
Will I be Fat for Life, or can I change?
It is that time of year where the all these amazing weight loss shows come on TV, selling the idea that you can lose weight and achieve your fitness dreams. But can you?
Unfortunately, as seen time and time again, the majority of these people who participate in these reality TV shows put their weight back once the cameras stop rolling.
WHY? Considering how good they look and how much better they feel you would think that these people would be able to maintain the habits to stay fit and healthy.
Let me start by pointing out that I HATE the biggest loser. I think the trainers are going to serious hurt someone, if not kill them, one day. This high intensity BS training is not only unsuitable for a lot of these over weight clients, it is also not educating them on how to train effectively in everyday life.
Let’s be honest – if you lived in a house in which you did not need to work, with 20 other people, all training to lose weight, with healthy food there for you in a private kitchen, and a gym downstairs where you train 2 time a day, it’d be “easy” to lose weight.
But this is not the real world and once these people return back their homes in suburbia, the demands of normal life often take the person back to their old habits, purely and simply because they have not been taught how to change their thinking from what they USED to be. So the person falls into old habits, cannot maintain the crazy 6-7hrs of exercise and hence go back to where they were before being on the show.
So how do we lose weight long term? The aspect you need to consider is what is your motivation? Why is it essential that you lose weight? Is this a goal or a desire? Goals are great but most people do not achieve a goal unless their desire to achieve it stronger than their desire not to change.
Weight loss is all about behavioral change, and of course we all hate change. But unless you are willing to change numerous aspects of your life you will not get the results you desire.
Are you willing to change your eating habits? (when and what you eat)
Are you will to change your exercise habits? (train 2-3 times per week)
Are you willing to change your sleeping habits? (get 7-9hrs per night)
Are you will to change your thought process and beliefs about your weight loss?(see yourself achieving goals).
Who do you surround yourself with? Part of any behaviour change program requires a support team, all elite athletes have a support team, you are no different. Your support team needs to be people who are close to you that will support you in your journey and help keep you on track in a non judgmental way. Understand you will have set backs and when you do accepted re set – re focus and get back on track. Beating yourself up does not help nor does it get you the results you are after. Life will often through you a curve ball accept it.
Here are the my top tips for long term weight loss
- Small changes add up: make small changes along the way that are sustainable for life
- Celebrate your weekly achievements (not with food) get a massage or a facial or do something you enjoy, it does not need to be food
- Accept sets backs a part of the journey not failure, we will always have challenges that get in the way.
- Plan your nutrition so that you are not searching for food when your hungry
- Do resistance training at least 1-2 times per week
- Do huffy puffy exercise /sport that you enjoy and is fun 1-2hrs per week
- Sleep 7hr per night at least 5 nights per week
Make everything you do realistic for your life, trying to put yourself into a bubble will only work until it bursts. This is why most of the constants off these weight loss shows put their weight back on, because their lifestyle change did not cater for this thing we call life getting in the way.