GREAT!

I’m going to share the number 1 mistake most of my clients make so that you can start off on the right foot and achieve the results you desire!

The Mistake: Wanting Instant Results… LIKE NOW!

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I totally understand the need to want instant results, especially in this day and age where EVERYTHING is instant, quick and fast. Food can now be cooked and delivered straight to your doorstep! GASP!

But…

You didn’t gain 10- or 20kg overnight. So uh, don’t expect to lose it overnight.

There are 2 main problems with wanting things FAST:

1. Resorting to extreme ALL-OR-NOTHING crash diet methods

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“NO SUGAR! NO CARBS! NO JUNK FOOD! NO FAT! FOREVER!!!!”

Sound familiar?

Most people think that they need to CUT out all these “bad” foods to see results. Not only is this not sustainable, it can be detrimental to our mental (and physical) health. Research has shown that being overly restrictive can lead to increased cravings, overeating, and sometimes, a trigger for binge eating [1].

The extreme dieting cycle usually looks something like this:

When you keep cycling through this process, you might end up gaining MORE weight as extreme methods tend to lead to a decrease in overall energy expenditure. So, when you get frustrated and decide to GIVE UP, GO ALL OUT AND EAT ALL THE FOOD, you find that you gain weight easier.

The OVERALL END result?

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Weight gain!

This is usually the breaking point for my clients. When they come to me for the first time, they’ve usually tried every single method out there with either zero results or have lost the weight and gained it all back when their diet ended (because they had no idea how to maintain the weight loss).

Going to extremes is NOT the solution.

2. Frustration

Sustainable fat loss is a LONG (and sometimes painfully slow) process. You NEED to ACCEPT this.

The going WILL get tough and you WILL be tempted to give up. Not wanting FAST results and knowing what it will take to achieve sustainable fat loss will help you to enjoy the process a little more. This also means that you are LESS likely to give up! #win

The SOLUTION

There are many tools and solutions when it comes to sustainable fat loss.

I like to work on changing habits and behaviours.

Why?

Because habits and behaviours are what you’re doing EVERY SINGLE DAY! Source

There is a BIG difference between knowing what to do and ACTUALLY doing it. Research has shown that having knowledge of healthy behaviours do NOT strongly predict the actual behaviour. We all KNOW (or at least kinda know) what we need to do for our health and fat loss. But… we’re just not doing it! This is known as the intention-behaviour gap [2].

We need to take SPECIFIC ACTION

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One of the ways to bridge this gap is to put in place specific actions. In research, this is known as implementation intentions (taking specific action) [2].

For example, the intention may be “I want to eat healthier!”… but how? when? where?

An implementation intention strategy to “eat healthier” could be “I will start by bringing a piece of fruit to work for my 3pm snack” or “I will eat 1 extra serve of vegetables at dinner at least 3 times a week.”

This strategy has been shown to be promising in helping people make healthier choices! It increases automaticity by linking the desired behaviour to critical cues. Therefore, you are less likely to rely on willpower.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Take a good look at your current diet

2. Decide where you need/want to change

3. Practice ONE SPECIFIC habit (JUST ONE!) that will help with point 2

4. Keep practising until it becomes second nature

5. REPEAT process with a NEW habit

I’ll end this post with one of my client’s amazing transformation and what she did to get there!

First of all, this is NOT a 30 day transformation. This is 5 months in the making!

I quote:

“2019 has really brought me to a new place health and energy wise.

It really came down to this: how much I wanted to change and what I was prepared to learn and take up along the way. Nobody could decide that for me, and nobody can decide that for you. I chose the tagline ‘trust in the process’ because change is a process and sometimes it can get scary and discouraging when nothing seems to be moving. That’s the time when we most need to trust in what we’re doing, and that we will get there in the end. We’re not a product, we are in the process of getting better and stronger. Like the PhD, I’m under no illusions this will be easy, only that I believe the journey is worth it.

Plus don’t be afraid to reach out to those who have the expertise to guide you on the steps towards real change. I’ve benefited much from the things @nutritiontrack taught me.”

Petrina KNEW that it was going to be a long and tough journey but she was mentally prepared! She went in with the right MINDSET!

And from there, she worked on her HABITS.

“My food stash in Jan 2019 (re a pic of her food stash).

Since then, I gave away the sweets, ginger tea, chocs and instant porridge. Slowly finished up the cereal and 3 in 1 coffee and milo. Nowadays, I either drink cocoa without sugar or very occasionally, order a hot milo kosong from the canteen when I crave chocolate. My morning beverage remains coffee but I’ve switched to skim milk from full cream, and I have it without sugar.

Snacks are now mainly fruit, cherry tomatoes, almonds, walnuts and meiji oat crackers.

A reminder to self that HABITS can change!“

2 key things about Petrina:

1. She DECIDED she needed to change and ACCEPTED the fact that it WILL TAKE TIME

2. She used the First Step Course to start taking specific ACTION

She showed up and put in the WORK!

The great thing is that THIS COULD BE YOU TOO!

If you are ready to start prioritising your health by changing your current habits and behaviours around food, then check out my First Step Course!

The post The Biggest Fat Loss Mistake and The Solution appeared first on Nutrition Track.