The Fit Lady

“The diet starts tomorrow…  next week … after I get back from vacation.” How many times do you hear yourself saying these types of things?  Starting the next “diet” is always on your to-do list. The following tips will help you begin to eat intuitively, lose weight and keep it off for good.

One problem with a super strict diet plan is when the diet start day comes you find yourself super motivated. Your plan is in place and you hit the ground running like you’ve never hit it before. This time is different you say. You tell yourself there is no going back to your unhealthy ways. Quitting will not enter the equation.

Until only a few hours in, your neighbor pops by with some yummy treats she baked and the diet is ruined! You kick yourself for, once again, having to start over.

(No joke: After I finished writing this my neighbor literally dropped by with a plate of brownies. My Fav!  This is truely a rare thing for me. Maybe I should have written something about someone dropping by a pile of cash. I’ll try that next and let you know how that goes.)

Here are 6 tips to help you rethink those ultra strict fad diets and adopt new lifestyle choices that will enrich your life in more ways that your physical appearance making it easy to stick to your weight loss journey.

1. Don’t go on a “Diet” 

If you’ve tried this route before and it didn’t work why do you keep trying this? Completely changing every single one of your eating habits by force in one days time is not easy for anyone to do.  Don’t beat yourself up for not succeeding at this.  What you are wanting instead of a ” Diet” are lifestyle changes.  You can adopt these changes over time.

Adopting changes takes time.  Don’t quit or start over.  Just pick up where you left off and keep going forward.

2. Keep a food and activity diary for at least one week.

Eat as you would normally eat while you are making a record.  Track the times, places, and people you are with,  when you ate or did a physical activity.  When you are done you will see your habits. Small changes to unhealthy habits make a huge difference to your health in the long run.  Make one small change at a time to your routine until it becomes natural and habitual.

Examples of habits to consider altering to lose weight:

• You have an afternoon crash every day and you grab the nearest candy bar during these times.  In this case you would be prepared by having healthier snack options available wherever you are at these times.
• You may notice that everyday after your kids go to bed you like to relax and eat something even though you are not hungry. Eating that treat is just part of the routine.  Change that habit to something equally rewarding but doesn’t involve food.
• Everyday you drive by a restaurant/ froyo/ fast food/ soda stop. Changing your driving route can help renew your commitment to health and avoid temptation.

Making small changes to your routines will have a big impact on you long term health goals.  Huge changes to diet and routine takes a lot of mindfulness and conscious effort.  Its not easy to do and the failure hurts our belief that we will ever be able to change.

 

3.  Include rewarding physical activities into your day.

If you find yourself with low energy and little motivation for exercise you are not alone.  People of all shapes and sizes and physical abilities have days like those.  The more you love your activity you will begin to have more up days than down.

Spend time doing things you love or have always wanted to learn.  Take a painting class, golf lessons, learn to play the piano.  Whatever it is should be captivating and fees your soul.

Then Move more! Add resistance training and cardio to your days.  Increased physical strength will make any hobby more enjoyable and fulfilling.   Take your weight loss focus off your dress size and on the feeling you want to want to feel.  Like more energy and a clearer mind.

4. Hire a Personal Trainer

Committing to your fitness journey is easier when you are giving up money.  If you don’t like losing and wasting money- hire someone to help you get fit.  Also the knowledge a personal trainer can give you will be tailored to you and your body.  They will hold you accountable help you see great progress and keep you motivated.

Some trainers train in groups making it a more budget friendly option and a less intimidating if you are new to gym workouts.

5. Get rid of the scale.

Don’t wait to start enjoying your life until you reach the the imagined finish line. Don’t let the scale determine if you are going to have a good day or not. If you were skinnier a year ago don’t punish yourself and battle with food until you have that body back. Do the things that bring you joy in life. Get in touch with what your body wants and continue to help it heal. You will lose weight during this healing process and gain a more fulfilling life along the way.

6.   Slow and steady wins the race.

This isn’t what we typically want to hear when we want to lose weight.  The weight loss industry makes money off our insecurities.  They try to sell us the secret to the body of our dreams. The truth is there is no secret.  If you lose a whole lot of weight real fast you are doing your body more harm than good.

Think of it this way, if you got a cut on your skin you would stop the bleeding  and a dress the wound.  Your body is an amazing machine that starts working immediately to heal the wound.  There are things you can do to help your body heal itself but deciding you don’t want the cut anymore isn’t going to make the cut instantly disappear.  There is a healing process your body must go through.

If your body isn’t where you’d like it to be stop the habits that are continuing to cause damage.  Give your body what it needs to begin to heal itself. This process takes time.  Make one small change at a time and pay close attention to how your body responds and how you feel.

The best change I made to begin to be more in tune with my body was giving myself an eating window.  This doesn’t require much thought  and only a little planning.  Give yourself and start time and end time for eating during the day.  I’ve found a 9 hour eating window works best for my body.  I explain this in my post about Why I Love Intermittent fasting.

To see benefits you don’t need to change anything you eat during your window but you will find yourself quickly becoming more in tune with your body’s needs and begin to naturally gravitate towards foods that nourish you.