So, You Want A Slimmer Waistline & More Energy?

So, You Want A Slimmer Waistline & More Energy? 
(3 things you can do today, to get them!)

by Nathan Garnham - Program Consultant at Innovate Fitness
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Are you one of those people, like many of our clients, that KNOWS WHAT TO DO.. but can't do it BY YOURSELF?

You're not alone..

I've spoken with hundreds of ladies over the last 3 years whilst working as the program consultant for Innovate, and the majority of ladies I speak to, struggle with that very same issue…

Knowing what to do but not actually being able to make it happen, or make it stick..
Or even get started at all..

So in this blog post I want to break down for you the 3 things you need to address to be able to breakthrough this sticking point so you can have the energy and the waistline you want ..

FOR GOOD this time!
The great thing is it's all super straight-forward, super simple and easy to put into action and once you get started you'll wonder why it took you so long to figure this out... But you won't care as you'll be on the path to a happier, healthier and slimmer YOU :)
LETS GET STARTED…



First, we need to understand what problems most women are facing that are stopping you from making consistent changes to your health, life and waistline…

Most people Ive spoken with think the main things getting in the way of making permanent changes to your waistline are that you:

Have tried everything
Think that nothing works
Think you're too busy
Think you cant afford it
Think you have to put everyone else first

Thats a lot of thinking… and though potentially reasonable thoughts, they are often stories you are telling yourself..

And often these stories are keeping you from reaching what you actually set out to achieve…

Its a self fulfilling prophecy…

You tell yourself you cant do it, so you dont give it 100% (or you bend the rules to suit you), so you end up with slow or no results, so you give up and reinforce the idea that “nothing works”...

Sound familiar?

WELL LET'S MAKE SOME CHANGES..

We said at the start that it's likely you know WHAT to do, but you're not doing it…

So telling you to eat more vegetables, more protein, fewer carbs, eating only until full,  drinking plenty of water, getting plenty of sleep and exercising 3 x per week isn't going to cut it…

That IS what you meant when you said you know what to do right? And THOSE are the things you need to do for more energy and a slimmer waistline…

What we need to look at then is WHY you're not doing it….

I think there's 3 things we can focus on to help you…

1) Recognising that EMOTIONAL EATING isn't what you think it is and needn't get in the way of your progress

2) Changing your STORIES to help you rather than hinder you

3) Being more COACHABLE and ACCOUNTABLE

So let’s dig in to each of those..

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EMOTIONAL EATING

You may have this idea that emotional eating is feeling stressed or crap and then eating everything in sight…

It IS and it ISN'T

Essentially yeah that's what is happening, but it's not WHY it's happening.. And unless you address the why then no amount of willpower will break this behaviour…

I'm pretty sure at some point you've told yourself “I'm going to eat xyz BECAUSE I deserve it”

Rewarding yourself with food is always going to lead to a poor relationship with food and it ties in with this idea of emotional eating…

You eat when you're happy…

You eat when you're sad…

You eat when you're stressed,,,

And you can replace “Eat” with “Drink” as this includes alcohol and sugary drinks too.

So what's really happening when you “emotionally eat/drink”?

You're seeking control!

Think about a day at work, perhaps a meeting didn't go to plan, you didn't get your way, or you lost a sale, or a deal, someone else got the promotion or just royally pissed you off…

So you came home upset, angry, stressed, emotional and ate ALLLLL the things and opened up the wine… and the other wine!

What really happened at a subconscious level is you replaced the lack of control earlier in your day with control of something that IS within your power..

What you eat and drink…

As save for slapping it out of your hands no one can actually control what you put in your mouth :)

SO the only way you'll ever change this is to address it…

To figure out what the main things are that put you in an overly emotional state, and then put in place measures to manage that state in a constructive rather than destructive way…

The idea being then that you can eat all the yummy food and enjoy a glass of fizz, but to do so because you WANT to, not because you NEED to…

To get back in Control…

You can do this by:

Changing the situation… Work really pissing you off consistently? Address the conflict or find a new job?

