The last article I posted explained about how weight loss is always the by-product to something else, something within our body that isn’t healthy, happy or just quite right. I want to further that, take it to the next step, because there’s another piece in the puzzle to weight loss that so many people ultimately are left feeling like a failure through. Once you have analysed your lifestyle, your health, your body and your emotional wellbeing to see what may be the ‘products’ that are causing the ‘by-product’ of weight gain, then the way you choose to go about changing these is so important, in fact more important than the actual changes themselves. The human mind is of such a vast complexity that it’s impossible to ever really understand everything about what it is capable of. This said, it has been proven beyond doubt that what we focus on is what we create. Our mind will analyse, want and crave what our thoughts are made up of. This little insignificant piece of science is what needs to create our path for achieving anything we want in life. Focus on something, bring it into the forefront of your mind, keep it there and that’s the direction you will take in life, for as long as those thoughts are your focus – be it career, fitness, sport, family or lifestyle. On top of this, we are driven by reward, and make one of two subconscious decisions – to gain pleasure or avoid pain. In decision making we are always drawn to the option that will give us pleasure or avoid us pain. If we apply this to weight loss, why then do we make the decision to lose weight by focusing on cutting out sugar, reducing saturated fats, halving our portion sizes, banning all takeaways and desserts, and all in the attempt to perfect our eating plan so we can lose weight? Through the way I have just explained the human mind, firstly we are drawn to what we focus on, and secondly we want to gain pleasure or avoid pain – all through rewards. Let’s say you make a choice to remove all refined and unnecessary sugar from your diet, which is a great idea for optimum health yes, but if every time you prepare food you are focusing on having no sugar in that meal, then your cravings and desire to have sugar are going to continually build until it becomes impossible to avoid. On top of this, where is the reward? You have removed the part from your diet that you associated as the reward and haven’t replaced it with anything. Remember we are driven by rewards and pleasure, if there is no reward or no pleasure gained then it makes it incredibly tough to stick with it, and no matter how strong your willpower is you will eventually at some point not be able to maintain that strict plan for long. This will lead to you consuming an excessive amount of sugar laden foods and then leave you with feelings of being a failure and not being good enough. What do I recommend? Create the changes so you focus on what you WANT, make sure it gains you PLEASURE, it AVOIDS pain, and is driven by a REWARD. It really is simple. Work with the human mind and you will always succeed. Work against the human mind and your will power to succeed will be pushed beyond its limits. It is impossible for me write here what these changes are you need to make for weight loss, because everybody is on a different journey in life, everybody has different factors that are making them gain weight or stopping them losing weight. There is no one box fits all. There never is, there never has been and there never will be. It is impossible for me to go into much more detail without making this article a novel. In my online nutrition and exercise programme I do take you through steps of changing your eating patterns and making your lifestyle healthy by working on the principals I have outlined – I never ask you to ban foods, I simple show you how to increase the goodness in your diet. Fill your body with healthy foods and fuel your body in a healthy way, rather than remove the unhealthy foods. Focusing on health and goodness gains you pleasure, avoids you pain and rewards your body. You will be surprised at how much difference this makes to you. That’s all from me today, all I want from writing this is to know I may have directed someone on to a healthier and happier path to achieving their goals. If that is you, than I thank you for reading this! If you want some more direction and guidance on how to go about a healthy eating plan in a positive way then feel free to check out my 6 week programme. You can download it through my website www.bodyessence.co.nz/6-week-programme Take care, live life and love lots! Kerri x
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I was explaining eating for specifically losing weight to a client the other day and felt as though what I was explaining to her in fact is something not many people actually understand. If you are on a personal journey to ‘weight loss’ then please remember this when you are choosing the methods, plans, diets, and decisions that will form your weight loss journey.
The most important fact to remember is that being ‘overweight’, ‘fat’ or whichever description you choose to use,... is that your body carrying extra body fat is only the by-product. It is never just carrying too much body fat for no reason. The reason ALWAYS lies within your health and wellbeing. For true, healthy and successful weight loss (my definition of successful weight loss is long term maintenance of your new weight) you must always put your focus on health. Always. Why? Because excessive fat is a by-product, never the cause. It is a by-product of an unhealthy body. It is a by-product of a body that isn’t happy. It is a by-product of a body that may be consuming foods it doesn’t want, may have hormonal imbalances, may be producing too much adrenalin and cortisol from stress, may not be getting enough sleep, may have emotional distress, may be insulin or leptin resistant. It could be the by-product of a body not active enough. Carrying too much body fat is always a by-product of something else going on in your health, your body or your lifestyle. To lose this excess body fat you need to focus on sorting out the health, wellbeing or lifestyle issues that are causing your body to be carrying extra body fat. Sort out the ‘product’ that is creating the ‘by-product’ of excessive body fat. Diets that cut out foods, tell you to eat in a strict unmaintainable fashion, take pills or drinks, or ask you to follow an unnatural eating approach – they are all focused on ‘weight loss’ not the reason behind the weight. This unfortunately will take your body through a vicious and unhealthy cycle time and time again. The diet will succeed in you losing the kilos perhaps, but unless you cure the underlying cause of why you were overweight in the first place, that weight will inevitably come back. First step for weight loss? Forget about losing weight. Focus all your attention on getting a healthy and happy body. Once this is achieved, the by-product will no longer be that your body wants to carry excess body fat. This is the direct link to why so many people try and try again with unsuccessful attempts at weight loss. Remember successful weight loss is long term maintenance of your new body weight. Losing weight for a few weeks or months only is not success. So quit the diets and start making a healthy body on the inside and out! Have a great day. Kerri x |
Kerri van de Loo - Mindfulness coach, Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach & SELF-LOVE COACH:Join our Online Wellness Club here: https://www.bodyessence.co.nz/wellness-club.html Categories
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