How to Stop “Failing” at your diet

In principle, the process of losing the fat stored around your stomach, butt, thighs or wherever else it’s irking you, isn’t a complex one

Consume fewer calories than your body requires for energy, and you’ll begin sourcing your fuel from those body fat stores in order to function, therefore reducing them in size

Those pouches and handles are simply stored energy, after all (and we wouldn't actually want to lose all of them, that’d cause a whole other host of issues!)

Why then, if it’s so simple, do the vast majority of people that go “on a diet”,  fail? Why is it that whilst Personal Training in Milton Keynes and online, we see so many men and women coming in that have tried so many different approaches, only to feel like “dieting doesn’t work”?

And how, can we stop that trend, and kickstart a transformation that lasts a lifetime, rather than results in a short lived drop and a lifelong disdain for kale?

Step One: Set a Realistic Plan (Read: NOT Extreme)

The first step in setting yourself up for success is setting a realistic goal

You see when people ask “what’s the fastest way to lose weight”, that’s not actually the answer they want

You see the fastest way to lose weight? Stop eating. Entirely. You’ll be forced to turn internally for fuel to function, and will shrink by the day

You will of course, also decline in energy, health, be devoid of happiness and eventually die… (Side note: I’m not talking about intermittent fasting here, there’s merit to time restricted eating routines to reduce total calorie intake over a week- I’m talking about pure starvation. That’s a bad idea)

No, the “fastest” way isn’t actually what people want. What people want? Is the most sustainable way.

Shows like “the biggest loser” don’t help, with hyped up numbers like dropping  14lbs in a week desensitizing us to what’s a realistic scale of fat loss (we won’t even go into the rebound stats for that programme, as that’s a whole other topic)

The larger a deficit you create (few calories you consume), the faster your weight loss will be

However larger deficits bring with them in most cases, lower energy levels, decreased mood, higher risk of nutrient deficiencies and lower general adherence

Meaning they’re “effective” for the week or two you can stick with them, but then usually cause a bit of a rebound after the human element of dieting comes in (again, in most instances. there’s a case for short term rigid-dieting BUT it’s probably suitable for a solid 1% of the population that has a very good relationship with their food already and solid habits & an exit strategy in place, but this isn't a tactic we'll discuss here, as it's not relevant for anyone that's "failed" at diets before)

Realistic fat loss is generally between 0.5-2lbs per week, monitored over a weekly average (not one-off weigh ins), and looked at over a 3 week window (so between 1.5 & 6lbs over 3 weeks)

Trying to drop 10lbs in 3 weeks is doable, but is the unlikely outcome of processes, not the goal

Step Two: Focus on the Systems

The fat loss is the outcome.

The process of getting to that outcome? Will be dictated by the systems you put in place

Most “systems” that people put in palace when trying to shed some weight tend to be something like “not eating any carbs”, “cut out all booze”, “don’t eat chocolate” etc

And for some people, these might work

It’s a case of identifying methods to reduce caloric intake over the course of your week, setting yourself up to follow through, and monitoring progress and adherence to make adjustments as you go

Such diet systems might be…

• Tracking calories using myfitness pal & hitting a specific target
• Only eating between the hours of 12pm - 7pm
• Making two portions of dinner so you can bring a nutritious lunch to work the next day
• Food prepping at the weekend
• Planning weekly meals on a Sunday then only buying the required ingredients
• Getting smaller plates to reduce the portion sizes for dinner
• Setting a 5 minute alarm on your phone when you fancy a snack like crisps of chocolate, and waiting till the alarm goes off to decide if you actually want it, or whether it was a momentary urge

They might even be incidental things that will carry over to reduced caloric intake such as putting the processes in place to improve your hydration, and increase protein intake and/or sleep quality, so that you can better control your hunger

The systems you create must be achievable rather than rigid and strict. Write them down- if there’s any that you already know you can’t currently commit to? Cross it out. The first step is creation and adherence, the next is to adjust when needed...

Step Three: Monitor & Adjust

So you’ve got a realistic goal, and systems in place to get there

You’ll now need to monitor both adherence to the habits you’ve chosen, and how that’s reflected with your goals

Make sure you’ve written your chosen habits down somewhere, and try to make a note every day whether you were successful or not

A yes or no for if you, for example, drank your 2 litres of water, or used your smaller portion sizes for dinner

If it ends up being more crosses than ticks on a habit? Readdress it, rather than throwing in the towel. Your life isn’t a static situation where the systems you set into place will always be the right ones for you- regularly adjusting and acknowledging when changes should be made are key to longer term progress

in fact you'll expect to slip up. You should anticipate overeating when going out for a friends birthday, or end up having a few too many glasses of wine at the end of a long week with your partner. What's important is the acknowledgement that that "slip up", is simply part of being human. So there's no need to throw in the towel if you go off plan. Simply accept it's happened, try to remove the emotions from the circumstance, and move on.

You then need to decide on a method of tracking your progress. These could be:

• How your clothes are fitting
• Taking measurements
• How you’re feeling looking in the mirror
• Photos
• Energy levels & performance in the gym
• Scale weight

Remember if it’s scale weight? You need to look at weekly averages, rather than one-off weigh ins

Water retention can be caused by high stress, hard workouts, eating a lot of carbs or sodium, menstrual cycles, a poor night's sleep, stomach issues or any number of other things

Which is why looking at the average weight gives a much more accurate representation of progression compared to the flawed “weekly weigh ins” that certain dieting companies promote (where I’ve seen people deliberately skip breakfast and drinking beforehand in order to get a certain amount of “loss” that week)

In conclusion...

Everybody has to eat

Therefore everybody has a “diet” of some kind, whether it’s acknowledged or not. The key is, if fat loss is your goal? To make small alterations that you can sustain for long term results and an enjoyable life- rather than trying to live like a Nun training full time for the olympics

Life isn’t all about fat loss after all, so if you can toe that line that allows you to improve your health, confidence and body composition without it feeling like a chore?

Taking the longer route there rather than sprinting and having to turn back? Is always the preferable option

If you’d like to have a chat with an expert about how we can help you set up those systems, either in our private facility in Milton Keynes, or online- then CLICK HERE to get in contact with us, and we’d be happy to help