The winning combination for weight loss is simple. Burn calories by increasing your physical activity, and eat a diet that leaves you in a calorie deficit rather than a surplus. Move more, eat less!
So, why do most people struggle for success when it comes to losing fat? The answer lies in the details beyond just food and exercise. Here are three examples of ways to easily improve your weight loss results that are not diet or exercise:
- Acknowledge your worst fears and clearly envision the path that would lead you there. For example, if you are afraid of having a heart attack and missing the birth of your grandchild, think about what choices you would have to make to increase the risk of this outcome. This observation helps you accept what you cannot do and forces you to make better decisions to avoid your nightmare coming true.
- Your habits during mealtime can leave you feeling less satisfied, or too distracted to gauge when you are full—both of which lead to over-eating. Try putting down your phone and turning off Netflix during mealtimes. This simple trick will help you refuel your body while enjoying the taste, smell, and experience of eating. It also recharges your brain during the much-needed rest from electronics.
- “Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadows.” This is one of my favourite quotes because I find it helps straighten out one’s mindset in so many applications. Stop focusing on what you cannot eat, what exercises you have to do, and the changes you made that were hard. Instead, celebrate your amazing efforts to change your life, enjoy trying new and healthy foods that nourish you, and recognize every positive change you see or feel in your body as you progress on your weight loss journey.
There are so many ways to tackle weight loss. You can find an incredible amount of options regarding fitness programs, drastically different dieting techniques, and coaches who provide support, motivation, and education using their own unique style and method. These three things I outlined for you today, however, have to come from YOU.
It’s your life, your physique, and your health on the line. You need to be the one to pay attention to the details that will not only lead you to achieving your fitness goals, but embracing long-lasting change that will keep you from regressing and regaining the weight again.
No one said it was easy, but, then again, maybe I did in the title of this column!? Really, when you look at it with some perspective, I’m not asking for a lot. And I do promise you’ll understand why when you put these simple tips into action.
Coach Julie Germaine is an NFLA-certified fitness expert and prenatal trainer, and an NASM-certified nutrition specialist. She is also a fit mom to an active toddler and a 2x world-class fitness champion who has been featured in and contributed to numerous fitness, fashion, and lifestyle magazines and other media. She has loved helping men and women lose belly fat and maintain their incredible body transformations as a virtual coach since 2005.