Often, most people who want to lose X amount of weight, tone up, have more energy and increase their confidence will go and attack their problems head-on.
“I need to train harder”
“I must be more strict with my diet”
“I think I’ll cut out (insert any delicious food group)”
“I am going to start running”
Now, doing some of the things I just mentioned may actually be a good idea. If you drink 8 bottles of wine a week then it’s highly unlikely that you’re going to get to a weight that is healthy.
If you don’t do any exercise at all then starting to make an effort to be more active is certainly a step in the right direction.
And if you eat sweets, cakes and processed foods most days then you’re going to find it really hard to look the way you really want to look.
But there are some small things you can do starting right now that will start to move your progress in the right direction. And you don’t need a gym membership, a juice cleanse, any fat burning pills or slimming teas to start to see some quick progress.
Firstly, drink some water.
Pretty boring, but the number of people that tell me they cannot lose any weight and then go on to tell me that they drink next to no water on a daily basis is insane!
Your body needs water.
I am almost embarrassed that I have to point this out to people. If you are dehydrated, you’ll have less energy, more cravings, more water retention, poor sleep as well as experiencing frequent fluctuations in your blood sugars.
Not ideal when you want more energy and less body fat.
Work up to 2 litres per day and see how much better you feel after a week.
Next up, walk more.
Just move more. People wonder why they are sluggish and overweight when they spend fourteen hours a day sat down. We are built to move often.
For a lot of people, it’s a real challenge as their job forces them to be seated for long periods of time. But we all must make an effort to move more.
Get the circulation going, challenge the heart a little and start to make use of the calories and nutrients that we eat.
10k steps seem to be everyone’s target. Start where you’re at and build up that step count week after week and watch your body change shape.
Lastly, change just one meal out of your day.
This can be breakfast, lunch or dinner. Just pick one that you can commit to changing every day for the next 21 days. That one meal is going to have at least a palm-sized portion of protein on your plate.
Choose from lean meats, fish, eggs or Greek yoghurt. With that piece of protein, you’ll have some vegetables. Pick any. If you don’t like veggies, try adding some seasoning to them. Peppers, onions, spinach, watercress, beetroot, potato, carrots, leeks, courgettes.
Pick one or more of these. You’ll get a big hit of nutrients and fibre that will stabilise your blood sugars and keep you fuller for longer.
If you can do these three things consistently, you’ll lose some fat pretty quickly. And then you have momentum along with the confidence that you believe that you can actually stick to a few habits and make permanent changes to your physical health and body.
Let me know how you get on, and if you have any questions.
Jonny
