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Small Changes Reap Big Results: 10 Simple Ideas for Weight Loss and Health

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We can visualize the goal. The arms thrust in the air as we cross the finish line, zipping up the smaller jeans or finally achieving an unassisted pull up.

The only thing we need is a step by step guide that will lead us to the promise land.

Do x = achieve y.

If we just quit all our bad habits and do exactly what they say, success is guaranteed. Who cares if that means turning our lives upside down, committing to working out everyday, never touching sugar again and working past dawn to dusk?

It sounds ridiculous, but how many 30 day challenges or running streaks have you joined? How many diets? And the truth is usually that massive overhauls don’t last because the discomfort is too great.Small daily improvements are the key to success -- learn how to implement thisAt the end of the day we fail because we cannot sustain the requirements.

They’re such a drastic deviation from our lives that it doesn’t take much to pull us off course and then it feels too hard to start again. I’ve certainly fallen in to this trap with my race training and even with my diet at times.

When I look back at what has been successful, it’s NEVER been a massive change. It has been making small changes and allowing them to add up over time. I have maintained my 35lb weight loss for 12 plus years because each new change was small, it didn’t require me to overhaul my life. Instead it became my life.

This part of what I hope to share in the Running For Weight Loss Ebook because I’ve seen it work repeatedly for myself and others.

The idea is to make changes that feel so insignificant you barely notice they’ve shifted your life. We become what we repeatedly do, learn the value of small habit changesBig sweeping changes absolutely work in the right circumstance

It shakes up life and gets you to refocus on a goal…but more often than not it follows a very similar pattern of initial excitement followed by a road block in the form of daily life and then a return to old habits.

What if you thought small instead of big? Could you make more lasting change? #health Click To Tweet

Examples of Small, but Big

Breakfast
If all you do this week is add shredded carrots/ground flax to your morning oatmeal that’s unlikely to generate either high or low, but now you’ve started your day with a veggie and added some bulk to your morning meal that might help it last longer.
97 ideas for protein packed breakfasts >>

Evening Routine
Or maybe you commit to doing some squats/leg lifts while you brush your teeth before bed…no added time to your day, but working your biggest muscle burns calories and starts to shift your mental patterns.
More ways to activate those glutes >>

Parking
Stop circling for a spot, just park in the very first one you see. Usually means walking a little farther and saving a lot of time/frustration.

They seem silly they’re just so small!

However a breakfast that keeps you from reaching for the candy jar could mean 50-100 calories a day saved on snacks and firing up the glutes is good for runners to prevent injuries which could derail your training or weight loss efforts.10 small changes for big results in your health, life and weight lossIt’s why they call it a Yoga Practice and why I’ve relabeled the Clean and Lean Challenge to  the Clean and Lean Blueprint…because it’s an ongoing process of making small tweaks to grow.

I know Transformation Thursday posts and other dramatic stories, make us all crave BIG shifts. But the real story is it took time and for many people there were a lot of failures before success.

Start your journey today with just one little change and you can post your own WOW moment in a few months.

10 More Small Changes

Start thinking about your small changes! Here are some ideas to get you going:

  • Stand up to make phone calls
  • Pack lunch the night before
  • Eat an apple every afternoon
  • Fill a water bottle upon waking with water and lemon (good for flushing the body)
  • Commit to walking your pet daily (take that chore from someone else)
  • Park in the first spot you see no matter how far from the door
  • Read something positive each night before bed
  • Reach for a cup of tea when munchies hit that aren’t hunger driven (read why!)
  • Wait until at after lunch to have any sweets (hmm imagine if you could easily bypass pastries at morning meetings)
  • Set a daily reminder on your phone, when it goes off take 5 deep breaths
Feeling overwhelmed at trying to change everything at once and understanding what really works? Here’s my proven system to upgrade your health habits for lasting weight loss >>

What small changes have you made over time that added up to big results?

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Posted by amanda Categories: Clean Eating, Healthy lifestyle

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susie @ SuzLyfe says

    December 6, 2016 at 4:44 am

    Very similar to how I coach all my clients–details add up, so if you are just looking big picture, you might miss the small and very manageable changes that could make the greatest difference over time!

  2. Pippa says

    December 6, 2016 at 8:15 am

    I’ve made myself take a walk every morning before i do anything. It’s great because working from home can be tricky in terms of going a bit stir crazy. Getting out and about makes such a difference!

  3. meredith (The Cookie ChRUNicles) says

    December 6, 2016 at 1:01 pm

    love these tips and definitely agree, small changes can give big results!

  4. RHONDA @ CHANGE IN SECONDS says

    December 8, 2016 at 10:09 pm

    Bang on! This is my message to my visitors and community at change in seconds, its all about changing your lifestyle habits one at a time until they stick.

