The Wellness Practices That Helped Me Lose Over 100 Pounds — And Keep Them Off

Here's what I told him. These 12 things are what helped me lose 130 pounds and keep the weight off in the long term:

Restricting yourself doesn't work. Adding healthy items to your regular regimen will start to shift your patterns. The restriction only makes you want more of the foods you aren't allowing yourself to have. Not only that, but research has shown that extreme diets can open the door1 to behaviors that cause eating disorders.

It may be making you think you're hungry when you're really thirsty. I drank half my weight in ounces of water every day. It kept me feeling full. My brain felt like it was operating sharper—and it stopped my cravings. Drinking water also boosts your metabolism2 and clears your body of waste.

Losing weight for other people won't work in the long term. When you lose weight to fit into your clothes to look good for somebody else, it's short-lived. When you do it as an act of self-love because you deserve it, you're tapping into a deeper desire. If you know "why" you are committed, you will stay true to your commitment when you feel challenged. Self-efficacy, specifically the belief that you have the ability to achieve your weight loss goal, has also been linked with successful weight loss.

Extreme workouts are not sustainable. In order to make changes over a long time, you have to establish patterns that you can stick with. Begin with a short walk and don't push yourself to do too much. Don't put your body under too much stress by taking on too much too soon. Little by little, a little adds up to a lot. Research shows that the more you are satisfied with your workout, the more likely it will become a habit.

Put your feet in the grass. Get under the sun. Step in the water. Breathe fresh air. Light a fire. Anything that brings you back to nature relaxes your mind3 and your body. ​That's going to help you connect with your body. When you feel a deep connection, you're less likely to (go out and) overeat.

If you eat slowly and mindfully in a relaxed state, your body interprets the food differently than when you're under stress. When your body feels like something is wrong, it goes into survival mode. When it's in survival mode, it begins to store the food. When you are relaxed, the food is processed in a normal way. Take three deep breaths before you eat, sit down, and chew your food slowly. One way in which mindfulness practices may be helpful is through a reduction in disordered eating4, including emotional eating.

If you don't deal with your emotional traumas, nothing will really change over the long term. Research supports a link between trauma and obesity5. Where do you start? Forgive yourself. Meditate. See a therapist. Take a step in the right direction to deal with your emotional traumas. Forgiving and accepting yourself is a great way to start.

Find somebody who wants to lose weight, and then hold each other accountable. Make healthier friends. Who you're around is who you become. If you go to a yoga studio and start hanging around with people doing yoga, you're going to be around people making healthier choices. Simply being around healthier people will lead to healthier choices.

When you use an app, you're able to record what you eat and look back at it. Don't let shame or guilt stop you from being truthful. Record everything. That brings awareness. There's an old saying: What gets measured, gets improved.

Become aware of your emotions, your patterns, your triggers. Let your own mistakes teach you. Even if you never look back at what you wrote—even if you can't read your handwriting!—you will have processed your feelings, emotions, and thoughts. Expressive writing has been linked6 to more optimal mental health, through better mood and psychological well-being, as well as better physical health, including lower blood pressure and greater immune system functioning.

I cropped a photo of my head on an ideal body so I could start to see what it feels like to be a healthier version of myself. Doing this will help your brain see you in a new way. Research shows your brain doesn't distinguish fiction from reality. Your brain will move toward your goals as you visualize them. Dream where you want to be as if you already are there.

I wish every lunch would feel that good.