Top 3 weight loss progress killers that don't have anything to do with food
You might think the top three weight loss progress killers would be overeating, not getting the right supplements, or not timing your meals correctly. But mama, those aren’t the biggies. Let’s talk about what actually stops you from hitting your weight loss goals.
But before we dive into that, I want to explain why overeating, supplements and meal timing aren’t as big of a deal as you’ve been led to believe.
Let’s start with overeating. If you’ve been trying to lose weight for more than 3 months, I bet you aren’t overeating. You probably believe that in order to lose weight, you need to cut calories, but Mama, if you’re eating 1,200-1,500 calories, you’re not overeating! You’re actually most likely undereating! And living at those calories for more than 3 months will stop weight loss progress.
Excessively cutting calories doesn’t help you lose weight. It creates more cravings, low energy, hormonal dysfunction and a compromised immune system. Please stop eating toddler amounts of food to lose weight. It’s really not working.
Next, let’s chat about supplements. Supplements aren’t bad, but they aren’t the end-all-be-all for weight loss. Supplements should be exactly that, supplementing what you’re already eating. You shouldn’t be dependent on them for weight loss.
Eating real food is always going to trump a supplement. As much as I like my protein shakes, it’s not as good for me as real protein! The protein in a shake has already been broken down, so my body doesn’t have to work as hard to get the nutrients from it. This sounds like a good thing, but it actually means that my body isn’t burning all the calories possible to break down that protein. Real food trumps supplements.
That being said, our food isn’t as nutrient-rich as it used to be, so sometimes we do have to supplement. Sometimes, it’s more convenient to have a protein shake than to eat a whole chicken breast. (Can you imagine everyone walking out of the gym with a chicken breast in hand? Bahahaa!) But, like I said supplements won’t make or break your weight loss.
And finally, meal timing. I get asked about meal timing a lot. “Should I do intermittent fasting to boost my results?” “Should I stop eating by 9 p.m. so I can lose weight?” “When’s the best time to eat my meals?” In truth, for the average mama who is looking to lose weight and feel good in her skin, meal timing isn’t that important.
You can do intermittent fasting, as long as you still hit your calorie goals for the day if that feels good to you. You can stop eating at 9 p.m. if you feel gross and bloated when you eat later than that. But if you love that late-night snack after you put the kids to bed, that’s fine too!
The real progress killers don’t have anything to do with food. The real progress killers are mental.
Having an all-or-nothing attitude
One of the biggest mistakes women make when it comes to healthy living is thinking that they have to do it perfectly to see success. This all-or-nothing attitude keeps so many women stuck on the weight loss roller coaster.
You start a new diet, and you’re super excited about it. You’ve chucked all your junk food, You have your meal plan, and you’ve grocery shopped. You’re going to crush it! Everything goes well for a couple of days, but then you’re at work and someone brings in donuts.
And you eat two.
And you fall into a shame spiral.
“Why did I do that?” “I knew I couldn’t do this.” “I’m such a failure.” “I’m never going to lose weight.” “I might as well go eat more donuts. I’ve already ruined everything anyway.”
This is where I want you to stop mama! You haven’t ruined anything! Just like eating one salad isn’t going to make you drop 30 pounds, eating one “bad” meal, or two donuts, isn’t going to ruin everything.
This is where the all-or-nothing attitude takes you away from your goals. Like I’ve said before, weight loss doesn’t require perfection. It requires accountability.
Tomorrow, the scale might go up from the donuts you ate. That’s ok. If you stick to your goals the next day, then this will just be a blip. The scale will go back down in another day or two and you’ll be back on track in no time.
Recognizing and holding yourself accountable for the decisions you make is going to take you off the weight loss roller coaster. You’re not going to have to restart tomorrow, next week, next month or whenever you get the energy to do it again.
You simply need to own up to your choices and try to be 1% better tomorrow and you’ll see the progress you want in your weight loss journey.
Being impatient with your results
How long does it take to lose weight?
