Has this thought ever crossed your mind – why am I not losing weight? Ever envied how easily a friend manages to lose the kilos and you just cant seem to do it? Below are some possible reasons as to why you are not losing weight.
Priorities
They say that what makes a man great is not just his talent but his grit and “stick-ability” at doing the boring disciplines necessary. We awake everyday a new with a fresh start and opportunity to utilize the same 24 hours our neighbour has. What makes someones 24 hours more productive than another is his/her ability to prioritize whats important and “keep the main the main thing”. So how does this relate to losing weight or creating a healthy lifestyle? Well simply you must make it a priority in your life. Decide what actions or disciplines are necessary for you to lose weight such as a good nutrition program, regular exercise and commit to those habits on a daily basis. To help you determine your priorities click below:
Healthy living in a busy world.
Great book:
- “Essentialism” by Greg Mckeown
No contingency plan
Life is messy and plans dont always go as they are supposed to. Life throws us lemons and Im a firm believer in turning those lemons into lemonade but I also believe it is wise to have a plan for those unplanned lemons! Like we have insurance for our homes, cars and medical so to is it a wise idea to have “insurance” or a plan for our weak spots. We all have our bad habits, working enviroments and possibly friends and family that lead us astray. For example:
- 5 hour long meetings
- Chocolate every morning with a mocha on the way to work
- Emotional eating
- Family events
- Baby showers, weddings, parties or a braai
Those are just some examples of where a contingency plan sets you up for success. Firstly its important to remember that we are emotional beings and food, especially sugary carbs feed those emotional needs AND links them to people, events and circumstances. To know what circumstances leave you vulnerable is the first step. Take the time before starting a program to identify where you may fall. Once you have done that develop some coping mechanisms or strategies to deal with overcoming your emotions.
Ideas to deal with your weak spots are:
- Health coaching helps to guide and make you accountable
- Join a friend and/or group for support and accountability
- Decide when you are tempted to have 75% instead of the whole chocolate or glass of wine.
- Time it around your cheat meal or make it your cheat meal
- Make some treat substitutes. Check these out – Crunchie peanut butter cocoa coins.
- Do some exercises such as squats and stretches. Have a look at this routine – Exercises for your bottom.
- Record your eating habits on Myfitnesspal.
- Go with your own “treats” to an event.
- Leave an event early
- Sugar free gum is good to help with sugar cravings
- Have a “go-to-buddy”. When you feel weak and want to cave in CALL them!
- Ask yourself am I hungry or is this emotional? Chances are its emotional if you have eaten well throughout the day. Have some water, have your treat substitute, do some squats or stretches.
You havent taken into account your personality
We underestimate the power of our personality when it comes to achieving goals. There are 4 distinct types and you probably have 2 main ones and a bit of the others. Do this test to see what your 2 strongest personlity types are:
Your Sanguine would probably enjoy and be more consistent if the exercise is fun and social. Sanguines would do best in group exercise activities like classes or team sports for their exercise routine.
The opposite of a Sanguine would be a Melancholy who likes to analyse and is more of an introvert activity wise. A melancholic person would do well on their own following a step by step program that he/she can monitor and record weekly activity and nutrition. This would bore a Sanguine to death and he/she would not last long.
Great app for a Melancholic – My FitnessPal
A Choleric wants to WIN! They need a challenge and a worthwhile goal on the other side of that challenge. A strong personality needs a strong coach/leader to train this person. They are used to giving orders and may or may not appreciate being bossed around. If you are this type of personality partner up with another choleric who will challenge you with some healthy competition.
Exercise idea for a Choleric – Fight Club
Finally the Phlegmatic personality. These guys are laid back but have a very stubborn streak. Don’t mistaken the calm exterior for being a push-over! You really have to dig deep and find your reason WHY if you are a phlegmatic. A phlegmatic could partner up with any of the other personalities to help keep them accountable. If a phlegmatic can link their health goal to a passion of theirs they will be on their way!
Exercise idea for a Phlegmatic – Yoga and Walking.
Unrealistic goals – Set small, medium & large goals
It’s always easy to say I will start exercising later. Before you know it later is years down the line and you have developed some health issues along the way to “later”. You know what else we do? We compare our beginning with someone elses middle! Our society is terrible at promoting this “instant success” picture. Folks this is a flat out lie! Even if someone seems to have achieved success in an area quicker than the norm the hidden truth behind it is they have had years of doing habits that lead to their success in any given field. The inconvenient truth is the path to success is one of failing foward in one big mess but having an inner goal that is part of you that will not allow you to give up. So before you even put pen to paper and write your goals I want you to be happy with every step of the way including the decision to start.
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