Changing your reaction to the situation: Find a way to manage the emotional state…

What happens in the hour between leaving work and getting home (as an example as I appreciate the stress can be AT home too) can determine the behaviours/reactions once you're home…

If typically you race home and open the wine before your coat has even hit the rack then sure you've no hope of pulling it round…

But if you were to take a slightly longer route home, sing to some favourite songs or listen to a funny podcast (just examples) it's likely your emotional level would be quite different by the time you arrived home…

Or Maybe you get home, throw in your bag and head out for a 30-60 minute walk to clear your head, get some fresh air and endorphins going, so you feel calm and happier by the time you return…

Ultimately you have to figure out WHAT will work for you…

But the great thing is it's all within YOUR power to take control and stop using emotional eating or drinking as a reason for not achieving your goals….

CHANGE YOUR STORIES


Mabel, a client of mine (possibly haha) tells me she can't possibly spend 30 minutes on a Sunday planning her meals for the week…

She says she has to get the kids' school clothes ready and their packed lunches, make sure they are showered and they've done their homework…

Im certain all those things are necessary..but they also form part of Mabel's story as to why she cant change her behaviours or habits…

Mabel also watches 2 hours of eastenders on a sunday, and spends an hour on the facebook thing and catching up with cat jumper knitting patterns on insta..

I joke to make light of it but Its common to see two things happen; letting yourself get pushed down the pecking order of importance (I must put everyone else first) and making excuses for not having enough time when you KNOW deep down you can make time if its important enough to you…

And all this comes down to the stories you tell yourself…

If you keep telling yourself you're too busy - you will be
If you keep telling yourself  you come last  - then you will

However if you start changing your stories and your self talk, then your behaviours and outcomes will start to change too…

Start by being aware…

Every time you say or think you cant do something write it down.. Just to see how often you’re telling yourself that it can't be done…

And then take heed of the following realisation…

The more tired, stressed and unhealthy you are the less and less you are able to support and provide for those around you…

If you aren't looking after yourself it's likely you are not able to give your best to your family, friends, kids, partner…

So putting yourself first from time to time is actually taking care of those around you too :)

And it all starts by changing the stories you tell yourself, about yourself :)

Being COACHABLE and ACCOUNTABLE

There's a reason that the ladies that are successful with our 6 week transformations at Innovate do so well…

And it's simply…

FOLLOWING THE PLAN…

No more, no less…

But what often occurs for those that do ok, or not quite as well as they had hoped, is that they deviate from the plan…

And this tends to come down to not being coachable…

Being coachable means putting aside any previous experiences and trusting the process.

Trusting that your coach has your best interests at heart, and having helped thousands of other women to make the program work, will have a pretty good idea of what will help you too.

For example, we ask our transformation clients to stick to some visual portion size guides. This takes care of calories in a simple way so you’re not having to count them or weigh every bit of food on your plate…

But when people choose to start making tweaks to those portions themselves, that's when things can go off track..

But also it makes you hard to coach because we then dont know what's working and what isn't…

Following the plan means we get a definitive picture that it's working or it's not.

Then we can coach you…

But you have to be coachable and prepared to put into action the advice you're given..

Otherwise everyone is flying blind…

Alongside being coachable it’s important that you remain accountable…

We find that accountability is THE biggest factor in people making sustainable changes to their habits and finally getting the waistline and energy they want long term..

That accountability may change over time, it may not always need to be so intense…

You still brush your teeth even though your parents arent nagging you now right? Because the accountability from your parents ingrained it as a lifelong habit…

You can do the same with exercise and nutrition, but it ties in again with following the plan. If your coach asks you to complete some daily or weekly tasks to help keep you on track then you need to do it OR you need to acknowledge that you haven't done it..

That's ACCOUNTABILITY..

Keeping everything simple..

I did do the thing..

I didn't do the thing..

And I guarantee the more times you have to say “I didn't do the thing” to your coach, the sooner you WILL start doing the thing :)


I hope that has been useful for you, the aim here has been to highlight how your behaviour influences the results that you will get from any fitness or nutrition program.. In fact any behaviour change really..

Changing your approach to how you manage stressful situations, changing the stories you tell yourself and being coachable and accountable will put you in a strong position to finally DOING the things you know you need to see the results that you want..

A slimmer waistline and endless energy :)