Losing weight is hard enough, just ask anyone who is or has gone through it. It isn’t just the task of eating the right number of calories and working out 3-4 times a week that is hard. It’s not seeing the immediate results and questioning/ the uncertainty of your approach that is hard. I like to say: nutrition is simple but patience is hard. You have to be willing to stick with something to ensure results, but how do you do that when you’re not sure if it’s the right approach for you? This is where quality coaching and trust comes in. On top of all this, factor in the effort it will take to sustain the weight loss when you do achieve it. It’s not easy, simply put.
You obviously need someone that knows what they’re doing and doesn’t use a 1-size-fits-all model. Your coach/guide needs to be able to adjust any program to your body and its needs. Knowing that someone is capable of delivering results for other people is a great way of building the trust that is needed to be patient.
I have worked with multiple people who were struggling to see results in their first couple weeks of working with me. Luckily, they trusted me (and themselves) enough to stick with the program and guidance. In the end, those same people will see results if they keep doing the right things. Effort and consistency will always win in the long run.
The worst thing we can do to promote sustainable weight loss is to rush the process. If sustainable weight loss is truly what you’re looking for, your approach has to match that. The hard part about a steady approach is the things we talked about earlier; results don’t show as quickly, uncertainty follows and self-doubt creeps in. That is just something most of us initially have to go through. For some people a steady approach will show results faster than for others and that is just the way it is. I always like to use the example of sugar. If you were to ask a group of 30 people to reduce their sugar intake, it should take around 2-4 weeks on average to get used to that, but that is on average. For some it might take a couple days and for others it might take more than a month. We have to take a look at effort, consistency and background.
Key ingredients
If you start a new diet or nutrition lifestyle but still eat a bunch of foods you shouldn’t be eating every other day, surprise, your results won’t show because the effort and consistency are lacking. Have you been tracking your food to a tee? Have you been working out hard AT LEAST 3-4 times a week? Have you been getting the right amounts of water? Did you keep your sugar low enough? if yes, to all of these questions, have you been doing it for 3-4 in a row? If the answer is yes to all of those questions, trust me your results will show soon. If the answer is no to any of those questions, we’re too quick to blame outside forces rather than our own efforts.
When we’re talking about background I mean: how long did it take you to get to where you’re right now, how much weight are you looking to lose, do you have any food disorders or diseases like diabetes 1 or 2. If it took you 10 years to gain 50 kilos (115lbs), that weight won’t just disappear within 3 months. The longer it took you to gain something the longer it will take to lose it too and vice versa.
If you have a lot of weight to lose, you might want to consider losing the initial weight a bit faster by cutting more calories. This way you get the ball rolling a little bit faster, motivation will grow and you can steady out your approach the closer you get to your target weight.
Stay on the lookout for next week’ blog, why a steady approach is the key to sustainable weight loss.
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