Wherever you are on your weight loss journey, you can start to plateau or stutter. Here lies the perfect opportunity to reset and we’ve got 6 ways to hit reset.
Losing weight isn’t always a straight-forward journey with the pounds coming off in a nice, smooth downward line. Nope, there will be times the weight just won’t budge, and other times you might even see it rise. Totally normal, yes? Demoralising? Absolutely. Time to hit reset on your weight loss goals and get yourself back on track.
FORGET THE PAST
The past few years have been filled with lockdowns, almost weekly changes and disruption. Don’t worry if your healthy habits have fallen by the wayside, you’re not alone.
The key to moving forward is to letting go of the past, it’s a clean slate so focus on what you can control, including your plans and actions moving forward.
REFLECT ON YOUR PROGRESS
How has your weight loss progress been so far? Think about what you’ve done, and don’t be shy about patting yourself on the back. If you’ve made any steps towards improving your health, celebrate them!
Ask yourself what you can learn from your efforts, whether they were successful or not.
SET YOUR GOALS
The best weight loss and fitness goals are ones that come with real, actionable plans. Instead of saying, ‘I’ll get fit’, say ‘I’ll run for 20 minutes 3 times a week before work’. Swap saying, ‘I’ll cut out all sugary foods’, to say, ‘I eat too many sugary snacks, so I’ll replace these with healthier options.’
You’re far more likely to achieve a goal this way because you’ve given yourself something achievable to work with.
MEAL PLAN
Sharpen your pencils, grab a fresh page of paper and get your head down to create a solid meal plan for the week. Knowing exactly what’s on the menu and that it fits into your calorie allowances each day gives great peace of mind and says yes, you’ve got this.
Even if you falter and end up calling for a takeaway after a stressful day at work, or can’t resist that Snickers at 3pm (you’re not you when you’re hungry, after all), having a plan means you can adjust the rest of the week accordingly.
DO ONE THING
It’s easy to look at yourself and think that there are many things you want to change. Maybe you eat too many takeaways, drink too much soda and don’t exercise enough. All of these factors and more contribute to you being overweight. Don’t fall into the trap of making an all or nothing lifestyle overhaul. Perhaps it’s true that you do want to stop relying on takeaways, cut down on sodas and start exercising, but trying to change everything at once means that you’ll be more likely to fail at one of them, if not more.
Instead, start slow. Pick one thing. Make a meal plan this week that includes a couple of takeaways, then next week include one takeaway, the week after give yourself a plan to make simple meals at home all week. Over time, you can build this up to increase your recipe repertoire or to cut back on sugar, or fat, or whatever. You don’t have to do everything at once.
You stand more chance of creating and sustaining healthier habits by tackling one at a time.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
If your results have slowed down, it might be time to try something new. A change is as good as a rest (or in this case, better, because you don’t want to rest on your laurels and end up putting the weight you’ve lost back on), so do something you’ve never tried before. It might just spark added motivation too.
Go vegan, try keto, go rock climbing, start using MAN v FAT Gym – the possibilities are endless. There’s no point festering in your rut now, is there?
