" WEIGHT LOSS CONFUSION -
WHERE TO BEGIN?"
by Cindy Dobroskay
We are surrounded with information. There is sooo much information available online that it becomes overwhelming! We try to sift through all the advice and free workouts and different ideas on how we should eat and how we should exercise and how complicated it is to lose weight for our ‘body type’ or blood type’ or because of hormones. There are a lot of offers online for the ‘quick fix’ and many claiming you need to eliminate _____ and _______ from the diet (I bet you could fill in the blanks pretty quickly because you’ve heard it, right?)
How can it not be confusing??
When we are confused and overwhelmed, what do we do? What do you do?
Either we don’t try anything because we don’t know where to start. OR we try all those things: this, then that, and when those things don’t last or produce long term results, we try something else.
Eventually though, people stop believing in themselves. They start to feel that they are the problem. Something is wrong with them. They stop trying because nothing has worked so why keep trying. It’s frustrating and disappointing. Who wants to keep experiencing that? When nothing worked before, we start to believe nothing will work. Am I right?
It seems too difficult to know what to do next, or first, and what’s safe, and what’s right for our body. Sound familiar?
If this is you, it's not your fault. So many people have been led down this dismal path.
But weight loss is possible. And it doesn’t need to be complicated, or restrictive or painful. And it’s not just weight loss we’re after, because any diet will deliver on that - it’s LONG TERM weight loss we’re after. That’s where all those diets and quick fix plans fall short.
I have found the best first steps to take are pretty basic. It’s developing consistency in our routine and self-control in our habits that seem to be the hardest part of the weight loss equation. It starts in our mindset - how we think about the things we know we SHOULD do but aren’t doing, and the things we ARE doing that we know we shouldn’t be doing. We need to come to terms with how we think and what we believe. Especially when it comes to what we believe we are capable of.
Having support is really helpful. Believing we should do it all on our own stems from pride, which we all have. But it can result in self-sabotage. I know from my own experience that getting the help of a coach in areas I’ve needed it made my journey so much easier and faster, feeling supported and more sure of myself along the way.
It was worth the investment and worth the risk. And that's what my clients tell me about working together. Most are apprehensive. All are happy they stepped out of their comfort zone to try something new.
If your'e not ready for that, read on for some tips on working through this on your own.
Taking the First or Next Step
The first step to success with any goal is taking the first step. Babies do it – with a bit of struggle and great persistence! Every baby who can walk, took their first step. And then they kept on stepping! Over and over and over again. Some goals are bigger than others and they create a sense of uncertainty – can we really do it? Is it even worth trying? “I don’t need another disappointment in my effort to lose weight. Again.” “Nothing has ever worked. I end up back where I was. What’s the point?” Sound familiar? You need to know - the definition of failure is not falling, because we can always get up and try again, or try something new, but we can always keep going. ( I am regularly reminding myself of this, as well).
We do not need to fear failure.
Most successful people say their failures are what led to their success! So get out there and fail! Don’t be afraid and discouraged because you ‘might’ fail. You have more chance of success if you start, and give it your best effort, and maybe fail at the little steps along the way, but keep stepping and moving, and you WILL move forward!
What is your next step?
Super Simple Tips for Successful Weight Loss
Maybe you’ve been sitting a lot lately and haven’t moved much at all. Walking is the best first step for you. Take an easy walk around the neighbourhood and see how that goes. Every day for a week, do the same. Then, add 5 minutes to your walk every day. And keep doing that – you’ll be amazed how quickly the minutes add up and you can walk for an hour! It doesn’t have to be all at the same time – if you don’t have time for a full hour at one time, get out for a walk in the morning, at noon, later in the afternoon or evening. Even a 10 minute walk will improve your mobility, stability, blood flow, mental clarity, and so much more! Try for 20 minutes at a time if you can – and do this three times a day! After 1 month, let me know how you’re feeling. I’m guessing you’ll be feeling amazing in comparison to how you feel today.
Maybe you’re not really out of shape but you have put on some excess pounds over the past few months and you want to take care of it, before it takes care of you! Okay. Great work catching this before it gets out of control. Start doing a little more today than you did yesterday.
Assess what could have caused that weight gain and tackle that problem. You see more than one issue? Take one dietary issue and one fitness issue at a time. Overwhelming our mind with too many changes leads to defeat. Don’t do that.
Focus on one small change at a time.
add a few more minutes of physical movement to your day - a longer walk or run if you do that.
Start monitoring your food intake and write it down. A food diary can help us see what we’ve eaten at the end of the day, but also helps us control what we eat – after all, do you really want to write down those chips you’re reaching for? I thought not.
Try not to eat after 8pm at night.
Drink water when you think you’re hungry.
Start moving when you feel bored.
Try things. You may start to lose some weight just by being more aware of what you are eating and improving your diet in small ways. This happens when many of my clients start tracking their food, even before we start with any strategies.
So there are a few ideas. It really sucks to feel lousy about ourselves because our body isn’t what we’d like it to be and especially when we know we could improve things for our health and our happiness. Don’t get bogged down in all the different ideas out there on how you need to lose weight. Just start with the basics. Start with that first step! The rest will come.
And if you are truly unsure of where to start or what to try, book a call with me now so I can help you get started on the right track to your success. I'm rooting for you!