Social media and internet are flooded with companies selling you the best shakes, juices and diet programmes. It’s almost impossible to push against it.
But here I am!
I believe you don’t need any shake, juice, or diet programme to lose weight and keep It off.
What you need is a toolkit that works for you. Not a generic plan that these companies provide.
But before I dive into the habits I want you to ask yourself these questions:
WHY do you want to lose weight now?
WHY is this important to you?
HOW would your life change if you achieved your goal?
I believe in order to change, you need to face the reality and face the barriers that are stopping you (or have been stopping you) to make sustainable changes. You need to be prepared to COMMIT. Not just TRY IT. Commit to yourself, to your health and to you family. Your WHY will drive you forward on the days when it gets harder, when you aren’t motivated and when you need to push outside the comfort zone.
YOUR WHY should be your motivator.
Trust me when I say, I tried it all. I did the 30 days shreds, juicing, shakes, etc…. with no sustainable results when the yo-yo dieting started.
Things didn’t change until I realised that it’s not me. It’s the approach I was following that wasn’t sustainable.
If you want to achieve sustainable fat loss, you need sustainable daily / weekly routine that will help you get there. Routine that will change the habits around your nutrition, activity levels and stress management. Routine, that I believe will help you be a better version of yourself. You can see I didn’t use the word NEW version – because it’s still you.
Everyone has a routine. Whether you do it cautiously or not it’s your routine. Your routine is created by your daily habits. Habits that you have had for years, some from childhood (ei brushing your teeth), some from adulthood (ei stress management)
So here are 6 UNDERRATED HABITS that will help you feel better. And if you feel better everything else is easier so the weight loss becomes a by-product of the process:
- Walking is one of the most underrated ways of keeping you active. Chores, hovering, mopping, dusting, parking your car further away from the school and shops – Anything goes. We don’t put weight on because we age, but because we move less.
- Resistance Training – include this type of training 3-4 times a week to help you build strength and lean muscle to protect your bones. This is very beneficial for your bones as you will create lean muscle to support your bones and make them stronger to minimize injuries in the future as we age and supports a good posture. This type of training will help you lower body fat and build muscle to maintain a healthy weight along with balanced nutrition tailored for your goals.
- Balanced diet. Fuelling your body with what it needs is important to keep your energy up high. Eat for what your body needs and create a balance that allows you eat what you like too. To lose body fat you need to set your nutrition to create energy deficit and monitor this monthly to make sure you are on the right track. However it’s not only how much you eat but the quality matters too. I think that understanding why you need to eat protein and veggie is a great way to make you eat healthier. Again go back to your WHY.
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day. This is easily forgotten and especially important for all vital life functions. Your body consist of 70% of water and sometimes thirst can be mistaken for hunger. So, drink more.
- Sleep 6-8 hours every night – build a good bedtime routine to help you to go to sleep, with no screen time before, journaling to unwind and hydrate before you go to bed. I know this is harder with young families, but it will get easier.
- Manage your stress – depending on your lifestyle you may need to look at some techniques to help you manage your stress levels if you work in stressful environment. This is a big factor as your body will store the stress hormones and then everything else will feels 100 times harder. Managing your stress in the way that works for your will help you clear your mind.
This is not a 6-week programme. This can take 6-12 months with ongoing review to help you achieve your goals.
You will be constantly challenged because life will not stop for you to this. Life will happen and that’s why focusing on the positives and being consistent with imperfect actions will bring your more results than any 6 week dieting plan ever will.
Take it day by day and be patient.
Our behaviours and habits are complicated. And it takes time to change habits that you have had for years.
Focus on 1-2 things at a time.
Enjoy the process.
Review your progress regularly to make sure you are on the right track and adapt as you need to.
Be patient with yourself. It will take longer than you think.
BUT
These habits will change your life and it will be the LAST DAY 1 for you.
This is exactly what I do with my 1:2:1 clients. Helping them make small changes in their day and week and moving forward every day.
If you need a new perspective, new outlook, someone that will help your thought the harder times, email me now to find out how I can help you
Have a great weekend
Petra