Losing weight can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’ve tried to do it before unsuccessfully. Taking on such a task, without a proper strategy can be foolish. You can’t do it just by willing it to happen or by deciding that today is the day I’m going to lose weight. If you want this time to be different from the last you need to do things a little differently. I’ve outlined 5 actions that you can take that will help to stack the odds in your favour.
1 CHANGE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
Surround yourself with people who are where you want to be.
Surrounding yourself with the right people will change everything. If you’ve been going to the same gym for years – pushing some weights around, sitting on an exercise bike and then leaving maybe it’s time to try a new gym. Try circuit training in groups, metafit, zumba, spinning, crossfit – just something a little different but the key is to find an environment where there are people who have already achieved what you want to achieve.
You may feel uncomfortable at first, or maybe more self conscious than usual but that’s the point. Moving out of your comfort zone is the key here and being around positive people who will help, encourage and guide you through your process.
You will naturally adapt to fit into your environment, so if your environment is a group where everyone is struggling to put in the effort required to lose weight and always comes up with excuses as to why it’s not happening for them then guess what? That is what you will become and that is where you will stay.
If you’re the hardest worker in your gym then either you are already in shape or it’s definitely time to move. You need people around you to inspire you and show you what can be achieved by moving the bar that bit higher.
Positivity breeds positivity. The benefits of surrounding yourself with positive people are highlighted in this article.
2 KNOW YOUR WHY
Be crystal clear on your intentions.
“The WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us.
Simon Sineck
Fulfilment comes from having a clear sense of purpose for what we do. When we have a clear sense of why we do what we do we are better able to make decisions that steer our lives in ways that contribute directly towards our purpose, cause or belief.”
Wanting to lose weight is fine but if you don’t have a clear enough, and big enough reason to do so in your head, then every time you are faced with making a decision about your nutrition you will be tempted to fall back into your old ways and eat the things that make you feel good – albeit temporarily.
Feeling happy and fulfilled that you are on the right path makes the journey itself a pleasure to be on. Instead of dreading each day because you’re on a “diet” and you can’t have the things you “want” anymore, imagine waking up each morning being excited and eager to go on the next leg of your journey towards physical and mental well-being. All too often we are fixated on the end result…. “I’ll be happy after I’ve lost 20lbs” or “I’ll be happy when this happens … well guess what? Chances are you won’t be.
Spend some time and really think about your reason why. It’s fine to have desired outcome but if you don’t have a reason for getting there you’ll find it hard to stay motivated.
Write down your healthy living mission statement and keep it as a note on your phone or somewhere you can easily access it clear in your head.
Regularly remind yourself of your reason why so that you are crystal clear on it. This is the key step to avoiding making poor snap decisions. Will power can desert us from time to time but if you are clear on your goals and have them in the forefront of your mind it will help to make the right decision quicker and without using up so much of that valuable will power.
3 BE PREPARED
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!
Don’t leave things to chance, make yourself a meal plan and know what you will eating and when. This doesn’t necessarily mean being ultra organised and having every single meal prepared and stored in small plastic containers. Don’t get me wrong some people are this organised naturally, if you are one of those people then great! I’m not one of those people. I buy everything I need at the beginning of each week and keep it in the refrigerator at work, and I make it as easy as possible for myself to stick to my plan.
Here is a great guide on how to develop a good meal plan.
MyFitnessPal is a great app that allows you to keep track of what you are eating and how much exercise you are getting. It will even tell you how many calories you should be eating depending on your lifestyle and goals. Give it a try, it’s totally free.
4 PLAY IT SAFE
Identify your “triggers” and take steps to mitigate them.
When are you most susceptible to making bad decisions – having crap food in the house? Walking past a certain take out or coffee shop on your way to work?
Identify those bad habits and avoid them.
One of my major “slip up” points is last thing at night, I tend to feel hungry just before I go to bed and I’m still liable to give in to temptation, especially at the end of the day when I’m tired. It’s for this reason that I don’t keep anything in the house that I would be ashamed to eat.
If you have food in your cupboards that you will feel guilty for eating then. well… don’t have it in your cupboards!
There’s no point trying to fight against who you are, trying to fundamentally change your impulsive side is a waste of time, instead learn to work with it and accept it for what it is.
5 BE KIND TO YOURSELF
Practice self compassion and positive thinking.
You may well still have a tendency beat yourself up for being overweight but this really isn’t doing you any good and here’s why.
Being overly self critical and negative about your apparent failings will more than likely cause you to feel stressed and anxious about your situation. Being stressed causes increased levels of the stress hormone Cortisol. Increased cortisol can lead to increased appetite and recent research has suggested it can cause decreased metabolism meaning fewer calories burned! Here’s a great article on how to beat stress induced weight gain.
Take note of how you speak to yourself, actually write down the things you say to yourself in your head when you think you can’t do something or if you think you’ve failed at a specific task. You may well be surprised how badly you talk to yourself! Now just imagine saying those things to someone else, or having those things said to you! It would more than likely make you feel pretty bad. This article on the benefits of self compassion explains it in a bit more detail.
Let’s face it – not only can practising self compassion aid you in your weight loss goals it can also make you happier and more optimistic in general, which is no bad thing.
This self compassion workbook by Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer offers step-by-step exercises to help you break free of self judgement.
Also you might consider signing up to my mailing list to receive regular positivity emails and motivational messages straight into your inbox.
CONCLUSION
The journey to a physical and mentally strong you starts with just a few steps and consistency and discipline are the keys to you success. The list of actions above can really give you a head start if you apply them properly and in combination should give you enough of a kick to make some real and positive progression in your life.
I’m in the process of building a Facebook group for like minded people who will help and inspire each other to achieve their goals.
I would feel privileged if you would consider joining of Mind and Body Facebook Group and sharing your journey with us and help to build the community.
Thanks
Andy
