So you have tried almost everything to get you weight down and finally fit into the jeans and for some of you a dress you have been holding onto from the day you bought it with the hope of fitting into then once you dieted down. So what went wrong?
Well maybe it’s not as simple as reducing calories, exercising more and bang! It’s all gone. Neither was that magical secret “weigh loss pill”, ”Thermo-agent-thingy”or “exclusive to you today supplement” that the current batch of celebrities are spruiking on the television recommend. Remember these fine folk are paid to act, get it? Act. Some of them don’t even eat and are borderline anorexic due to the stress on being on television and needing to be a skinny size 0. And they are giving you advice!
Let me first put forward another possible reason, maybe it the way you actually approach you weigh loss plan. By the way, do you have a plan? Are you simply doing your own thing and everything will be alright? Well what I have found is the people who do their own thing basically stay the same. Really they do. For example if you do the usual 5 classes a week and the extra pump session once in a while, do a PT session once a week and continuing to eat the same way (when the calorie expenditure vs the calorie consumption breaks even) I’m sorry, no changes in body composition will happen. You will most likely be fitter, stronger and better skilled. The body is a complicated vessel that basically survives and adjust accordingly to well……how you treat it. Feed it well and it will react well, feed it crap, abuse it and you know the rest.
Successful weight loss
You already know how to lose weight. At its simplest, you need to burn more calories than you eat, right? And exercising and eating healthy is the healthiest way to do that, right? But, successful weight loss doesn’t start with your body it starts with your mind. As we’ve all discovered, the mind is a powerful thing–it can take you to success or failure, depending on your attitude. What you think about yourself can make the difference between reaching your goals and quitting before you even get started. So how do you get your mind right to make exercise and healthy eating a part of your life? Below are some key ingredients you can rely on to reach your goals. In our case, weight loss (I prefer the term fat loss)
Commitment
You already know you have to commit to being healthy, but what does that actually involve? Being committed means you have to wake up every day and decide you’re going to make healthy choices. Being committed is a choice and something you have to reinforce each day. So how do you do that?
You plan and prepare.
The night before, plan your workout and meals for the next day and get all your gear (gym bag, clothes, etc.) ready to go. Decide what and when you’ll eat and get your meals ready. Make it as easy as possible to follow through with your nutritional plans. I’m not simply talking about the person who lives at home, has the time to plan 8 meals a day. I’m talking about a person with a real job and possibly kids on tow. Take the time out to plan your lunch to take with you and make sure you eat breakfast, preferably sitting down, at home and not on the run/ and for god’s sake not when you drive! For the more organised (and it will come over time) also include a late afternoon snack/pre workout meal. The rest is really ensuring you don’t get home starving where you don’t have control of food and gorge yourself silly. (when no ones watching) You want to get home hungry enough to appreciate the last meal with no possibility of snaking thereafter. I know you can do it.
Motivate Yourself.
Remind yourself throughout the day of your workout/meal plans—set yourself a reminder or have a friend to call on you break and chat about your future game or workout and how well organised you both are, so it’s always in the front of your mind. True motivation comes from within so get used to being self driven or simply practice on getting better. This will make a big difference when it’s cold, dark and you are too tired to bother. Who wants to run or eat well when you cant be bothered? We are all in the same boat on this one.
Hold Yourself Accountable.
What will happen if you skip that workout, missed a regular meal or ate poorly? You need to have consequences so that missing out isn’t an option, maybe you can’t watch your favourite TV show until you exercise. Record it for later. On the other side, you can also reward yourself for working out just make sure you don’t reward yourself food. A big mistake people do is reward themselves with a treat. I see it often with new people who do and amazing job with an exercise routine or event and then wreck it with eating poorly. oh its a reward so its ok right. NO its not! You must think of the bigger picture here. And no you will not make it up later either. As they say it all adds up.
Remember Your Goals.
As you’re getting ready for the day, remember what your goals are. Weight loss? More energy? Whatever it is, that workout is an important step in reaching it. Remind yourself of the big picture what you do today counts. Remind yourself why you are doing it for. Yourself? Your kids? or simply to lead a more comfortable/active life where you are an action taker and not just a spectator. These are just some of the small steps in ultimately reaching your weight loss goals. It’s not easy with all the information floating around the wed these days and with a million items on offer. DVD’s books,websites and the rest. Do what you can and make small incremental changes at a time and incorporate these into your lifestyle. Once you make a change and it become the norm then seek out another way you can improve. Too many changes in too short a time frame is asking for it.
Past experience shows me that people don’t react well with a long hit list on how they should improve their food intake/water. Be patient and take control of your habit and you will eventually reap the benefits. No one said it was easy, however the benefits certainly outweigh the costs.
Small changes add up. Make the right food choices.
Make them about you.