UPDATED: 01/09/16
There is nothing more frustrating than training hard and not seeing results, you work your butt…. however, the numbers on the scale just won’t move.
Before you lose hope, make sure you have these 3 bases covered.
These are not always the most talked about or the most sexy… but in my experience can make all the difference in breaking through plateaus.
#1: Consistency – Make Health a Habit
Consistency is the #1 factor for losing weight.
Because… you’re a combination of your habits, good or bad.
Let’s be honest, if you’re overweight it’s not because you made one bad decision… it’s because you consistently made bad decisions – for weeks, months, years and even decades.
So many times I see clients that want to undo years of neglect in just a week or two.
Unrealistic goals will kill your motivation.
I always explain to my 6-Week Body Challenge members that our program is not a quick fix… you can only lose 1-2 kilos of body fat per week.
If you lose weight faster then it’s not body fat you’re losing, but muscle and water.
And if you lose muscle it’ll slow down your metabolism making weight loss even more difficult in the future because muscle is the only tissue that is metabolically expensive (burns calories).
So, if you want to lose 10 kilos, expect to be training for 6-8 weeks to reach your goal.
Take one day at a time… old habits are tough to break and new habits can be difficult to form, but through repetition, it’s possible to form new good habits and break old bad habits.
#2: Salt, Sugar, Fat – Eliminate Processed Foods
Cut out processed foods and eat fresh clean home cooked meals.
I recently read a great book called Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us.
In this book the author talks about how “Food companies manipulate our biological desires to scientifically engineer foods that induce cravings to overeat, using terms like mouth feel for fats and bliss point for sugars to tinker with formulations that will trigger the optimum food high. Coke even refers to their best customers as heavy users.”
If you’re interested in your health and wellbeing then I highly recommend you read this book…
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us
#3: Recover Well to Reap the Full Benefits
Exercising consistency is essential, but you’ll only get the full benefits of all your hard work if you recover well.
The magic happens when you recover from the workout, not during the workout itself… so recover well!
Always rest between workouts and never work the same muscle groups two days in a row.
Incorporate an active recovery workout into your program like walking, swimming and stretching.
Try to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a day, sleep plays an important role in good health and well-being, it resets our hormones, allows your body to repair itself and can help protect your mental health, physical health and quality of life.
