When trying to change our diet it can often be all too easy to give ourselves excuses. From the moment you sit down in a restaurant, if your friend is having a sweet you might excuse yourself. Or if you’re not feeling great on a rainy Sunday afternoon, with a big week of work ahead it’s hard to not want to fall into a tub of ice-cream. None of these activities are inherently bad, it’s just if you’re doing it every day then it can be a little difficult to achieve weight loss.
Weight Loss and Exercise
Many people who come to our gym want to stay in shape. Exercise is only part of the picture, whilst overall weight is still linked to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart problems, sleep apnoea and strokes. As we get into later life we see a greater chance of these problems occurring making weight loss a primary concern for people over 40.
What’s the answer?
A few weeks ago we wrote an article about mindful eating. Being aware of what you’re putting in your body whilst you’re eating. Thinking about how each mouthful feels and being more aware about when your body is telling you that it’s full up with food. Well you can extend this awareness beyond the moment by keeping a food diary. It’s very simple, all you have to do is take a picture of everything you eat and put it onto a private instagram page or if you have a trainer, a shared WhatsApp group.
How does it work?
Many people have an attitude that they are taking a little break from their diet, or that they’re excusing themselves when they eat something that’s off limits, like fast food or chocolate. The diet becomes a series of excuses rather than a series of commitments. By actually having to post up a picture of everything you eat, you have to make a strong decision about what you are choosing to eat. The very act of photography makes you stop and think before you tuck in, helping you to be more mindful about the bigger picture of your diet.
This is why you’re not losing weight
Then when the figures on the scales don’t go down, or worse still, they go up, you can look back through your food diary and pinpoint the reason. There’s no hiding from the truth and looking back over the week you have a real chance to analyse what you ate, and if you use WhatsApp you can even see time stamped picture of when you ate it. There’s no better way for getting a complete overview of your diet.
Do you want help?
If you would like to lose weight and get more active then EMS Fitness is definitely on your side. We can put together a complete picture of nutrition for you and advise on a dietary plan that’s going to help you shift the pounds. Find out more, give us a call and book an appointment. We’d like to hear from you.