5 tips to make weight loss EASIER!
The most common goal individuals have when they come to work with our team is WEIGHT LOSS! They want to lose weight, feel more confident in their skin and ultimately learn how to keep the weight off for good.
However, weight loss can be difficult for many individuals. Their bodies may be resistant to losing fat even when they are doing “all the right things.” And of course this creates a defeating relationship with weight loss/dieting for the individual.
Knowing that many of you may want to achieve your weight loss goals going into the new year, I want to share 5 tips that you can do NOW to help promote sustainable weight loss come January.
1. Set a workout goal for the month of December!
Knowing all the events we have coming, it can be difficult to consistently hit 4-5 workouts/week. A great alternative is setting a workout goal for the month. For example, you can set the goal to workout 12 times in the month of December. From there, go into your calendar and put in those 12 workouts now! Some weeks you may hit 3 workouts and others you may hit 5 but what matters is that at the end of the month, we have gotten all 12 workouts in. This decreases guilt for not being able to hit your 5th workout for the week while increasing workout consistency in the busy season!
2. Find your bare minimum habits!
Bare minimum habits are the habits you complete at the bare minimum each day! We all have bare minimum habits that most of us do subconsciously. Some of us bring 80 oz of water, sleep 7 hours and walk 6,000 steps without needing to think about it. These would be your bare minimum habits! Assess these areas of your life: water intake, average steps, sleep, self-care, nourishment, and movement. Pick one bare minimum goal in each of these areas and START SMALL. Do not set a gallon water goal if you are barely drinking 30 ounces of water right now. Be realistic and know that in the beginning, you will need to be consciously aware of where you at with these habits but over time they will become something you do without a second thought.
3. Make sure you are not currently in a dieting phase!
I know I know that may sound CRAZY. “Coach, but I want to lose weight…why do I need to avoid dieting?”
The truth is, whether you have intentionally or unintentionally been dieting, your body needs a chance to CHILL. Unless you have been tracking your macros and know without a doubt you are at your maintenance calories, then it is going to benefit you to begin tracking and get your good intake to maintenance FIRST before starting a weight loss phase. This is going to allow you to lose weight off the most food possible when you do begin your weight loss phase!
4. Learn how to be adherent at maintenance!
If you cannot adhere to maintenance calories, it is going to be really difficult to adhere to fat loss calories! Fat loss phases are something we want to be meticulous and strategic with. When we enter fat loss phases with clients, we aim to have this phase last 3-6 months. But for individuals struggling with adherence/consistency, the fat loss phase can become less productive and no longer yield the results we want.
This is why we recommend learning how to be adherent at maintenance FIRST where your body is experiencing less stress, more energy, and manageable hunger BEFORE entering a fat loss phase!
5. Always have non-scale related goals!
When focusing on weight loss goals, it can be easy to fixate solely on the number on the scale. While you can absolutely have numerical goals related to body weight or body measurements, I want to encourage you to set goals away from the scale. Some of these goals could be strength goals in the gym (squatting 100 lbs for 10 reps in the gym) or habit goals (drinking 10-20 ounces more than your bare minimum habits).
As we enter the new year in less than 30 days, I want to push you to start working on these 5 tips NOW. You cannot keep avoiding the work necessary to set your body up for success with your goals.
The sooner you do these things, the sooner you will be achieving your weight loss goals!
And if you are sitting here feeling overwhelmed, confused, or doubtful - apply for 1:1 coaching where we will be able to set up an individualized strategy for YOUR goal and body!
