How to Lose Weight in Cartersville

So you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Now what?

Weight loss can be difficult to achieve on your own. Luckily, there are a number of local resources in Cartersville to help you along the journey to a trimmer you.

Being healthy is really about being at a weight that is right for you, according to the staff at Cartersville Medical Center.

"Weight management is about long-term success. People who lose weight quickly by crash dieting or other extreme measures usually gain back all (and often more) of the pounds they lost because they haven't permanently changed their habits," according to its website, which offers tips, such as "make it a family affair" and "start small."

But the first step to reaching your weight loss goal may actually be to rethink your resolution. Many weight loss resolutions fail because people have unrealistic expectations and give up when they fail to meet them, says Lisa Moskovitz, RD, CDN, owner of the Manhattan-based dietetic practice Your New York Dietitian.

Fitness experts agree. "When I work with clients, the focus is never to lose a large amount of weight—that's daunting!" says personal trainer Bianca Sultana, NCSF-CPT. Instead, weight loss goals should be small and achievable. While you ultimately may want to lose 30 pounds in 2013, aim for four pounds a month, or one pound a week, explains Sultana. Meeting small, achievable goals will give you motivation to continue working towards larger goals.

Local resources can help you set a goal and stick to it. They include:

• Thrive! Weight Loss is an area weight loss and lifestyle management program focused on nutrition. Not a diet, the program starts by teaching basic nutrition and aims to re-train the bodies of participants to become "efficient fat burning machine[s]," according to its website. Thrive! also offers to participants short-term challenges that involve dieting and exercise.

• Dr. Martin's Weight Loss Program, a local physician-supervised weight loss program that includes FDA-approved medications and easy diet plans, has been serving patients in Bartow and surrounding counties and northwest Georgia since 1985.

• Lapex Laser Natural Weight Loss at New Life Health Center in Cartersville offers non-invasive, low-level cold laser therapy from Lapex that "effectively shrinks fat cells, reducing and sculpting the targeted problem areas of your body," and detox programs for weight loss, according to the website.

• Weight Watchers meets at the Cartersville-Bartow County Chamber of Commerce on Thursdays at 10 a.m., noon and 5:30 p.m., but drop by Thursdays from 9:30 a.m to 1 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. to weigh in, buy products or talk to a staff member.

Not sure of the best way to slim down? A combination of exercise and healthy eating is the best way to tip the scale. “Physical activity accelerates weight loss and also helps manage stress, which typically leads to diet failure,” explains Moskovitz. If sticking to a diet is challenging for you, identify foods or situations that cause you to overeat, and brainstorm ways to stay on track, says Moskovitz.

A number of gyms and personal trainers are available in Cartersville, including our 2012 Readers' Choice winner for the best place in town for a workout, Cair Wellness Center. Others include:

• Anytime Fitness
• Bodyplex
• Diva Fitness
• Gold's Gym
• Ladies Fitness and Health Club
• Maximum Body Training
• Crossfit Adrenaline

Cartersville Parks and Recreation provides free fitness options with its parks and trails, such as Dellinger. This year, the pool there will sport a new entrance, bath house and 24 water features. Youth and adult athletic offerings, which cost to participate, include softball, football and basketball. See the brochure attached for more information.

Remember, nobody is perfect, and it’s normal to slip up sometimes. It's okay if you miss a workout or give in to a fast food temptation, says Sultana. The important part is not giving up! Acknowledge the success you’ve had so far, and don’t waste time being upset. Tomorrow is a new day, so focus on making it better than today. That in and of itself, is a step in the right direction.