10 ways to ditch the diet and still lose weight!

Been on numerous diets with no results? Feel like a hamster that cannot get off the wheel!

Are you in your 30s, heading towards your 40s with a sense of panic or already in your 40s starting to contemplate being 50?

Yes — well just because I teach fitness and try to educate my clients on nutrition and leading a healthier lifestyle, doesn’t mean that I don’t get what you are feeling!

How often do you find that there is just no time for yourself or that you have to go 100 miles an hour to get things done and that time is just passing you by and you are no longer that youthful 20 year old?

Do you feel that it would be failure not to be able to do everything for your family, friends, loved ones, which means you will sacrifice all your free time to achieve what is expected of you.

But does being the devoted wife, mother, business woman mean that you always have to be ‘self-less’? Don’t you think it is now time to be a bit more ‘self-loving’?

‘Diet’ is a dreaded word but has such a huge impact on our lives and affects how we live our life/lifestyle, even if you don’t think it does, it affects how well you keep on top of things. If your mind and body is foggy and slow through poor nutrition, then you will never be able to keep on top of things and will continue on the never ending journey of diet, lose weight, put it on again, repeat!

It’s difficult because we are taught from an early age, still, to be the home maker, the nurturer, the person that everyone can rely on and that self-sacrifice is what is expected from us to make the world go round. We are also expected to be the person who puts food on the plate for the family which means we are constantly around food which can make it the enemy.

Do you feel that to keep on top of everything is almost impossible but that to admit that would mean you have failed?

Well don’t!!! Admitting that you do not have enough time to do something the way you might like it done is a sign of strength and recognition that it is not possible to master all trades, even the domestic ones!

For some of you too now that you have brought up your children, it seems it is time to look after your parents! The role reversal begins so once again you are busy looking after everyone else.

So let’s STOP take a big intake of breath, how do we get off the hamster wheel!!! and start living the life we aspire to.

Okay so I’m not going to say here is my magic wand and there you go, here is the quick fix you now feel body confident and are back in control of your life. It just doesn’t work that way, but gradually over time and with patience and effort, it is possible to start improving your lifestyle and as promised the first thing we are going to do is

DITCH THE DIET!!!

You have to look after yourself and I am going to suggest that you start from the inside out because what goes into our bodies absolutely effects what comes out (and I don’t mean that in a crude way) but how you feel, your mood, your weight, being positive, negative, how you cope with things.

So let’s get you started — here are my top 10 ways to ditch the diet and you will find you most probably lose weight too!

1. Throw out the scales and go by your how your clothes fit. Constantly weighing yourself achieves nothing! Once a month is okay if you have to but really the clothes guide is the best indicator of change in shape and weight.
2. Try to eat more colourful food — so aim for at least 3 different coloured vegetables in each meal with green as a must have colour.
3. Forget calorie counting — it is almost impossible to get it right and by cutting down on calories, without realising it you could be eating more sugar or losing vitamins and minerals that you really need.
4. Try palm sized portions for protein, one palm size piece of meat or fish that fills your whole palm with each meal. For men give them two.
5. Use your fist for veggie portions and have two fists worth— you can be more generous here but watch they are not all denser veggies like sweet potato, potatoes, root veg.
6. Listen to your body, don’t be controlled by set meal times. If you are not hungry at your usual, pre-programmed time, wait until you are. We have all had it regimented into us that we must eat three meals a day at set times breakfast 7–9am, lunch 12–2pm and dinner 6–9pm. You don’t need to stick to the clock and if you are not hungry for three meals don’t have them!
7. Understand that there is NO one diet fits all! We are all different shapes and sizes therefore are bodies work differently. What might work for one person may not necessarily work for you. A lean person may have a fast metabolism naturally therefore would do better to keep more starchy carbohydrates in their diet, however someone who is more pear shaped needs less carbohydrates to achieve weight loss/body shape change. Therefore you have to tweak what you eat. We just have to get started with a base plan that is simple and easy to follow then we can adapt it to get maximum results for you.
8. Just because one diet worked 10 years ago does not mean it will work this time and you really should be thinking about more than just losing weight but LIFESTYLE changes — how to increase your bone density, how to increase muscle mass to keep your metabolism up, how to be flexible as well as strong as you age! Fitness/exercise should come into the equation now.
9. Look at the quality of your food. Now I’m not saying rush out and buy organic as I know that is not within some people’s budgets but don’t always go for the cheapest stuff ever as it will not be as nutritious. Avoid the tinned baked beans, the over processed foods that are your ready meals in packets and try to eat more fresh food and use frozen vegetables which are just as good as fresh as they keep in the nutrition.
10. Don’t focus just on your weight and how you look because to be honest by changing your shape and losing weight, this may not actually be the area in your life that needed to change and it may well not bring you the joy so to speak that you expect. You need to understand what is important in your life to you, what you would like to bring into your life and to look at your whole lifestyle and try to improve all aspects of it not just one part of it. So although we have started with nutrition, there is so much more to consider and gradually improve.

If you would like more help and guidance on diet and nutrition then make sure you are signed up to our weekly KSFL newsletter or just drop me an email to Helen at ksflgrays@gmail.com.

We will be looking at stress next week and I will be giving ideas on how to reduce stress so that it does not hinder your health and fitness progress.

www.kickstartfatlossgrays.co.uk

Helen —07956 520767