Social media and internet are flooded with companies selling you the best shakes, juices and diet programmes to lose weight. It’s almost impossible to push against it.
But here I am!
If you want to lose weight and you want to move away from dieting you need to change your habits. Do you want to find our how? Let’s dive in together.
DO YOU WANT TO MOVE AWAY FROM DIETING?
I believe you don’t need any shake, juice, or diet programme to lose weight and keep It off. In fact – the companies are a one big scam! Because they are selling you their products. But that is a topic for another day.
What you need is a toolkit that works for you. Not a generic plan that these companies provide.
What you need is a plan that works for you. Not a generic template these companies provide. To lose weight and keep it off you need approach that fits your lifestyle.
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. 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.
IS IT YOU OR YOUR MINDSET?
Things didn’t change until I realised that it’s not me. I am not the reason I can’t lose weight and keep it off. It’s the approach I was following that wasn’t sustainable.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need sustainable daily / weekly routine that will help you get there. Routine that will change the habits around your nutrition, activity levels and mindset. 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)
Here are 6 UNDERRATED HABITS to lose weight and keep it off
Walk more.
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. With all the gadgets and screens available to us we move less then we did 15 years ago. Start with 5-10 min daily walks and increase is gradually every week.
Resistance Training
As we age we lose muscle. Include this type of training 2-4 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 build lean muscle to support your bones, make them stronger to minimize injuries in the future . With the right nutrition this type of training will help you lower body fat and build muscle to maintain a healthy weight and you will be more toned.
Eat 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. You can do this with various strategy and not just calorie counting. Most of my clients don’t count calories and make progress as we speak. 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. I help my clients understand their nutrition so thy can make informed choices.
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. Before your meal, after your meal and in between. Most of the time you are probably thirsty and not hungry.
Sleep 6-8 hours every night
Yes I know this is easier said than done. But again, it’s your habit – routine and it can change. Creat a good bedtime routine to help you to go to sleep, with no screen time, time to unwind and hydrate before you go to bed. I know this is harder with young families, but it will get easier. Your sleep has a huge impact on your behaviours the day after therefore prioritise your sleep and go to bed earlier.
Manage your stress
In the modern world this is called mindfulness. From the moment you wake up are you faced with different stressors (news, home, family, work…).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 keep your mind clear and more focused on what you can control.
This is not a 6-week programme. Changing habits can take up to 200 day with ongoing review to help you achieve your goals.
You will be constantly challenged because life will not stop for you to achieve your goal. 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. 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.
Are you ready to make a change?
If you need a new perspective, new outlook, someone that will help your thought the harder times, CONTACT ME now to find out how I can help you
Petra