Why is it so hard to keep the weight off?!
I am sure you have been there at some point. Asking yourself ow do I lose weight AND keep it off?
You have been recommended a new diet plan or seen the latest ‘guaranteed weight loss program’ on TV and you have dived in head first and lost a good amount of weight.
An amount of weight that you are very happy with. You are proud of yourself!
Your friends have noticed you look slimmer. You have had to buy new and nicer clothes. Your confidence is sky high and your husband can’t keep his hands off you!
But now you have finished your juice plan, shake only diet, keto plan or detox program and so you start to bring back in some of your ‘regular’ foods.
Nothing too crazy though and you still eat pretty well but slowly and surely the weight starts to creep up again.
You panic and have an emergency day or two where you revert back to the shakes to stem the weight gain flow – but it doesn’t help.
Before you know it, not only has the weight gone back on but now you are even heavier than you were before!
Tips to Lose the weight and keep it off
It’s frustrating and you stay depressed for a while until somebody recommends another ‘sure fire weight loss’ diet and you jump back in hoping that this time the weight will stay off.
Of course, it doesn’t.
So how do we lose a good amount of weight and make sure it stays off forever WITHOUT us having to diet forever?
Take a look at my 3 tips below that I use to help all my clients lose weight over time and not only keep it off but also develop the habits and lifestyle changes that enable you to keep the weight of forever!
- TIP #1 – BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION
Whatever your starting point is, you want to see the best results in the shortest amount of time and that is completely understandable. However, it is this thought process at the start of your journey that ultimately leads to the weight reappearing at the end.
It’s vital for sustained weight loss that you think and build for the long term. This means forgetting about losing 6lbs in your first week and think more about slow and steady progress of around lb per week over a longer period of time.
In fact, I would even forget about counting calories and focusing on any weight loss in the first 4 weeks so that you can build strong and healthy foundations. A healthy base point that removes the foods causing you inflammation, gut bloat, water retention and lethargy. Replace these foods with clean, more alkaline foods that restore a natural PH balance in your gut, ease inflammation and give you the spring board in which to build your diet on.
To kick start your journey in the best way possible, you can download a free week of my own HealthBuddy Reset program below.
- TIP #2 – HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DIET
The most important thing here is that you choose the right path for you.
Just because your friend Karen has lost 2 stone on a juice plan, doesn’t mean that is right for you too.
Firstly, you need to be realistic with your goal and the time frame you want to achieve it in.
For example, there is no point setting a goal of losing 6 stone in the next 10 months as that is a very tough goal to achieve.
It will mean quite drastic changes to your current diet and lifestyle that will be hard to maintain after the 10 months. And due to the challenge involved you are likely to face many ups and downs over that 10 month period and the downs can be very damaging to your mindset. It’s these downs that can lead to you quitting on your diet and your overall goals.
A much healthier and achievable goal is to set a target of losing 3 stone in 12 months.
Once you have set this goal, break it down into more manageable chunks such as losing an average of 1lb per week.
So that is 42 weeks to lose the 3 stone. Add in the initial 4 weeks of building that foundation where we are not focusing on weight loss and that gives you 48 weeks in the next 12 months to lose 42lbs.
And celebrate every 1lb you lose! 1lb is a 2 packets of regular size butter from the supermarket so that is definitely worth celebrating, don’t you think?!
- TIP #3 – STAY CONSISTENT
You have built the strong foundation, picked the diet that is right for you and set smaller realistic goals.
All you have to do now is stay consistent over the next 12 months.
Keep eating the food that benefits you 90% of the time and try to move every day (how much you eat and move will depend on what diet you are following)
Allow yourself 10% tolerance for treats and meals out etc so that you stay sane and so that this new diet and lifestyle is not only one you actually enjoy but also one you can maintain for the rest of your life.
That is my advice and what has worked for my clients over the years and I know it can help most people reading this post too.
If you would like more help and advice with your diet, please head to the home page and grab your free week of the HealthBuddy Academy today!
Mark x