By Sometimes we can become our own worst enemy
We have the right intentions for achieving our weight loss goals, but sometimes an ‘over abundance’ of unrealistic commitments can stop us before we even get started.
As a woman who’s adopted a healthy lifestyle, I can say that it took me a while to create this for myself.
I didn’t just wake up one morning and have everything in perfect order.
Instead, I took one step at a time, experimented most days, and then set in place the things that worked for me.
Many personal experiences helped to shape my commitment, such as my mother and father’s cancer deaths.
I also had a few health issues during my lifetime, which required complete adjustments to my eating plan.
I would happily choose to live like this every day — its become my most significant achievement towards sustaining a healthy & symptom-free life.
You can set yourself up for failed attempts by rushing into everything with your headlights in fog mode.
It’s not a race — but a gentle stroll towards a lifetime of positive changes.
One change at a time is all you need to start with.
Here, I want to help you uncover what might be holding you back from achieving your weight loss goals.
Sometimes, mistakes can help others realise a block or inhibitors of success.
One: Be flexible and bend accordingly
No, this isn’t a lesson in gymnastics or yoga — but your personality.
For example, the ability to bend and then stretch yourself accordingly.
Controlled and calculated ways of eating, nutrient timing and exercise, then spending most of your time focused on the willpower to keep this up is anything but exhausting!
I’ve been there and done that very thing for years. But, unfortunately, there is only so far your willpower can take you.
Forcing yourself day in and day out to do something that’s inconvenient or unsuitable for your lifestyle is unhealthy and won’t work.
For instance, going to the extremes of bodybuilding diets, eliminating carbs and other nutrient’s from your diet.
A rare few will thrive, but most human beings like a bit of flexibility and usually meet their needs somewhere in the middle — the middle ground being the bendable and flexible area.
Treating foods with respect is vital.
Eliminating the need to put them into the good and bad piles will help you make better decisions.
Basing your nutritional choices towards health 90 per cent of the time while allowing some flexibility within the 10 per cent range helps eliminate the good and evil, right and wrong.
Two: There is no one single super ‘thing’ that works
Supplement and vitamin companies want to feed the insecurities that flow through our minds.
Magical cures, melting fat, eating what you want and drinking something green will help you lose 15kg weekly.
These are just some of the ridiculous headlines or sub-headlines I read daily.
For many years, I spent money on silly things that didn’t work or made false claims.
I think we can all become suckers during particular times in our lives — more so out of desperation than anything else.
We all want to achieve our goals as fast as possible and look like the perfect picture we’ve created.
But unfortunately, it will not happen in the form of a pill or shake.
Don’t get me wrong, and I take a few good-quality supplements for certain things. But, the difference is I don’t leave my goal in the hands of a tablet, food source or exercise.
There are so many research-based, high-quality reviewed pieces (that I usually write about) with beneficial information that anyone can follow.
But, most of the claims these supplement companies make aren’t backed up by science.
Due to the many mistakes I’ve made, my one and most successful outcome for weight loss resulted in taking a step back and using the straightforward means of whole foods, exercise, fasting and rest.
It can be as simple as these four key factors to help you get where you want to go.
No supplements, treatments, fat loss pills or expensive trainers will give you the edge.
Just good old-fashioned nutrition and exercise. It’s that basic.
Three: Being a mean bitch to the most important person
That’s right; you can be a real bitch to own yourself — which is unnecessary and downright mean.
No one is an expert in the game of exercise and nutrition.
Making one or even a week’s worth of wrong choices doesn’t make you a failure or anything else inflammatory you want to call yourself.
People that shame themselves are not only stressed but experience higher than average cortisol levels.
Think of it this way; you are your own best friend, the one who makes the decisions, and you need to be a little more gentle.
How would you treat a friend you love in the same situation?
I highly doubt you would swear at her.
You’d not have any friends! So why then do you do it to yourself?
Nothing is a disaster.
We all have to learn one way or another, which comes with experiences after being knocked down first or several times.
Life can be a mess, but please, go easy during those times. All hard times eventually pass, and we become stronger as a result.
Use food as your energy source, and exercise as a part of your mental health strategy.
Shift your focus from the hard times towards things that will make your life a whole lot better — because that will make your authentic self shine against the dark times.
Key takeaways
It’s only natural to draw a line in the sand and end the excuses, but that’s not always the right way for you or anyone.
Rather than leaving it up to chance or giving yourself a backdoor option — think about the meaning behind your weight loss decision.
For example, is it for health and longevity and the aesthetic component?
When we get our minds moving in the right direction, everything else seems to fall into place, including weight loss.
There is no need to take extreme measures to attain success — just an exemplary commitment to stay the course, use the basics of strategies, and be kind to yourself along the way.
Try that for a change and see how far it takes you.
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