“ Mommy you said you were going to lose weight. But you haven’t.” Says Zavier
“ I have released some weight Zavier,” I replied slightly hurt for being put on blast.
“Ok, but your arms are still big (holding his hands apart) when they should be smaller (bringing his hands in closer together). You need to work out.”
“I do workout!” I reply
“No, you don’t. I don’t see you working out and I never see you in your workout clothes. You always tell us that we have to be healthy. Being healthy means eating good and working out. You need to do what you tell us.” Zavier states.
As I’m listening to my 8 yr old son point out how I’m not living the lessons that I’m teaching them. I start to reflect on why do I hit weight-loss plateaus? Why am I not going to the gym?
In all honesty, he was right. I say I’m going to the gym but I haven’t been going because I didn’t make it a priority. When its a priority I walk out of the house in the morning in my workout clothes because I like working out in the morning and it reminds me that I need to exercise.
During my reflection, I realized that my goal weight has always been 150 and the closest I’ve ever gotten is 174. It seems as though something happens and I get frustrated with my lack of progress.
For example, the last time in 2018 I released weight I was doing Orange Theory 3x a week and walking but instead of losing weight I was gaining it. That sounds crazy, right?
What was happening was that I was burning more calories than I was intaking and my body thought it was starving and anytime I ate anything my body held on to it. It took me two months to figure this out and even though the doctor and health coach told me to stop doing Orange Theory I loved the program so much and could not think about not going. Instead, I reduced my workout days from 3 days to 2 days. The premise of Orange Theory is that your body will continue to burn calories 24 hours after your workout. I could walk the mall and burn 500 calories because Orange Theory had conditioned my body to quickly reach the cardio zone. I was so upset! Once I stopped Orange Theory I was lost and stopped working out.
Fast forward to now I’ve done a program called Wildfit which is an elimination and mindset program that helps you reflect on why you’re consuming foods that hurt you. I also started Intermittent Fasting after 2 months into the Wildfit Program and released 20 pounds in 3 months. Currently, I’m 204 and I know working out with Intermittent Fasting will help me. After Zavier told me I needed to lose weight I realized why I always hit plateaus and regress. I will focus on one piece of a weight loss program instead of all of the pieces. Which causes me to hit plateaus and give up. Here are the major pieces that one needs to successfully release ( I don’t say use the word “ lose” because whose trying to find the weight again? )
Mindset - will help you release and keep the weight off. There is a catalyst for us to decide to release the weight. It may be a doctor’s warning or a comment about your weight. Honestly, there is more to being overweight than overeating and inactivity. Once you decide to release the weight you have to start paying attention to your habits and thoughts around food, habits, and self-love.
Diet - paying attention to what and how much you eat is key to you releasing weight but also to maintaining it when you reach your goals. We live in a society that tells you that this diet may work for you and in all honesty, it may. But you have to ask yourself once you release the weight will you maintain that particular way of eating. Choose a way of eating that fits into your lifestyle that you will be able to maintain.
Exercise- I used to think I had to complete an hour of cardio to burn fat. I now understand that it’s more important to be active at least 30 minutes a day. Also, cardio may not be the best way to release weight. Depending on your body type you may want to commit to a strength training program.
Out of these three pieces Mindset is the piece that was missing from my plans in the past. Mindset is when you discover why you’ve gained weight and most importantly how do you see yourself. If you desire to be 150 pds. but in your heart you feel like a 250 pds. person you will unconsciously find your way to being 250 pds. again. This time around I’ve learned some tips that will help me such as get rid of your larger clothes as you get smaller, wear pants with waistbands, identify why you want to release the weight and think about it daily, and think about why you eat certain foods.
Which of these 3 pieces are you missing and how can you add them to your life?
