Just because you gave into a chocolate craving or put off starting your healthy eating plan to next week (yet again), doesn’t mean you have to sit in the weight-loss sin bin.
Guilty as charged
We’re all guilty of breaking “weight-loss rules” from time to time. It comes with being human. The main thing is to learn from our mistakes. Label them as experience, put them behind you, and keep working towards your goal.
“I’ll start fresh next week.”
Decided that you want to start living a healthy lifestyle? Sure, but it’s Thursday. Might as well wait and start fresh on a Monday, right? Wrong. It’s all too easy to put off that fist move, but chances are if you wait until Monday, you'll only be met by another excuse.
Look at joining Weight Watchers Online today.
The trick is to start something small, today. It could be a short 20-minute walk after lunch, or eating five daily serves of vegetables. Take small steps to instigate action now and you’re on your way. Remember every journey starts with a single step.
“I went for a run — now I can eat what I want!”
Unfortunately, working out doesn't give you a gold pass to eat whatever you want. It will help you gain muscle, but you won't see significant fat loss until you cut back on kilojoules. Weight Watchers Nutrition Advisor Emma Stirling says, "The key to weight loss is overall kilojoule reduction.”
Instead of exercising and sitting down to a double sized serving, enjoy a portion-controlled meal. Vegetables/salad should take up half the plate, rice or pasta should be the size of your fist, and protein the size of your palm (without fingers).
“I gave in to my chocolate craving.”
Lapse doesn’t mean collapse. Stirling suggests, “You don't have to ignore your chocolate cravings when you're trying to lose weight. If you try to fight cravings, you can end up eating more by trying to eat around your craving."
Instead of king size, think fun size. It usually takes just a bite or two to satisfy a craving. Eat slowly with small bites. If you do end up falling victim to a chocolate chow-down, don’t despair. The worst thing you can do is use it as an excuse to write the day off. Instead, make sure your next meal is healthy and fit in a little extra exercise.
Check the Weight Watchers chocolate survival guide.
“I haven’t lost weight in two weeks – I may as well give up.”
Almost everybody who’s losing weight experiences plateaus from time to time. Instead of feeling disheartened, reflect on the weight you have lost and prize the fact that you didn’t gain. Remember a healthy rate of weight loss is up to one kilo a week.
Here are some tips for bouncing off a plateau:
- Eat more Filling Foods by filling up on fibre rich foods such as fruits and vegetables that will help you feel fuller for longer.
- Perhaps your 30-minute walk has become too easy. Try some one-minute running intervals or a new type of exercise.
- Have portion sizes gotten bigger? Make sure you keep an eye on how much you are eating.
“It’s all or nothing!”
Do you find you start out on your weight-loss mission with 110% effort? You run every day, eat only brown rice salads…but as the days fly by, you realise your motivation dropped off somewhere along the way.
"People put too much pressure on themselves to change everything in their diets, which sets them up for failure," says NYC based Dietician Shari Mermelstein. Instead, break down big goals and make several smaller diet and lifestyle changes. Remember, you have to learn how to crawl before you can learn to walk.
Join Weight Watchers Online today.
.
Home