So you’re struggling to lose body fat and you want to know the secret sauce. You’ve come to the right place! But, what this blog WON’T be is a simple generic blanket statement thrown over all of you that says ‘Eat more vegetables’ and just ‘Move More’ in order to lose weight. Look – this method is certainly a success formula. BUT, there’s a few other things that need to be considered.
Self-assess
There’s no point me telling YOU how to lose weight, without never having met you. What do I know about you?
The truth is everyone has their individual areas they need to work on, that sit outside of diet and nutrition. These ‘other things’ change constantly depending on your current lifestyle demands. Here are a few of the common ‘life-reasons’ that slow down our ability to drop body fat:
- An over-committed schedule. This is when the ‘no-time’ excuses creep up.
- Stress hormones up = fat burning hormones are down. Yep, this is seriously how the body works.
- Giving too much to others. Your kids, your career…your kids again! (Not a typo, a reality for many). If it’s not you’re number 1 priority, you’ll too easily slip into old habits and not give it your all. Ask for help with some of your responsibilities so you can free up brainpower.
- Committing to your health & Fitness 7 days/week. The A-lister’s in Hollywood have a staff of 5 to do what you guys are meant to do on your own. So don’t rush, don’t overcommit and don’t burnout. It should be a lifestyle that feels manageable and sustainable for the long term.
If you want to be healthy and happy for the rest of your life then you have to continually assess your own body and mind to see what is out of balance (the most) and focus on that part.
Here’s a quick guide to combat your feelings of:
Lethargy: Go for a walk, preferably in nature and in the sunshine (just don’t forget the SPF)
Stressed to the eyeballs: Say ‘No’ to present and future commitments and don’t feel bad about it. Practice mediation, declutter your to-do list and off hand some of your responsibilities to others.
Tired: Go to bed earlier, take a nap, switch your alarm off and let your body wake you up naturally. Read this blog to learn more.
Bloated: Listen to your body and find out which foods are making you feel this way. Read this blog to learn more.
Self-Love
Once you assess your main stressors, now’s the time to love yourself enough to make a change. This might mean investing some money into physiotherapy, investing into your wellbeing by purchasing fresher, higher quality wholefoods, or even signing up to 12WBT where all your meals, mindset lessons and training sessions are mapped out for you.
Diagnose what it is that will make you feel motivated and committed enough to make a lasting change. You need to give your body the love it deserves in order to see you through your weight loss (which can be a really challenging time if you’re not fully in the headspace to put in the time and the hard work).
Self-Nurture
Just like you wouldn’t call a baby ‘Hopeless’ for falling over when learning to walk, you shouldn’t be so harsh on yourself when you do something that isn’t in line with your goals. I know this is some tough medicine to swallow. Human beings are inherently impatient, emotional people. And when we stuff up, we are our harshest critic. But nobody can be perfect. And you shouldn’t be striving for perfection, you should be striving for consistency. Be kind to yourself and stop judging your thoughts and actions. As long as you are steering yourself in a better direction then you’ll start to improve. Speaking of which…
Self-Improvement
We are all at various stages of life and different stages of health. Unfortunately due to social media and media in general, many people feel pressured to ‘improve’ at CGI-speed. This just ain’t real life. One saying that seems relevant here is ‘Even the girl in the magazine doesn’t look like the girl in the magazine’.
Another saying that I think is relevant is ‘Progress NOT Perfection’. As long as you are improving in one area: Fitness, flexibility, strength, healthier eating, happier mood or a more focussed mindset – then take that as a MASSIVE win! And for the love of god – try to remember that the scale is only ONE measurement of progress – it is not the ONLY measurement. And for so many reasons, it may not reflect the effort you’ve been putting in. So try to block out all the comparisons on social media. In fact, delete everything that doesn’t work for you, and follow only those things that support you and make you feel empowered on your journey.
Self Esteem
Once you do steps 1-4 then you’ll have a stronger belief in yourself, deeper respect for yourself which results in a more assertive attitude, and you won’t need external gratification from social media (or anyone). You’ll go on being the best you and not worrying about what anyone thinks of you.
How this all helps body fat loss?
Your fears will fade away and you’ll truly have nothing holding you back. Your stress (whether you realised you were stressed or not) will dissipate and your body’s ability to lose fat will kick into a higher gear.
You’ll find your motivation has returned and you won’t be derailed by any life occurrences or challenges that come up.
You’ll forgive yourself quicker for any slip-ups and continue on.
You’ll not be “waiting till it’s all over”. You’ll actually be enjoying the process and you’ll lose more body fat long term because you’ll be happy to incorporate your healthier habits into your everyday life.
You’ll stop making excuses because you’ll be in a more positive, forward-momentum mindset.
If you’ve been struggling to lose body fat so far, and you feel like you’ve been doing everything right – try looking at the above 5 points and see if there’s one that applies to you. Weight loss is just as much a mental game as it is physical, so it’s high time we all accepted that and learned how to help ourselves!
Here’s one final thought that might help to take the pressure off…
Forget trying to do a full 180-degree turn overnight, when you steer a ship just 1-degree in another direction in time you’ll end up at a very different place.