Well, how long did it take you to put it on?
Sustainable weight loss takes time. It’s probably going to take at least as long as it took you to put it on, and honestly, probably a little bit longer. But just because you’re not seeing instant results doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is pointless.
Weight loss is a great goal. If you’re overweight and you don’t feel like you can live your best life at your current weight, then losing weight can be a great thing to do to help you feel better.
But, weight loss shouldn’t be your long-term goal. Leading a healthy life should.
That might mean that you won’t lose 10 lbs in 10 days! But setting up healthy habits will pay off in the long run.
Now, let’s talk about what healthy living even looks like because if you’re used to restriction dieting you might think that programs like Keto, Whole 30, HCG, etc are healthy. But they aren’t - at least not long-term.
If you want sustainable weight loss and a healthy relationship with food you need to focus on these things:
Eating a balance of protein, fat and carbs at every meal. (YES! Eating carbs is healthy!!!)
Moving your body daily - that doesn’t mean crushing the gym every day. Make sure to include active recovery days!
Getting 8+ hours of sleep each day.
There are things you can do beyond these three, but if you can do them consistently, you’ll dramatically improve your health, your life, and create sustainable weight loss.
Trying to do it on your own
Mama, you are a smart and capable woman. You can do anything that you set your mind to, but just because you can do it on your own doesn’t mean you have to.
If you’ve been struggling to lose weight. Or you’ve lost it only to have it come back with a vengeance and you just feel so stuck and lost, then it’s time to ask for help.
You don’t just deserve to feel good and healthy, Mama you are entitled to your health! If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that our health is absolutely vital.
I know you’ve tried to do it yourself for a myriad of reasons, one of which is probably that you didn’t want to spend a lot of money. But mama, if you’re struggling to feel good in your body, then it’s time to invest some money in learning what true health looks like.
Being healthy seems like something we should know how to do, right? We should know how to eat well. We should know how to exercise to lose weight. We should know how our bodies work.
But most of us don’t. Most of us learned about health and nutrition from diet culture. We learned what weight loss looked like by watching the women around us. And those poor women weren’t taught anything helpful either!
How many times did you hear your mom sigh at her reflections? How many diets did you watch her go on? How many times did she say “I can’t have that. It’s bad for me.” while you were eating it? I love my mom. Love her to death. But I watched her binge and restrict for years and thought that was what women had to do. It wasn’t!
But she didn’t have the tools that I have. She didn’t have the opportunities that I have to learn about nutrition, and hormones, and diet culture. So she had to suffer. But Mama, you don’t have to.
It’s time to break generational cycles. It’s time to stop diet culture! And it’s time to eat the food you love while losing weight!
Because, just like we talked about before, healthy weight loss comes from eating protein, fat and carbs. Not cutting them out.
And if you don’t know what healthy eating looks like for YOU. Then, you need to invest in learning just that.
I know how scary it can be to invest money in yourself, but I also know that until you do that, you’re going to be stuck in the same spot you’ve always been stuck in. You’ll get stuck cutting calories until you can’t take it anymore. You’ll binge on whatever foods you’ve been cutting out and you’ll get frustrated that you ruined it all. And then the cycle will repeat itself…again.
We all know that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Instead of going insane, let’s try something new.
Let’s learn:
What a balanced diet looks like.
How to handle food cravings - not just give in to them.
How to master your time so you can plan meals that set you up for success.
How to feed your whole family in one meal that will fill everyone up.
The truth about nutrition so that you can pass healthy habits down to your kids.
How to reframe the negative thoughts you have about yourself and food and replace them with thoughts that serve you.
I can help you do all of this inside of the Macros Made Easy program. My goal is to help busy mamas, like you, lose weight and learn how to put yourself first without feeling guilt and shame.
Mama, don’t fall prey to your old habits. Let’s create sustainable habits that will help you reach your weight loss goals this year. Schedule a free discovery call with me to get started.
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