Weight Loss Confessional

For a majority of people the start of every new year is usually accompanied by hopeful ambition.

New year’s resolutions are often decided following a person’s desire to accomplish great things over the course of twelve months.

The problem is a lot of people give up too soon when change isn’t effective immediately. In order to achieve great things, often (not always, as some are lucky with instant success – although not necessarily true with weight loss!), it requires a tremendous amount of work, dedication and intention.

Week two of my weight loss journey began today and over the course of the last week I have experienced every frustration and temptation associated with food. Through my experience of the last week I have collated my top tips for the first few days of weight loss, hopefully to help others who have embarked, or are planning to embark, on a similar journey towards health.

1. Pace Yourself

Start slow. Build endurance. Walk before you sprint. A 30 minute session on the inclined treadmill alone is not going to wipe off years of unhealthy eating. However, regular and continued 30 minute exercises just might help you to achieve your goal of squeezing into those figuring hugging jeans you’ve had your eye on for some time.

Likewise with food - implement small changes to your diet on a slow but consistent basis. Build up to change, do not change your food habits instantaneously. I attempted to do this over the past week and failed miserably, especially after my body had become accustomed to the calorific intake over Christmas and New Year! Slow and steady…

2. Do Not Deprive Yourself

I believe, and have experienced over the past week, that failure to eat healthily is inevitable if you deprive yourself of something you crave. I do not advise, of course, to indulge in a vast amount of wasted calories as this will make your goal to lose weight redundant.

Towards the latter part of the last week I have found that satisfying food cravings with a small amount of what my taste buds desire has actually had a positive impact in terms of significantly reducing the quantity of unhealthy food I eat during future days.

This approach does require a great deal of self-control, however, if you are determined to improve your health then your intent will match your self-control, ultimately leading to long-lasting health rewards.

3. Do Not Give Up

My patience level has always been relatively low, so starting on a weight loss journey has tested me a lot. Like a lot of people, I am always eager to see results instantly. Unfortunately, due to a slow metabolism and laziness up until this point, the only instant results I have ever seen is the accumulation of fat taking up residence on my hips following indulgent food episodes.

It may take some time to establish what works for you. During this period resist the urge to put pressure on yourself and do not be hard on yourself if progress is slow. What works for someone else may not necessarily work for you. Images you see online are very rarely a true reflection of reality, especially as apps have been developed to disguise blemishes in an effort to portray the ‘perfect’ look. Ease the pressure and love yourself from the very start of your journey towards better health. It is extremely important to approach any type of journey in a positive manner – you will be more likely to succeed and achieve everything you set out to.

The next fifty weeks of my weight loss journey will undoubtedly present new challenges, new frustrations, new experiences, new highlights and new found health. I will continue to write on a weekly basis to encourage, amuse and help those on similar journey’s. Stay tuned folks!