July 15, 2021
Do you feel frustrated after years of trying to reach your goal weight? Perhaps you’ve read all the diet books, signed up for programs such as weight watchers, or tried the latest juice-cleansing fad only to feel fed up and irritated by your inability to get into the kind of shape you want. Or perhaps you’ve gotten really good at losing weight, and really bad at keeping it off.
I know I certainly struggled with these issues. I didn’t get reach my goal weight, and easily maintain it, until I discovered a breakthrough formula. Not only did this formula help me lose 40 lbs, I currently have a 100 percent success rate with my clients who want to lose weight. No joke!
Before you start losing, you must set the stage for success. Without setting yourself up for a win, it will be very difficult to attain what you want. For a person to reach their goal, the pros of getting the goal MUST outweigh the cons. So get clear on why this is deeply important to you, and follow through till the end.
Change doesn’t happen overnight. It is very difficult to follow through if your life is not set up for it. Clear the unneeded clutter, and replace it with the new ingredients for your new body.
Finally, success depends on specific healthy habits. We can only follow a diet for so long. Eventually, we either need to make a habit of eating that way. If that diet drains you of your energy, or you haven’t learned the tools you need to stop overeating, or other self sabotaging habits, it is likely you will fall into the 98 percent of people who fail at losing weight.
The secret to getting for your perfect body with more ease, and less struggle will not only change your detrimental habits, it will also help you discover what foods are best for your unique body and how you can stick eating them. This is secret is very simple: eat energizing foods, not energy zapping foods, and honor your hunger and fullness.
STEP ONE:
Get clear on the Why
A lot of people claim that they want to lose weight, yet they continually procrastinate changing their diet, or starting an exercise routine that will deliver the results they want. Excuses such as not having time or energy, to exercise or prepare healthy foods continually get in their way of successful weight loss.
If you fall into this category, you must ask yourself, do you really want to lose weight and if it is indeed a priority, what is important about losing weight? Dig deep. If your reasoning does not truly motivate you to take empowered action, then figure out what would.
For example, maybe you want to lose weight so that you have more energy. To dig deeper on this reason (more energy) you can ask yourself, what is it important about having more energy. Maybe it is important so that you will have the energy to actively engage with your kids, and that is important because you want to be a great parent. So in this example, the big motivating factor to lose weight is so that you will be a good parent. Following through is no longer about your own self-care, but about the care of the people you are responsible to.
Once you get clear on the real reasons behind your weight loss efforts, you may find yourself following through once and for all.
STEP TWO
Create Solid Anchors
During moments of weakness, it is easy to forget why we thought it was important to lose weight. This is when having anchors is a great tool for helping you remember to follow through. Create an anchor for each of your five senses and connect with these anchors daily.
For example, if your big motivating factor to lose weight is so that you will be more present for your children, then perhaps a photo of you playing ball with them would be an inspiring visual anchor, or touching your heart to remind you to take good care of your health. When you connect with these anchors, ask yourself, am I making the best choice for myself in this moment?
STEP THREE
Clear the clutter
Take a good look at your home environment and your life, and decide what needs to be cleared out. Material clutter actually creates a cluttered mind. Of course clearing clutter doesn’t have to be days of cleaning out all the rooms and closets in your home. This process is all meant to prevent overwhelm and burnout. One fun tip to clearing clutter, as suggested by fly lady, is to set your timer for 15 minutes and find 27 things to giveaway, put away, or throw away. Make three piles, one for each, and you will be amazed at how clutter free your home will become in no time!
You also need to clear out anything getting in your way of succeeding. For example, if you are addicted to eating ice cream, and want to give it up, then perhaps it is a good idea to give the ice cream you like away to a neighbor or friend.
Or if you plan on incorporating an exercise routine into your life, then what will that look like, and what equipment do you need to follow through?
Step Four
Eat for Energy
If we do not have enough energy, then it gets really tough to get motivated to exercise, eat well, and give up addictive foods and beverages such as coffee and sugar. If we start to think about food as a good source of energy it will help us make better choices without the feeling of having to follow rules, be good, or feel deprived.
