Healthy balanced meals will provide you with all the nourishment your body requires & it is all you need to reach or maintain a healthy weight without hunger. No-one should feel hungry in their efforts to lose or in your efforts to maintain your weight. If what you are doing is leaving you unsatisfied with cravings always looming, I believe, you are setting yourself up to fail.
Sticking to a strict meal plan or ‘diet’ is going to be extremely difficult if your tummy is rumbling unless you have a willpower that goes above and beyond the average person. Your weight loss goals need to form part of your normal day to day life. Most people have spent years consuming their meals and living their life in a way that have become very established habits. The end result very often being, considerable weight gain. You can’t expect yourself to change this pattern overnight, it takes time and consistent effort but you need appropriate support if you find you cannot do it alone. The task can’t be daunting and very often overwhelming for some.
Over your lifetime where have you spent the majority of your time? gaining, maintaining or losing weight? In order to stop your weight yo-yoing for the rest of your life you need your new regime to be long-term, realistic & sustainable.
Previously I would say; ‘If Christmas, holidays, weekends, weddings & parties didn’t exist we’d never be overweight!!’ Now we can include ‘Lockdown’ as another danger zone. These occasions or life events are sometimes the reason why we gain weight. That’s why it is important to focus on managing them rather than giving in uncontrollably to them. If you have a social event coming up plan to enjoy it without over doing it and get back to eating well the next day. A bad day does not have to turn into a bad week. Learn how to find a balance between your healthy weight goals & having a bit of fun. Life is all about balance. Extremes don’t won’t. I strongly disagree with all extremes.
What that figure says to us on the screen between our toes can very often define us & cause all sorts of self-loathing!! It is only one small part of you. It is better to look at the bigger picture, your overall health both physical & mental & the type of body that you have. Losing weight is every bit a mental battle as a physical one. That number on the scales is your overall weight including body fat, muscle mass, body water, bone, tissues & organs. Reducing your body fat and visceral fat readings & increasing or maintaining your muscle mass are a far more efficient way of reaching a healthy weight & maintaining it. Your ability to do this are determined by your age, gender, muscle mass, body type, activity levels, your physical and mental health, your attitude & your ability to be consistent.
Do you think your weight is having a negative impact on how you feel and how you live your life? Reaching a ‘healthy weight’ is a message we need to feed our brain. Stop starving yourself! Stop shaming yourself! Prioritise your health. Getting your body into a healthy body fat category & feeling better mentally & physically is the key to long term success. That’s step 1. The basic principles of a healthy, balanced diet are lost on many of us today & we are grasping at straws looking for answers to an ever-growing problem. If you need support that’s why I’m here, reach out and ask a question or book an initial consultation & I’ll get you started.
By Lucy Looby Nutrition
