I was there for a long time. Stuck in a place of self-loathing, feeling fat and really unhappy in myself.
Unhappy in my clothes, I went through a period of wearing leggings all the time. And you know you’re not happy with yourself when leggings are your constant wardrobe staple. and those black tops that go down over your bum that you get in Penneys. That was me for a long time.
When you’re feeling really bad about yourself, but not really changing your habits that you need to change, in order for you to #FEELGOOD again, it can cause huge friction within you. You blame your circumstances, you make excuses, but you don’t really address the problem. We all do this, go around in circles, instead of tackling the problem, head on.
More calories in, than calories out, leads to weight gain. Calories in, the same as calories out, means you stay the same.
Not exercising means your metabolism stays low, your muscle mass decreases. Your bones and muscles get weaker. You feel old, your body starts to get old.
There isn’t really an excuse you can tell yourself for being over-weight, other than you’re eating too much, and not exercising enough. So you can’t really give out about your body, while at the same time, doing nothing about it. But this is what we do, ALL THE TIME. I hear this, all the time. But…
if we start to change our mindset, and really come to terms with the fact that it’s a simple science, we can then pave the way in our brains to start taking action. All that effort you’ve spent on hating your body , and moaning about it, you can now take action. You’re free in a way.
So when you are ready to take action, and you move from complaining while still not doing the right things, to being honest with yourself that you’re not doing the right things, but genuinely want to change, here’s what to do to get you started:
These are all to be done, regardless of the mood you’re in… (If you want it badly enough, you will)
Start drinking lots of water every day, 2 litres at least
Cut out mid-week alcohol
Cut out mid-week junk (biscuits, crisps etc)
Start eating properly. Breakfast every day. I never miss it. Being busy is not a good enough excuse to skip breakfast. You’ve made a choice to skip it, and prioritise something else. If you made breakfast a non-negotiable, you’d eat it every day.
Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks every day.
Stop late night mindless snacking
Workout, specifically, you’ve got to do resistance training to build lean muscle!
Interval training is AMAZING for your mood, and will help keep you motivated and happy.
Workout 3 times per week.
Start now, build up the good habits, get the feel good hormones from working out, to keep you going, and you’ll get on track in no time.
If you’re struggling, focus on just working out consistently, until you’ve built up a good workout habit. Then you can tackle the food.
Hope this helps,
Jessica X
