Consider these few simple steps as you transition into your weight loss program in Beverly Hills or Bakersfield.

With a new weight loss program comes change, and a lot of it. Though some may thrive when adopting a new lifestyle, others may feel a bit apprehensive as they remain uncertain about how their weight loss program will turn out.

As you adjust to medical weight loss, it may help to first have a simple understanding of the three main stages of change, which are:

1. Stage One: Resisting and Reacting to Change
2. Stage Two: Adjusting and Exploring Change
3. Stage Three: Living Well with the New Normal

Though you may wish you could skip stages one and two and land right at three, transitions don’t work that way. It’s better for your weight loss program if you learn how change works in life—this way, you won’t mistake small setbacks, uncertainty or discomforts during the early stages for reasons to give up altogether. Instead, you will recognize setbacks and discouragement as typical to how change works.

As you adjust to the changes of a new weight loss program, keep the following ideas in mind to make the process a little bit easier and more enlightening:

• Don’t expect extreme results over night. In fact, expect the opposite. Because losing weight too quickly can be detrimental to your health, your medical weight loss program is designed to help you lose weight safely and effectively over a gradual period of time. Learn to look at your weight loss program more so as a journey than a short-term program. This will help you remain motivated and keep your eye on the bigger picture as you work towards losing weight.
• Keep your weight loss program schedule in mind. Your medical weight loss doctor has tailored a weight loss program to your individual needs. This means that there’s an approximate timeline attached to his expectations for your weight loss. Depending on how much weight you’re trying to lose, your weight loss program may be expected to last as little as three months or as long as six—it all depends on the person. Be aware of this schedule and make sure that you stick to it by penciling in visits to the gym and your weight loss clinic on a regular basis. Instead of expecting dramatic results overnight, stick with your plan and learn to notice the small healthy changes in your body each and every day.
• Change one day at a time. You cannot expect to adopt a foolproof healthy lifestyle the same day you sign up for your weight loss program. Transitioning into healthy habits will take time and you’ll likely experience tiny slipups along the way—that’s okay. These are natural elements of the changing process. You may make mistakes, but you will be able to learn from those mistakes and develop new ways to avoid them in the future. Take your weight loss progress and lifestyle changes one day at a time and allow your healthy behaviors to fuel your motivation.

Change is good. Though scary at times, change is what brings about new and exciting things in life. As you transition into a healthier lifestyle with your weight loss program, understand change and learn how to better handle it with these tips to remain on track with weight loss.