About 50% of people want to lose weight and get healthy in the new year. So, a lot of times this means hitting the gym, going on that fad diet everyone is raving about, and maybe even getting a trainer (yay!). This sudden burst of motivation is great, but it doesn’t always last. Furthermore, there are A LOT of fads out there claiming this specific thing will help you lose weight fast and you barely have to do anything, or if you cut out a major food group, you’ll lose weight! Sounds too good to be true right? That’s because it is.
We get a lot of our inspiration from our clients – just as we motivate you – you also motivate us! A conversation with a client of ours motivated this blog. I was having a conversation with a client the other day who had just joined a nutrition group with a coach who had a lot of following a strict vegetarian diet. This person was really excited about her meetings with this coach, but as time went on she found herself feeling hungry, deprived, and craving healthy food that was restricted like meat, fish and eggs. She even said eggs were bad for you! (our two cents, if you have an egg allergy then yes they’re not great, but if you don’t then they’re fair game!) This conversation sparked our motivation to write a blog about this. As you embark on your journey towards your wellbeing we highly suggest you be wary of coaches who tell you certain foods are off limits (especially healthy foods!), that you should stay away from certain foods, and programs that leave you muttering “well now what do I eat”?
When it comes to getting healthier there is a lot to consider. It’s not JUST fitness, it’s not JUST food. It’s your lifestyle – and this takes time. With weight loss, we tend to think there is this magic number and then as soon as we reach it an epiphany happens and all of a sudden we feel better and life is good. When working with clients I ask them a lot – so what will happen when you lose that 20lbs. Why 20lbs? We pick this number and we are hyper-focused on it and if we don’t reach it we’ve failed.
What if we told you there is more than the scale to measure success with weight loss? Having other measuring tools will not only build your confidence but will give you a better outlook on what weight loss looks like. When it comes to your well-being and your goals for this year we suggest doing some reflection. We learn from what worked and from what didn't work, and this helps us become more aware of what we need to succeed.
Here are a few things to get you started:
What is your WHY? What motivates you?
Think about what other tools you have used in the past that worked for you.
Any that didn’t?
What are your barriers to success?
Name one thing for each that will help you get past it so you know what to do when they show up.
It’s so important we pay attention to the answers to these questions because they help us build the confidence we need to reach our goals, and help lay out a roadmap to them whatever they may be! We have more to share about this subject …