We know that the start of spring, longer days and warmer weather is a time when many of us tend to re-evaluate our health and life goals and begin to move forwards with a renewed sense of hope, optimism and determination – to take action and make change happen! If losing weight is one of your top goals this year, then these are my top 4 points to consider:
1. The Approach You Take Matters
I cannot emphasise this enough. It is important that you know exactly what your needs are, where your relationship with food currently stands and that you approach weight loss in a way that is realistic, effective and sustainable for you. You don’t want to start with the upmost enthusiasm, only to lose motivation, crash out and burn halfway through and not achieve your goals – to avoid disappointment, give it careful consideration and approach it knowingly from the start.
2. Avoid Excessive Over-Compensatory Behaviours
As a group fitness instructor, I know how tempting it can be to just hit the gym straight away to try and burn off hundreds of calories in a desperate bid to lose weight, and yes exercise can be a massive tool in anyone’s weight loss toolbox – but stay mindful.
Heavy over-compensatory behaviours of any kind can be a very slippery slope for many people. It’s important to have some degree of balance from the outset between eating well, exercising healthy, sleeping well and reducing stress levels – all of which have an important role to play in enabling you to maintain your weight loss long-term.
Remember, you are not trying to lose massive amounts of weight overnight whilst feeling hungry, irritable, miserable and deprived, only to pile the pounds back on months later. Your goal is to lose weight in a way that enables you to feel well-nourished, satisfied, confident, energetic, and most importantly in a way that is sustainable.
3. Be Smart With Dietary & Exercise Strategies
It is important to recognise that a significant percentage of the population actually suffer with some element of disordered eating due to years of yo-yo dieting, excessive over-compensatory behaviours and misinformation. Unfortunately, many heavily promoted approaches to weight loss can actually exacerbate the situation further.
Understanding and addressing all aspects of the weight loss process throughout your journey, will enable you successfully lose weight without feeling frustrated, demotivated or returning to to old habits, which unfortunately happens to millions of people every year.
4. Don’t Get Stuck – Make A Positive Change
When someone has been dieting or yo-yo dieting for years, it can almost become a normal part of their yearly routine and life. To break free of this cycle – which can be done – I would highly recommend channelling your energy into developing a better relationship with food from the start, with weight loss being a natural by-product of your efforts. Yes, the scales do matter – but focusing too much on the scales, or not fully understanding what the scales are showing you, can actually be counter-productive in some cases. These are my top 4 things to consider from the get-go, which will I hope will help you to make better choices from the start so you can lose weight successfully and maintain it for life.