How to get started on the road to health and fitness... the fat controlling way

Feel daunted by starting on the road to health and fitness?

• Do you feel overwhelmed by how unfit you have become or by how much weight you think you need to lose?
• Do you feel paralysed becuase you don’t know where to start?
• Do you feel a sense of dread or impending doom at the thought of having to fit in healthier eating and exercise?
• Are you worried that you will fail at another attempt in the New Year to change your lifestyle for good?

You are not alone!

Every year millions make the same resolutions….. to lose weight and shape up. Yet millions don’t last more than a few weeks. Some only a few days. Why?

Because we try to change too much at once! At first we are filled with a strong sense of will and excitement. We are enthused and motivated at the thought of changing for the better. The novelty factor is high and you are feeling good.

But guess what? Willpower is like a muscle and without proper support, care and attention it will wear out and tire. Leaving you frustrated and unable to maintain you newly formed habits. Pretty soon the old ones creep back in and you are back to square one and feel a huge sense of failure… AGAIN!

Sound familiar?

How do you stop this from happening?

• You break it down into manageable chunks. You change just 1 or 2 things at a time. Master them and move on to the next.
• You accept that you won’t succeed at everything first time and learn that failure is an opportunity to learn and not a reason to quit!
• You get help and encouragement from the right people.
• You don’t set impossible and unrealistic targets.
• You learn to LOVE this journey to health and wellness and see it as an ongoing process with no end.

How do I break it down?

Pick 1 or 2 things to start with. Below are some suggestions. The biggest rocks will bring the biggest changes. Just focus on those until you feel confident you have mastered them. Then pick 1 or 2 more. The more you master the more confident you get. During each process be mindful of what works best for you. Because we are all so unique and individual your approach will have to be unique and individual.

Ideas to start you off but…….only pick 1 or 2 to start with:

• Start each day with a fat controlling protein based breakfast
• Learn a new recipe each week and batch cook every Sunday night for the week ahead
• Plan you menus in advance and shop to ensure you have all the ingredients to hand
• Take lunch to work with you
• Walk 30 minutes everyday and use a pedometer to measure steps
• Join a yoga class
• Go to the gym at lunch time 2 times a week
• Have wine just on a Saturday night out
• Remove bread and wheat from your diet (or avoid what I can #beigedeadfood)
• remove sugar from your diet
• Go to  bed before 11pm on week nights

Patience. Persistence & Practice.. How to sustain your changes:

I have written a separate blog on how to view the process as a journey rather than a protocol.A protocol intimates its not for the long term and you start at point A and finish at point B. This is the number  one reason why diets never work longer term.

For long term results and sustainability you have to view this as an on-going journey that you will practice EVERYDAY for the rest of your life! If you learn to LOVE this journey you will find the journey exhilarating!

So let’s break this down:

It’s important to find moderation and a methods to sustain your changes.

For me I have learned I don’t want to live without wine or chocolate. So I have found I can sustain my healthy lifestyle by indulging in a small glass of wine a couple of nights a week and a small amount of dark chocolate most days.

You might decided you can’t live without coffee or without crisps. So factor in a healthy amount that doesn’t leave you feeling deprived. If deserts are you downfall then simple allow yourself 1 or 2 bites of someone else’s and then indulge in a full one from time to time. Experiment and have fun finding your way!

In my ten years working with clients for fat loss, the one thing that NEVER works is full abstinence. What works best is giving yourself permission to have a little of what you fancy. The trick is to finding out how much you can get away with!

So which one or two things will you commit to start working on today? Tweet me or share onFacebook what 1 or 2 things you won’t to start on straight away!

Big love, small tummies

Jill – The Fat Controller