Health and Fitness;Mind, body and soul with Robyn

The 4 C's  AND... .7 Steps to help your success in 2019!

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You’ve decided to lose weight. Congratulations! Changing your lifestyle may take commitment and time, but taking off those excess pounds can really improve your health and happiness. Think of it as the 4 C's (Control. Commitment, Consistency and Confidence). Not necessarily in that order. They just all need to be practiced. In this early phase, you may have checked out some online weight-loss programs, explored quick fix gimmicks of the crap-load of "diets",  talked to your friends about the programs they've had success with, or even joined a gym for motivation.  After what seems like an endless amount of deliberation, you’ve chosen the plan that seems most suited to you. You’re excited and ready to start. This time you just know you'll be successful! Before you dive in head first, take a step back. Statistically speaking, your chances of taking those pounds off and keeping them off are pretty dismal. WAIT! Stay with me here.  One of the largest studies on weight loss conducted at UCLA showed that although most individuals who follow any number of different diet plans will lose 5-10% of their body weight, most will gain it all back--and more--within a year, (Hmmm...if the latest "diet" craze really worked why would this be?) Other long-term studies show that only 10-20% of individuals who follow a structured weight loss plan were able to maintain at least 5% of the pounds lost after five years. Structured weight loss plan?? If chances of permanent success are slim (pardon the pun), why bother trying? Wouldn’t you hate to work that hard, and then find yourself right back where you started a few months down the road? What if you didn't have to work at it at all?  There is a way you can succeed at permanent weight loss. The key is to spend time in a preparation phase before you jump into action. Let’s build a foundation for permanent weight loss now, and you’ll never need to go on another diet again! Prepare to Succeed at Weight Loss- (CONFIDENCE) There are lots of great tools to help you get ready to make a big change. In my experience as a 30 year certified personal trainer and fitness instructor, here are seven things that can help set you up for success before you start your weight loss plan. While you may be motivated to jump right in to the diet plan of your choice, taking the time to prepare with these steps will increase your likelihood of success. 1. Create your personal wellness vision.  (CONSISTENCY). What does success look like for you? Imagine what your life will look like and feel like when you have accomplished your weight loss goal. Don’t let it depend on a number on the scale!   What will be different and better? What will you be doing on a daily basis? What new habits concerning food and exercise will you be practicing daily? All behavioral change leads to a shift in who we are. Who will you be in your new strong, trim body? What will you be capable of that you might not be now? 2. Solidify your (COMMITMENT).  You pay your bills every month, right? You walk your dog, right? The commitment to health should be no different and in fact, top priority so that you can stay committed to your dog! Fido needs you! Writing a statement of what you are committing to will help strengthen your resolve. Putting it on paper, taking the ideas out of your head and into a written agreement with yourself will help concretize your plan. Reading it out loud to others, or even just to yourself, is a powerful exercise. 3. Increase your confidence.  (There it is again!) No matter how committed and motivated you are, you might find a tiny voice in the back of your head whispering that you'll probably fail, especially if you’ve tried to lose weight before. So what do you tend to do? Fall off the wagon. Giving in to temptation on occasion does not forfeit your overall efforts and should be no excuse. Give yourself a break and get back on the wagon!  Don’t focus on the big picture or on that number you're trying to reach. Identify small steps you can take that are realistic and actionable. For example, if you’ve been skipping breakfast only to end up overeating at lunch, work on adding a healthy breakfast into your day.  It doesn't have to be big or complicated. An egg and a slice of toast with your favorite nut butter are fine!. Start with three days a week (doesn't have to be every day). Not exercising on a regular basis? Begin with one 10 minute workout such as a walk, a day. Pick up a hula hoop or mini trampoline and jump while you're watching T.V.  Get up often from your desk and walk around or stretch. Take the stairs.  By creating a plan of small, manageable changes that you’ll work on one step at a time, and acknowledging each success, your confidence will grow. 4. Anticipate obstacles and create strategies to overcome them.  (CONTROL) What barriers to weight loss have you experienced in the past, or do you fear will trip you up in the future? Anticipate problems before they occur and create strategies to avoid them. Think of healthier snacks that you can bring with you and create an arsenal. If you have trouble with portion control, portion them out in tiny ziplock snack bags and enjoy healthy and satisfying nuts, hard-boiled eggs, nut crackers with almond butter or avacado.  Do your friends meet for happy hour every Friday after work? Liquid calories are extremely damaging because of their lack of nutrition (empty calories) and sugar content. Yes, even your glass of wine. 5. Build a support team.   You must recognize that the job of weight loss is your responsibility and no one else’s. But that doesn’t mean you have to go at it alone. Who will support your journey along the way? Sharing your vision with family and friends can be very useful- and be firm when it comes to saying NO.  It's your body, your journey, YOUR decision! Having the camaraderie of others who are working on weight loss, too, can give you a place to swap ideas, help keep you motivated and make the journey more fun. You can also build a team of professionals to help you with different aspects of your weight loss journey: your doctor, to monitor your health along the way; a personal trainer and fitness coach (me), to help you learn new exercises; or a psychologist, to help you overcome emotional eating issues, which is a real thing. 6. Set up your environment for success.   It’s time to start thinking about what needs to be in place so that once you jump into action, the obstacles have been removed. Are your fridge and cabinets filled with junk food and unhealthy choices? Give it away or throw it out!  Stock your shelves with lots of healthy choices so that when hunger strikes or it’s time to prepare meals, you’ve got what you need on hand. It would be nice of your significant other who cohabitates with you was on the same page as stated above but if not, don't use his/her eating habits as an excuse for you to be inconsistent. Recognize that inner voice trying to make excuses for you.  Same goes for your office.  Clear out the candy and chips from your desk drawers. Keep good choices on hand.  If you’re thinking of joining a gym make sure it’s convenient to your home or office. And make sure it's with ATTITUDE!  Ask for a trial membership and make sure you feel comfortable with the atmosphere (you'll feel comfortable at Attitude-just sayin). 7. Create your plan of action.  (CONSISTENCY) Now that you’ve done the cognitive work, it’s time to build your plan. Here’s where you get to decide what steps feel like the right ones for you to take. Will you follow a structured food plan, or just slowly work healthier foods into your daily intake? Will you begin a new workout routine?  Will you decide to start bringing healthy lunches to work rather than eating out every day? The beauty in the system is you choose what will fit your unique life. Don’t attempt to follow rules that feel uncomfortable for you. You have choices.  This is how consistency is created.  There is no perfect diet plan that works for everyone. When it comes to losing weight, one size (or diet) definitely does not fit all. Let's make this confident, consistent, controlled commitment together in 2019 and carry it into 2020 and beyond!  You CAN do it!  And I'm here to help.