foods we eat, in almost all of the commercial beverages we drink, and we often add it mindlessly to foods at home. It's no wonder that high sugar consumption is being blamed for a variety of global health problems.

So what's the solution? Learn to find hidden sugars and reduce sugar in your diet.  It's not too complicated.  Use these resources to learn more about the sweetener, then put the tips to use in your daily routine. Chances are good that you'll feel better, look better and slim down in weeks.

Am I Addicted to Sugar?

Do you know the signs and symptoms of sugar addiction? Even if you don't eat sweets, you could have a bad sugar habit.  Use this checklist to find out if you have a sugar addiction.

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Diet Plans

When it comes to weight loss, there's no shortage of diet plans. Check any magazine rack, and you're bound to see the latest and greatest diet plans. But how do you know if a diet plan fits your needs and lifestyle? Ask yourself these questions about any diet plan you're considering:

·         Does it include various foods from the major food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat dairy products, lean protein sources, nuts and seeds?

·         Does it include foods you like and that you would enjoy eating for a lifetime — not just for several weeks or months?

·         Can you easily find these food in your local grocery store?

·         Will you be able to eat your favorite foods, or better yet, all foods?

·         Does it fit your lifestyle and budget?

·         Does it include proper amounts of nutrients and calories to help you lose weight safely and effectively?

·         Is regular physical activity part of the plan?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, keep looking. There are better diet plans out there for you.

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Weight-Loss Basics

Your weight is a balancing act, and calories are part of that equation. Fad diets may promise you that counting carbs or eating a mountain of grapefruit will make the pounds drop off. But when it comes to weight loss, it's calories that count. Weight loss comes down to burning more calories that you take in. You can do that by reducing extra calories from food and beverages and increasing calories burned through physical activity.

Once you understand that equation, you're ready to set your weight-loss goals and make a plan for reaching them. Remember, you don't have to do it alone. Talk to your doctor, family and friends for support. Also, plan smart: Anticipate how you'll handle situations that challenge your resolve and the inevitable minor setbacks.

If you have serious health problems because of your weight, your doctor may suggest weight-loss surgery or medications for you. In this case, you and your doctor will need to thoroughly discuss the potential benefits and the possible risks.

But don't forget the bottom line: The key to successful weight loss is a commitment to making permanent changes in your diet and exercise habits.

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Weight-Loss & Diet Plans

                           Weight-Loss Diet Meal Plans to Help You Lose Weight

You can healthfully lose weight without resorting to unhealthy trendy diets or risky supplements. How? Our weight loss diet meal plans are designed by EatingWell’s nutrition and culinary experts to offer delicious, nutritionally balanced meals for weight loss while keeping you satisfied. Just find your calorie level and you'll receive a personalized meal plan of breakfast, lunch and dinner planned for weeks

Lose Weight Fast: How to Do It Safely

It's time to move more! Losing weight requires close to an hour a day of moderate exercise, one study shows.

Plan to do cardio and strength training.

"Cardio burns the most calories, so it is ideal for fast weight loss, but afterward you need to include a few hours a week of strength training," Dansinger says. To burn the most fat, try to break a sweat after your warm-up and keep sweating for the entire hour, Dansinger says.

If you're not exercising now, and you have a chronic condition or a lot of weight to lose, it's wise to check in with your health care provider first. They'll be rooting for you! And they'll make sure that you're ready to work out.

Pace yourself. Don't do too much, too soon -- work your way up to help prevent injury.  

One way to step up the intensity is to do interval training -- brief bursts of high-intensity, followed by a more mellow pace, and repeating that pattern throughout your workout.

"Interval training allows people to work harder without having to spend the entire time at the higher level, and over time, the more you do it, the easier it becomes to burn more calories," Blatner says  

Fad Diets and Crash Diets

I know how tempting diet crazes can sound, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. You hear about stars who did it and look incredible.

But remember,  if a diet plan sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Also, please skip any programs that promote detoxification pills, laxatives, fasting, or potions, and any that promise weight loss faster than 2-3 pounds per week.

The truth is that cutting calories below 1,050-1,200 per day is counterproductive, because you need strong muscles to be able to exercise effectively.

"When you eat too few calories, you lose fat but also precious muscle, which is the worst thing you could do because it slows your metabolism and makes it more difficult to increase exercise intensity or duration," Dansinger says.

Fad diets also set you up for failure by depriving you of what you want. You can't eat like that for long, and it's too likely that you'll rebel and end up back where you started. You deserve better than that!

So by all means, attack your weight loss goal. Put it on the fast track. But please, do it right so you set yourself up for lasting success.

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