Tips To Support Your Fat Loss Journey

Fundamentally, weight loss is a function of energy in versus energy out. Most of the time, bringing some balance into our energy consumption by manipulating habits, will do the trick and the unwanted weight will start coming off. Other times we need to work through balancing hormones, sleep, etc., but until the energy balance becomes consistent, there's not a good reason to look at other factors.

But the truth is, bringing balance into this area is HARD. It's so much easier said than done, I know. A lot of us have (all of us?) have a deep emotional relationship with food. It was our first method of receiving love and was equal to comfort from our first breaths on earth, and of course is basic and fundamental to our lives, so it's natural to have an emotional connection to food and to find comfort and contentment in it. But for many of us, over the years, many of the pervasive, painful, dysfunctional, UNTRUE, and harmful societal beliefs around eating, food, and body image have permeated our subconscious belief systems and created harmful eating cycles in our lives.

These cycles and beliefs CAN be undone and replaced. It takes willingness to listen to your own thoughts, become mindful of the beliefs you are functioning out of, challenging them, learning new belies, and installing them. It's not easy or fast work, but it's good, healing, and satisfying work. But it takes time! So in the meanwhile, I’ve come up with a long list of practical habits that can be implemented today, and you can start on the journey right now!

1. Reduce your calorie intake in these ways:

   1. Create a meal plan! Eat from your meal plan EVERY DAY, shoot for 90% accuracy. 

   2. Try not to eat out. 

   3. Prioritize protein.

   4. Drink all your water every day (1/2 body weight in ounces, add flavor if needed.)

   5. Substitute ingredients with lower cal options.

      1. use cooking spray instead of oil

      2. fat free dairy (or low fat cheeses) instead of full fat

      3. air fry instead of pan fry

      4. fat free or low cal creamer/monkfruit for coffee

      5. light laughing cow cheese instead of cheese/cream cheese

2. Revolutionize your personal eating culture. 

   1. Eat slowly and make each meal an EVENT that brings you joy.

   2. Do nothing else while you are eating except enjoy, experience, and taste the food. 

   3. Eat at a table. Every single time you put something in your mouth, be sitting at your EATING spot. No work eating, no standing at the panty or fridge eating. 

   4. Schedule your meal times, set alarms if you need to. 

   5.  Don’t snack when it’s not a meal time. 

   6. Make your meal time satisfying and filling, emotionally and physically. Try to create MEALS as meals, not just a bunch of snacky foods. 

   7. Commit to daily accountability by logging every food and the accurate amounts. 

   8. Remove as many ultra processed foods as possible. I know they are easy but they are doing NOTHING for you. 

   9. Shift focus to low density foods and high protein foods

      1. vegetables and fruits

      2. lean protein 

      3. whole grains (not highly processed ones) 

      4. eggs 

      5. low fat or fat free dairy 

3. Add more movement.

   1. build muscle, as changing the ratio from fat mass to non-fat mass in the body will alter how many calories your body will burn at rest

   2. include non-exercise activity and walking for increased health and calorie burn

4. Other important considerations to support weight loss: 

   1. sleep well (helps balance very essential weight loss hormones) 

   2. add a probiotic to support proper digestion

   3. grocery shop on a set time only from your list and after you’ve eaten.

   4. set aside time every week to prep food so that when meal times come it feels like convenience foods because your meals are ready. 

   5. set up little goals and come up with a reward for meeting them. 

   6. weigh more frequently than once a week 

Hope these tips help! Please contact us here if you want extra support on your journey! We would love to help.