Are You Trying to Lose Weight?
1. DO NOT TRY…DO!
Losing weight is something that pretty much all of us want to do at one point in our lives. Often we say, “Oh, I’m going to TRY to lose some weight”, or “I want to try to drop a couple of pounds”. “I am going to try to work out more”. Try gives you an out. Try allows you to fail. The starting point is just not strong enough. In the words of my man Yoda, “Do not try, DO!”. If you commit to making the changes needed to lose weight, 100%, you are FULLY committed and setting yourself up with a strong foundation.
It has been said that “99% is a bitch, 100% is a breeze”. Think about it: You brush your teeth every day before bed. Sometimes you may even get into bed and you realise you forgot. You get up, you brush, you return to bed. It’s not even a question because you are 100% committed, so much so that you don’t even waste time debating it internally, you just do it. It’s a part of your life, it’s a habit and it is ingrained in you.
Losing weight is no different, commit- commit -commit, rinse and repeat! commit- commit -commit! So are you going to TRY, or are you going to DO?
2. WHY, not HOW
The journey to health is not a goal it really is a PROCESS. So WHY do you want to lose weight? WHY do you want to be fit? WHY do you want to look a certain way? WHY? There are a zillion different diets, methods, changes, all kinds of stuff…and that’s the HOW. If you want to really enjoy the process and be more motivated to create the body that you love living in, create the picture of WHY!
It may be you want more energy. You may want to feel more confidant. You want to live a long healthy life with your loved ones. Whatever picture or image makes you FEEEL excited, energized and actually want to go through the process of creating a body you love.
3. EAT REAL FOOD!
Real food doesn’t have a wrapper around it. Real food doesn’t have creepy chemicals in it. Real food doesn’t have the words “FAT FREE” emblazoned on the wrapper. Those are “products”. They have been manufactured. When you eat real food there are not things you can’t even pronounce in them. Examples of real food: Chicken, rice, salad, mango, fish, beans….Examples of products: Fat free cookies, weight loss shakes, fat free cheese, bottled salad dressing. It’s all going to have weird junk in it that makes your body confused. Get back to basics, eat simple food with just a few ingredients.
This is precisely why every summer in Italy, I would eat pasta AT LEAST once a day and truly was never worried about what I was eating. I was eating more than I would in the states for sure but somehow EVERY time I would come back thinner! Seriously. Why? The food was real, I was enjoying it and my body responded:)
4. FOCUS
When you are hungry, eat! While you are eating FOCUS on what you are eating. The flavor, the texture, the qualities that your delicious real and healthy food has. This one can be difficult if you are eating on the go. While watching tv, while writing emails, while driving….the list can go on. If you are not focusing on what you are eating, your body doesn’t have the ability to know what it is getting. It can then not give you the signal: OK, stop! I’m full! I challenge you to really put this into practice and see how this feels for you. I will bet that you will be surprised at how often we just mindlessly eat and hardly taste our food. You will eat less, enjoy your food and feel satisfied!
5. STOP AND ASK
Before reaching for your next snack, or meal. As you put your hand on the refrigerator, take just a moment to ask. Am I really hungry? Sometimes you might just be thirsty. Sometimes you may discover you are just tired but don’t really need to eat. Sometimes you may realise that you are bored. Sometimes you may be feeling stressed. There could be a million different reasons, but take just a moment to STOP and ASK, am I really hungry? You will find that getting connected to your body and what it wants and what it needs will help you create LASTING weight loss and be able to LIVE in a body you love! So if you find yourself reaching for a snack, and you realise that you are actually stressed and not hungry…do something else to relieve that stress! Call a friend, take a little walk, go to the gym, do something that will relieve the stress and then check in with your body later. If you find that you are hungry for real, EAT!
I have seen it time and time again with my clients. If you follow these surprisingly simple steps 100%, and commit to the journey, you will see results. Your body will change. You will feel better.
Implement these steps and let me know how it’s going for you. I looove to hear your comments, questions and reactions! I know you can achieve the body and life that you want:)