Weight Loss: Getting Started
How to be realistic with your nutrition goals….
If you have already read the blog on how to get started with nutrition (if not, here it is) this will be a great supplement to that. In a world full of story telling by the way of fad diets, fitness models, or Hollywood celebrities, it can be a hard narrative to sift through. There is a lot of sex appeal and lies being sold which can automatically shift one’s perspective on what is obtainable and fuel a downward spiral of low self esteem and disappoint - or many of these cycles.
Getting started with setting goals:
Identify what it is you are trying to achieve and understand the root meaning/purpose behind it & what that means to you. If you want six pack abs is, is it because you like how they look, does that symbolize health to you, or are you trying to get a revenge bod? All of these ideas are valid but figuring out what the start is for you will keep you grounded in your goals and the process.
Caution: Make sure your goals are for you and you’re not comparing yourself to someone else. Compare you to you as you go. “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
Measuring your progress:
Tracking is important and making sure that what you are tracking is actually important to you. Before pictures can be great if you are trying to look better for an event or for yourself. Body measurements if you are trying to add muscle and/or lose fat. Scale weight measurements if you are told by your doctor you need to lose 50#. Whatever method of measurement helps you be the most consistent you can be with tracking. The more information you can have to paint the picture of progress the better. Most importantly, what that progress looks like and means for you specifically.
Caution: Try not to get too caught up in one measurement to the next. “ I can’t see a difference” or “ I didn’t lose weight” can be tough mentally. All good things come in time. “ Persistence over Perfection.”
It’s going to take longer than you think:
This all comes back to the instant gratification world we live in. You will not achieve overnight results that are long lasting and healthy. That’s the simplicity of it all; it takes years. Whether you want to hear it or not. Lasting, sustainable change, that is healthy takes a loooong time. Referring back to persistence over perfections, even those who look like they have it all figure out…don’t. It’s taken them their whole life of accumulating decisions to lead to what you see today. Don’t compare but respect that fact that each individual will have their own journey with decisions to make along the way. Allow that to take time and be okay when you fail.
Caution: Getting caught up in someones sales pitch of detox teas or tummy wraps will make you feel like you aren’t doing enough and force you to lose sight of the bigger picture. If something sounds too good to be true, that’s because it probably is.
The most important thing is to get started. Figuring out what works for you and being okay when you fall face first into a donut.
