The internet is confusing.
There are a million diets at our fingertips. Conflicting advice on what we should do to lose weight. And none of it sounds much fun, right? Which is why I’m going to share with you my top 5 tips on what NOT to do to lose weight. So you can ditch the confusion and actually not dread the thought of losing weight! 1️⃣ DON’T Eat Less What’s the No. 1 thing we do to lose weight? Cut calories.
ALOT. And this is killing your weight loss goals! Eating too little is like pressing the pause button ⏸️ on your weight loss results. Sure - to lose weight you need to be eating less calories than you burn each day. But not to the extreme! So rather than cut your calories to the point you’re living off salad and water, eat a little more of the good stuff, a little less of the processed stuff and give your body the fuel it needs to function and it will soon reward you.
2️⃣ DON’T Exercise More Yep that’s right.
I want you to exercise LESS.
Chances are when you’re desperate to hit a number on the scales, you’re hitting the gym and the cardio harder.
This ties in with point No.1.
Beasting yourself with exercise is commendable.
But if you hate every minute of it and it’s just to burn even more calories off your already super low daily intake, you’re setting yourself up to fail.
Instead - if exercise is your thing then focus on adding a couple of decent weight training sessions in each week instead.
But if you hate exercise (or even if you don’t).......
MOVE MORE.
Get away from your desk, go for a brisk 30min walk, take the dog out, play with the kids, do the housework - ANYTHING GOES!
This will have MUCH more of an impact on your waistline (and your sanity) than an hour or 2 in the gym will.
3️⃣ DON’T Cut Out The ‘Bad’ Stuff
The word ‘diet’ conjures up feelings of deprivation and living off rabbit food.
That’s no life!
So DON’T cut out the stuff you love to eat.
Sure - you want to reduce it if you literally live off take-aways and chocolate…..
But life is about BALANCE.
We have to lose that ‘all or nothing’ mentality.
And if we tell ourselves we can’t have something….
We only want it MORE.
Which results in us eating more of that food than we would have done in the first place.
Just follow the 80/20 rule.
Enjoy a healthy diet 80% of the time and relax and enjoy the treats 20% of the time.
One tub of ice cream isn’t going to cause you to gain a stone.
Just like a salad won’t have you losing a stone.
So live your life, enjoy a treat or two and get back on the healthy stuff at your next meal.
And don’t feel guilty for doing so!!!
4️⃣ DON’T Count Calories
I think most of us would agree that weighing all our food and counting every calorie is tedious and boring.
It’s time consuming to track all this and it’s unlikely you’ll do it every single day for the rest of your life (and why would you even want to?!
Plus there’s nothing worse than checking your app mid-way through the day to find you can only eat chicken and salad leaves for dinner if you are to stay within your extreme calorie ‘target’?!!
So keep it simple and rather than listen to your calorie app, listen to your BODY.
Eat when your tummy starts to grumble (but don’t wait until you’re ‘hangry’!)
Add protein to every meal, fill half your plate with a rainbow of veggies, chuck in some healthy fats and a cupped hand of carbs and you’ve got a balanced plate right there.
Don’t forget that glass of water with your meal too!
Then SLOOOOOW down your eating, remove distractions and listen to your fullness cues. Stop when you feel satisfied - not stuffed.
This will help you manage your portions way more easily than any app will.
5️⃣️ DON’T Forget Your Big Why How many of us simply have a goal of “I want to lose weight.” Sure - it’s a goal but it’s not a very useful one. We have to understand WHY we want to lose weight. That deep-rooted, often emotional reason for wanting to lose weight in the first place. Often it’s to do with kids, longevity or vitality: ❌ I want to be there for my kids and see them grow up
❌ I don’t want to die from a preventable illness or disease
❌ I want to live a long and fulfilling life
Once you’ve identified your Big Why, write it down and pin it up somewhere where you can see it every day.
Because when you’re having a tough day and you’re craving the biscuit tin…..
Remembering your deep-rooted Big Why for losing weight will get you through the moment.
And keep you on track way more than a number on the scale will.
So tell me……
Which of these tactics are you guilty of?
Comment below!