In Element 06, you identified your goal to help you reach a healthy weight. In Element 07, we’ll focus on making simple, yet powerful, changes in your environment to make it easier to reach that goal. Consider how you can increase the steps needed to make unhealthy choices and decrease the steps required to make healthy choices. It’s all about setting yourself up for success.

There are several opportunities throughout your day where you can create obstacles for unhealthy decisions to make healthy choices easier. Here are some tips for improving your surroundings and creating a leptogenic world, or an environment conducive to weight loss:

• Clear your pantry. Get rid of unhealthy foods that could sabotage your healthy eating, such as white bread, hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined cereals, and processed sweets. Instead, reach for a Fueling, which is portion-controlled and provides balanced nutrition.
• Meal prep and storage. One of the keys to eating smaller portions is to serve less food. Try using a smaller plate to accommodate smaller portion sizes. Make your kitchen the designated location for serving food and avoid bringing serving bowls to the dining table. Since drinking water can help reduce hunger, set your table with large water glasses and keep a pitcher of water on the dining table for easy refilling.
• Be prepared when dining out. Develop a strategy for portion-control while dining out. Try ordering two appetizers instead of an entrée, such as a broth-based soup and side salad, or split an entrée with your dining companion. As soon as your food arrives, request a container and immediately pack up leftovers that exceed your proper portion size. Check out the OPTAVIA Dining Out Guide for additional tips.
• Optimize your bedroom. Make your bedroom more conducive to healthy sleeping by dimming the lights in your bedroom so your body can start to wind down. When it’s time to go to sleep, turn the lights off and make sure your room is completely dark. Choose a bedtime that allows for seven to nine hours of sleep and stick with your routine.

Ask me, your OPTAVIA Coach, for other tips on creating a leptogenic world on your journey to Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time^® and stay tuned for next week’s newsletter featuring Element 08 of Your LifeBook in the new Habits of Health Transformational System—learning to eat every three hours. Still need to order your NEW Habits of Health^® Transformational System? Let’s connect today!

Everyone has areas where they can improve. With one small change, what seemed impossible can become a reality, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Self-improvement is a lifelong journey and you can always be a better version of yourself. Refocus your efforts by trying these tips to improve yourself:

• Practice positive affirmations. Positive self-talk can calm you down and control stress. Speaking to yourself in a positive way can help create a positive growth mindset. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this”, try “I can handle this by taking one step at a time.”
• Create an action plan. Write down the steps to your goals and put them in a place where you will see them regularly, like a vision board or your screensaver background. That way, you’ll have a constant reminder of what you’re working toward. Take your daily organization to the next level by creating an action plan or to-do list. A complete list is includes what you have to do, how you have to do it, and how long it should take.
• Identify your blind spots. Spend a day with yourself and list your triggers, strengths, and weaknesses without bias. Underneath each one, write down why you placed each trait or response in each category. This is another way of building of self-awareness and monitoring your growth.
• Manage your time. Managing time isn’t about squeezing as many tasks into your day as possible. When you understand how you use your time, you are able to work smarter, not harder. Identify areas where you may be spending too much time such as your smartphone or watching too much television. Another way to manage your time is to dedicate sufficient time to your most important task first and devote the appropriate amount of attention.

Ask me, your OPTAVIA Coach, about other ways to improve yourself on your journey to Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time^®.

Non-Scale Victories

 “I was overweight for most of my life, since elementary school actually. I was never an athlete. I skipped the juniors department and went right into women's sizes. I picked up more weight in college and even more after I got married.”

After Stephanie and her husband adopted three children, she began having back problems and her neurosurgeon told her that she was going to need back surgery. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

“I didn't care about the cost or what the Program entailed. I was a professional dieter so I was pretty sure that I could figure it out.”

After working with her OPTAVIA Coach and implementing new healthy habits, Stephanie lost 80 pounds in eight months and dropped eight dress sizes*. 

“I felt better than ever and I really wanted to pay it forward and help others but I was still skeptical about the weight coming back. I will never forget what my Coach told me. She said, ‘Let me believe for you until you can believe for yourself.’”

Stephanie went on to lose an additional 13 pounds* over the following year. She signed up to be an OPTAVIA Coach because she knew she could be a good role model.

“One of my goals was to ride a horse for the first time. I took my entire family to the Dominican Republic to celebrate my 40^th birthday. I rode a horse for the first time on the beach and was the only person on the tour brave enough to ride their horse into the ocean. I quickly learned that it's not just about the number on the scale. Those non-scale victories mean so much more.

My journey wasn't just about weight loss. It was about freedom. I'm free to do things that I would have never thought to do!”

After being inspired by Stephanie’s success on the Program, Stephanie’s husband asked her to be his Coach and he lost 50 pounds.*

“It really feels great to be on this journey together and to pass the Habits of Health^® on to our children. I love seeing them make healthy choices on their own. This Program changed my life and I love paying it forward. I want to inspire people. I want people to look at me and say, ‘Because of you, I didn't give up.’"