The longer you struggle with obesity, the more likely you are to continue struggling with obesity for years to come. Obesity isn’t something that happens suddenly. There are years of unhealthy behavior and thousands of unhealthy choices that go into an unhealthy lifestyle, and making the choice to undo those decisions takes time and effort, but beyond that it takes balance. When you are trying to lose weight, it can be easy to grow discouraged if after just a few short days you don’t see yourself making any true progress towards your weight loss goals, but that is a dangerous mental trap that can lead you far astray from ever being able to meet your weight loss goals.

Looking at the Instagram influencers and celebrities of the world can lead you to think that everyone who is of a healthy weight lives a ridiculously healthy lifestyle that may seem unrealistic and unachievable from where you are now, but that isn’t the case either. A healthy lifestyle is entirely dependent on your ability to balance the bad with the good, and simply put to start making more healthy choices than unhealthy ones.

Finding a balanced lifestyle that can promote healthy weight loss will take time to feel like your new normal, but it is achievable.

Here are a few simple steps that you can take to start making your life feel more healthy and balanced:

• Create a regular and consistent exercise schedule. You don’t need to become a fitness fanatic to successfully lose weight, but you do need to make some place in your life for regular exercise. This could mean joining a gym and setting up an after-work schedule, or it could mean starting a simple exercise routine when you wake up each morning. Ideally, your exercise routine should take up at least 30-60 minutes of your day, which gives your body a better chance at balancing your food choices with calories burned.
• Make the smartest meal choices as you can. Take your diet one choice at a time, and do your best to make the best choice for your weight loss program in any given moment. Don’t focus on the long-term impacts of your diet if it causes you to feel stressed or overwhelmed. Instead, focus on making the smartest choice in front of you at any given moment. Those little choices will add up.

Staying balanced by making the healthiest diet and exercise choices possible in any given moment is a great strategy to help you stay focused on reaching your weight loss goals. Talk with your weight loss surgeon about the impact that small choices can have on your overall progress, and start seeing yourself living a healthier lifestyle right away.