Have you ever decided today is the day…? This is the day/week/month/ year that you’ll lose the weight and get into your skinny jeans again. You’re serious this time.
You throw out all your favorite foods, replace them with fruits and vegetables and commit to “The Diet.”
Maybe you decide to try Weight Watchers, or Keto, or Paleo, or go Vegan, or maybe just good old clean eating with calorie restriction.
You start out 100 percent READY & YOU MEAN BUSINESS.
Then life starts to happen.
You have to work late.
Your boss (and husband) are being turds.
The stress starts to compound.
It’s hard, but the scale seems to be shifting downward,so that adds to your determination and motivation, despite your stress level.
After a while the scale stops moving… or maybe it never budged in the first place.
Motivation: 0 percent.
It’s not working. Or it stopped working.
Two thoughts pop into your mind: either the scale is BROKEN or my body IS BROKEN.
WHAT GIVES?!
It’s called Metabolic Adaptation and it’s totally normal.
You’re not broken, don’t worry.
But your metabolism has downshifted, which is why your weight loss has stalled.
ALOT happens during weight loss, including plateaus, and recalibration of your metabolism.
This is also a normal part of the process and sometimes weight loss just stalls. Your body is adjusting to alot.
But the problem is these “diets” become UNSUSTAINABLE, especially in the long term.
So what do you do…?
Anytime a diet leaves you feeling BROKEN and impossible to adhere to, there’s a problem.
THE GAME IS RIGGED.
Here are THREE THINGS to focus on if you find yourself here…
1. Avoid the “diet slingshot”
Diets are alot like a slingshot… When you restrict and remove foods, you create TENSION.
The more you restrict, the tighter the tension becomes until you SNAP and hit the drive thru. (what my clients and I like to call “The Fuck-Its”)
The FIx? Don’t go too low calorie too soon, or cut out an entire food group (meaning protein, fat or carbs)
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE THAT ARE ABLE TO SUSTAIN FAT LOSS THINK IN TERMS OF SHADES OF GRAY.
If they splurge and eat too much food one day, they know all is NOT lost. They pick right back up where they started the next meal. They don’t restrict. They don’t keep going and eat the cupboard because “Screw it, I already messed up.”
REMEMBER: PERFECTION IS THE ENEMY OF PROGRESS
2. CELEBRATE EVERY SUCCESS
My client Sharon and I spoke yesterday. She was SO excited because she ate a few servings of butterscoch popcorn and STOPPED THERE.
She didn’t throw in the towel and say, “Well, I already messed up, I might as well eat 12 cookies that my partner made tonight for the upcoming holiday party.”
No. In fact, she didn’t eat ANY of the cookies her partner made that night.
Yes, she indulged in the fancy popcorn, but she stopped there. She told me last Christmas had been a total binge fest, quite the contrast this year.
HUGE WIN!
3. FOCUS ON ADDITION RATHER THAN SUBTRACTION
Flip the game.
Start thinking about the foods your ADDING IN your day, rather than what you’re trying to avoid.
Why does this work?
We get more of what we focus on, whether we want it or not.
So if our daily mantra is “I’m not eating cupcakes, I’m not eating cupcakes…” guess what your brain is telling you to eat?
CUPCAKES!!
So flip it…
New mantra:
“Where can I cram more fruits and vegetables and lean protein into my day?”
YOU GOT THIS.
Now go set the world on fire with your sparkle.
I’m always available…
Reach out anytime…
Ivy x