By Margot Rutigliano, Pn2, CPT, Certified Health Coach | Founder Vita Vie Retreat

Your Guide to FEELING YOUR BEST AND ACHIEVING THE RESULTS YOU WANT TO SEE

One thing we talk about during our wellness retreats is how to build a strong foundation for weight loss. Achieving weight loss goals often requires more than just a diet or exercise plan; it’s about building sustainable habits that support long-term success. We’re creating a lifestyle for good - not just for right now. Developing a routine that balances healthy eating, regular physical activity, and mindful practices can create a strong foundation for lasting change. By focusing on consistency, tracking progress, and personalizing your approach, you can make meaningful strides toward your weight loss objectives while fostering overall well-being.

Why Tracking is Important

We often don’t realize the patterns and habits affecting our progress until we start tracking them. By logging your food intake, fitness activities, sleep, hunger, mood, energy levels, and cravings, you gain valuable insights into your behaviors and their impact on your weight loss journey. Tracking isn’t necessarily required long-term, but doing it consistently for a period of time can reveal important information that helps you make necessary adjustments for continued success.

Building a Strong Foundation That Works for You: 3 core elements

Achieving sustainable weight loss is about more than just the numbers on the scale. It’s about developing a strong foundation of healthy habits that you can maintain for the long term. Cookie cutter programs won’t work for everyone because we are all so different in our own unique bodies and circumstances.

Practice: Developing new habits takes time and effort. Consistently practicing these habits helps them become a natural part of your routine.
Reflection: Awareness is gained from tracking and reflection throughout the week. It’s how we determine which habits, action steps, and components are contributing to how we feel and function as well as our results. Both are important but without being able to tune into our bodies, we aren’t able to reconcile the wins or challenges.
Personalization: Your weight loss journey is unique. You need the flexibility to tailor your approach to your specific needs, preferences, and lifestyle.

The keys: Consistency, accountability & sustainability

Consistency, accountability, and sustainability are the keys to long-term success in any weight loss journey. No matter which changes we’re making, consistency is key.
Consistency - Practice, showing up daily, and repetition allow us to build habits, open the doors to success, and evaluate how the changes we’re making are working (or not).
Accountability - By maintaining regular healthy habits, tracking your progress, and holding yourself accountable, you create a solid foundation that supports your goals.
Sustainability - Sustainable changes (what we know we can do vs what we think we should do), rather than quick fixes, ensure that the positive steps forward that you make are lasting and adaptable to your lifestyle.

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Let’s take the confusion out of weight loss

To simplify this process, we have created a comprehensive kit that includes everything you need to get started on your weight loss journey and stay on track:

Step-by-Step Instructions
- Clear, easy-to-follow guidelines to help you navigate each part of your weight loss journey.
Choose Your Energy Balance
- Decide between "Eat Less Move Less" or "Eat More Move More" strategies to align with your lifestyle and preferences.
Determine Your Caloric Needs or Use Portion Control
- Detailed instructions to calculate your daily caloric intake based on your chosen energy balance approach.
- For those who prefer to use a more intuitive approach, we’ve outlined the portion control method as well.
Track Your Progress
- Utilize traditional metrics like weight and measurements, as well as alternative methods such as energy levels, mood, fitness performance, and other factors.
Tracking Key Factors
- Sleep: Monitor your sleep patterns to ensure you are getting adequate rest, which is crucial for weight loss and overall health.
- Hunger: Track your hunger levels to understand your eating habits and improve your meal planning.
- Mood: Record your emotional state to identify any correlations between mood and eating behaviors.
- Energy: Keep tabs on your energy levels to gauge the effectiveness of your diet and exercise routine.
- Cravings: Note any cravings to help identify triggers and manage them effectively.
Weekly Reflections
- Reflect on your successes, challenges, and areas for improvement with guided questions to evaluate and adapt your plan weekly.
Understanding Safe Weight Loss
- Information on what constitutes safe and sustainable weight loss, helping you set realistic expectations and manage progress effectively.
30 Weight Loss Affirmations
- A collection of empowering affirmations to boost your motivation and keep your mindset positive.
3 Specific Meal Plans to Experiment With
- 4 Week Mediterranean, 4 Week High Protein + 4 Week Plant Based
- All include grocery lists and meal prep tips for each week
Customization Tools
- Learn how to customize for your body and your own personal needs
Metabolism 101 Education
- 5 Total lessons
Navigating Common Weight Loss Challenges