There are a variety of ways that food affects us energetically. Food is made of calories, which is a measurement of energy, but some low calorie foods with give us lots of long sustaining energy, and other with drain us of it. Also, all things in this world has an energetic characteristic and the energetic characteristics of what we eat will effect us in that manner. For example, kale grows upward and outward. It grows in bunches, it is green, and light, and it has a center and veins stem out from the center.
Just like kale’s energetic nature, it is great for balancing blood sugar levels, and cleansing the body. It helps us feel and get light.
Think of foods that give you energy and foods that zap you of your energy. Break out your pen and paper and make a list. By listing out these foods, you will be able really gather together a great list of foods that are best for your unique body. When making food choices, aim to choose the foods that give you energy over the foods that zap you of energy.
Delicious Kale Recipe:
1 Bunch of Kale, washed and chopped into bite size pieces.
3 crushed Garlic Cloves
1 to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
½ of lemon-juiced
Heat pan on high. Add oil. Swirl around pan. Turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and roast until golden. Add Kale. Sautee kale until it is bright green. This will take about 4 or 5 minutes depending on how high your heat, and the type of pan you are using. Add lemon. Toss in pan and transfer to plate. Eat while hot.
Step Five
Honor hunger and fullness
The number one key to preventing overeating is to eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are satisfied, not full.
If you wait until you are so hungry you could eat a horse, then you may easily overeat. Plus, if you get too hungry, it will be difficult to make energizing and healthy food choices. So honor your hunger, and eat before you are starving!
How do we honor hunger effectively?
Start by paying attention to your hunger cues. When it has been a while since you last ate, do you start to feel tired or lack focus? Do you get a rumbling feeling or even pain in your stomach? Do you get weak, or perhaps nauseas, or even dizzy? We all get different signals to let us know we are hungry. Think about what your signals are.
It is important to understand hunger signals, because sometimes we don’t realize we are hungry, until we are starving, and sometimes we think we are hungry when really we just need something to drink, or time to rest. If you are not really hungry, ask yourself, how do I feel right now, and what do I need?
Place your hunger levels on a scale. 5 is where you are starving, and 1 is where you are not hungry at all. When you start to feel a little hungry, like say a 2, think about what you will plan to eat next. Then eat when you are at a level 3 or 4, not 5.
The next step is to honor fullness. It is crucial to eat until you are satisfied, not full if you want to lose weight. You can eat all the “right foods” but if you are always eating until you are totally full, then you may still have trouble keeping your weight off.
Have you ever eaten until you need to unbutton your pants and lie down for a bit? I certainly have. I used to have a problem with overeating. I would eat, and eat, and eat. I would eat when I needed a break from work, I would eat when I was bored, I would eat when I was tired, and I would eat when I felt sad or hopeless. Not only was this behavior embarrassing, it was addictive. I felt shamefully enslaved to overeating.
Luckily, we don’t all have that addiction, but many of us have certainly gotten into the habit of overeating. Develop the new habit of stopping before you are full by slowing down. Start chewing your food well, paying attention as you eat and make the choice to stop when you are satisfied, not full.
- Take medium to small bites
- chew slowly and thoroughly
- take a breath between bights
- pay attention to aroma, texture and after taste
- most important find healthy food you enjoy
If there is still food on your plate, pack it up for later, or push your plate away and announce you are done. Tell yourself, if you are having trouble excepting that it is now time to stop, that you can always eat when you are hungry again, even if that is only an hour from now. But for now, you are satisfied, and you honor your body’s signals by stopping before you are full.
Honoring your hunger by eating when it is telling you to eat, and stopping when your body has indicated that it is satiated (not full) you will help you build a deeper connection with yourself. Your weight will begin to melt off without having to depend on diets, food journals, or calorie counting.
These are the first five steps to setting yourself up for inevitable success, and finally losing weight.
Want to do this, but need support and accountability? In our 90 Day Best Body Program, we coach you to succeed with ease! Set up a strategy call with us TODAY by clicking here.