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runtothefinish

Amanda Brooks : Run Coach
A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might alr A NEW PLAN DOESN’T FIX EVERYTHING. You might already know what’s best for you, but aren’t doing it consistently. That’s the only way we really make changes.
.
A PLAN can help, but I often don’t think that’s step one to making lasting change.
//
HABITS AND ROUTINES✴️
-Eliminate the need to make decisions.
-Which reduces brain fatigue.
-Which increases your chance of success.
//
TINY HABITS✴️
This is the smallest step you can take towards your goal. Often so small it seems insignificant, but is easy to make it a habit.
🌟
That leads you to another tiny habit, then another and suddenly it’s just your lifestyle.
👆👆👆
When people ask how I easily kept off 35lbs for over 15 years, while enjoying pizza, taking rest days and not obsessing about food.
👇👇👇👇
When people ask how I stay motivated to run year round and rarely race. Tiny habits.
//
Day one isn’t eat perfect or run for an hour.
.
Day one IS drink a glass of water when I wake up. Put on my running clothes.
.
Day 30 is then more like after I drink my glass of water, I do 5 push ups. After I put on my running clothes, I do a 5 minute warm up.
//
SLOW PROGRESS IS BETTER THAN NO PROGRESS, it builds momentum and is sustainable.
❔❔❔
Have you ever practiced creating tiny habits???
1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR? M 1️⃣ WORD TO DESCRIBE YOUR RUNNING THIS YEAR?
Mine... satisfying.
😊
1900 miles blows away previous years.
.
(swipe to see...because yes I love tracking.) Unfortunately I’m not positive what it was 2001-2007 because I wrote it on calendars.
//
SATISFYING
🥰I needed the long miles early on to process my business being thrown for a loop. Bye bye book tour and partnerships.
😊I needed it after that to get away from the news and pretend I wasn’t spending all day alone. Then as my business shifted again to keep ideas flowing.
🌲I loved the time outside to think, get lost in a comedy podcast or audiobook. Otherwise I’m at home working!
🤩Without a single race, I still checked a big goal off my list of running an ultra distance (solo was very interesting!).
//
I’ve seen some posts that make it seem like we’re wrong for talking about what we achieved this year.
.
It was a HARD FCKIN year for everyone, but guess what lots of years are. And not every year is great even without a pandemic.
//
For all the lows this year, I also worked my ass off to make some really good things happen. And I’m extra proud of that.
//
So let’s hear your word for fitness in 2020??
⬇️
Hard, easy, strong, powerful, consistent, cleansing, relaxing, nature, grace, grit, grind, triumph, building...
HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot r HAIR EMOJI POLL!!! Seriously hair...it’s a lot right?! Figuring out what to do with it, color it don’t color it, keep it healthy, breakage from ponytails, long, short. And yet a good hair day😃 🔥 🌟
//
POLL:
🥰Love your hair
🤪Frustrated with your hair
1️⃣Natural curls
2️⃣Stick straight
👇👇👇
Curly friends: share your favorite tips!!
Long hair friends: what helps you keep it healthy?
👆👆👆
//
At 7 I could sit in my hair it was so long.
At 10 we started perms.
At 16 I had a full mane of hair I loved.
At 20 I learned I have naturally curly hair 😂after years of perms as a kid.
At 25 I was going blonde blonde blonde.
At 29 I began losing hair and it got so brittle I had to chop it off, due to the hormone issues.😭
At 35 my hair started to recover (as did my body), but never like that mane I loved as a teen.
At 39 I got my first curly haircut! I’m still figuring it out, but was amazed at how it looked.
//
I don’t wear much make up, but I do admit to really caring about my hair and it was a tough time when it felt so unhealthy.
//
I’m still struggling to figure out this new curly style 😂but keep hearing from other curly girls ya just gotta stick it out. So we’ll see.
.
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#curlygirlmethod #hairtalk
ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO RUN? Why don’t you just enjoy a day off? Don’t you feel guilty about the time apart?
//
Yes.
It makes me happy.
No, if I’m happy our time together is better.
👇👇👇
MY VIEW IS THIS...
❌If you aren’t working out because of food guilt
❌If you aren’t missing big moments because you must workout
✅If you enjoy it and it improves your day
✅THEN GO FORTH and don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for improving your mental and physical health.
//
❓Do you have guilt or get guilted about workouts for n holidays?❓
//
This has been my lifestyle so long that our families just know to expect that I’m gonna sweat. And of course, I’m lucky David wants this lifestyle too.
.
BUTTTTT I remember those first trips to David’s family, where it really threw them for a loop. They still find it weird, but I sneak out before everyone gets up or have gotten them to do family things like the rec center.
//
My best advice when asked has always been to try and calmly explain why it matters to you and then just go. They get over it or used to it.
🎁 🎄🕎
TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIZZA MY HEART 😂a reminder this holiday season that we all need to be loved differently...and pizza transcends all.
//
🍕Do you have a favorite local pizza place?🍕🍕
.
Yes, I knead to know for when we can travel again.
.
Here we fell in love in love with @saucyspizza and I wouldn’t be sad if I got it as a gift 😆
.
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.
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#pizzamemes #eatlocal #denvercolorado #ilovepizza #lovememes #pizzagram #digiorno #papajohns #foodisfuel #longrun #womenwhoeat #carbsarelife
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Website written, managed and maintained by Amanda Brooks, a certified running coach and personal trainer. Any advice should be taken as general information and not a personalized plan. All opinions, tips and reviews are based upon her personal life experience and the experiences of those she has coached. View our full privacy and review policy.

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