Category: Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Too busy?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Too busy?🤯

It’s really easy when you’re busy to feel like the additional stress of trying to eat well or exercise to lose weight is too much. I often hear people say they’re just too busy to even think about it. I get it, I really do, I know how hard it is when you’re busy and feel like you never have a chance to stop and breathe, let alone fit in meal prepping, exercise etc. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Here are some tips I use with my clients to help them reach their fat loss goals, despite being short on time.

First off; ditch the all or nothing mindset. You don’t need to spend hours exercising to see results, in fact you don’t even need to workout every day or for long periods when you do. You also don’t have to spend hours prepping meals and creating a pile of tupperware boxes full of perfectly balanced meals. You do however need to commit a little time if you want to change things. Take an honest look at your schedule and see if you’re wasting time anywhere that you could use for something else. I’m not talking about hours, but perhaps that 20 mins idly scrolling through social media? or 30 mins watching TV? I’m not saying you shouldn’t do those things but if you’re desperate to lose weight then could some of that time be redirected?

Schedule your workouts and walks, you don’t need long, ten mins is enough (try one of my ten min workouts for example). Commit to a specific time and put it in your diary. Multitask and walk while you make a business call if you can or walk instead of driving to the shops etc. And be realistic, workout on days when you’re less busy. Don’t try to cram a workout in on your most manic day. Be generally active; walk, stand, fidget – do whatever you can whenever you can.

Stay in a calorie deficit – consistently. Now that does require some sort of tracking but you can make this easier on yourself by sticking to a small range of ‘go to’ meals and snacks that you know the cals for. Then you only need to work the cals out once. If you have say 6 meals you regularly have then simply rotate them. Use pre-prepared snacks and even the odd ready meal if you need, then it’s easy!

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Are you in a Calorie deficit?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Are you in a Calorie deficit? 📉

We know that for fat loss to occur you need to be eating at a calorie deficit – i.e. eating fewer calories than you expend. People often say they are “definitely under their cals” (i.e. at a deficit) but they’re not seeing the scales drop. So here are some ways to tell if you are at a deficit that aren’t all scale-based.

Now before I mention any of these indicators it’s important to note that you won’t see results immediately; you need to be at a deficit for several weeks (not days) so the first thing you need to ask yourself is has it been long enough?

Here are some other indicators:

• Your measurements are dropping. If you’re losing cm’s but your weight hasn’t changed, then you’re probably in a deficit.

• Your clothes fit better. You may not notice specific measurements going down but those tops which are usually tight now feel looser. That means you’re probably in a deficit.

• Others are noticing. If you’re suddenly getting compliments or people are noticing you seem to have lost weight then you probably have lost some fat and are in a deficit (even if it isn’t showing on the scales)

• You are seeing more definition in certain areas – arms, collar bones, shoulders etc. That will mean you’re losing some fat and are probably in a deficit.

• Finally – the scales are going down, consistently. Though I would add a caveat that very sudden, large, weight losses are more likely to be fluid changes than fat loss. It’s also normal for your weight to fluctuate up and down so always focus on long term trends.

Fat loss is different for everyone – everyone responds differently and at different speeds. If you’re seeing any of the changes above then you are doing ok! All it takes is consistency and you will see the results you want. Conversely though, if you’re not seeing any changes, then it’s time to double check your food intake because it means you aren’t in the deficit you thought you were.

Remember it’s not all about the scales. If you woke up tomorrow with the body you’ve always wanted would you care what the number on the scales said? No you probably wouldn’t, so focus on the other changes!

Happy Tuesday

🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Mindset matters

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Mindset matters 🤯

Mindset is one of the most overlooked parts of any successful exercise or fat loss plan. Unless you have the right mindset then any plan you intend to follow will likely fail. Here are some tips:

# 1 Don’t let one mistake become many.

You’ve fallen off the wagon and ended up eating that large pizza, don’t use that as an excuse to spend the whole weekend over eating. Draw a line under it and get back on track. Focus on the next meal not than the one you’ve just had.

# 2 Focus on consistency not perfection

4 weeks of being pretty consistent with your cals will give you better results than 3 days of ‘perfection’, a day off the wagon and 2 more days feeling guilty and over eating. The odd day over your cals won’t matter if you’re consistent over the long term.

# 3 It’s not a race

You won’t get long lasting results in 7, 14 or even 21 days – it’s weeks, and months. Recognise that and take the short term pressure off yourself.

# 4 Moderation not restriction

if you’re feeling deprived you will eventually eat or drink it anyway, and probably in far greater portions. Accept that you can still eat the foods and drinks you love. Shift your mindset from unnecessary misery and restriction to appreciation that no foods are bad foods. You just may have to compromise; have less of it, or forego something else to stay on track, or accept that the pleasure of that food outweighs that fat loss and go with it.

# 5 Lifetime changes

Sustainable fat loss is about changing things for life. So unless you never want to eat chocolate ever again it’s a good idea to include some chocolate in moderation when you’re trying to lose fat. Find ways to enjoy foods you love in a way that align with your goals long term. Don’t chase results you won’t be able to sustain.

#6 Joy of missing out

You don’t have to say yes to every event/food/drink if it doesn’t align with your goals. Focus on the benefits and you’ll realise you didn’t miss out on much anyway and it was actually a good decision because you didn’t get that hangover, or eat that dessert you didn’t want etc. Just say no thanks. No need to justify, no need to explain.

Happy Tuesday

🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: isn’t tracking food a bit obsessive?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: isn’t tracking food a bit obsessive? 🤯

People often tell me they’ve tried everything but can’t reach their goal. When I ask if they track their food they respond with ‘isn’t that a bit obsessive?’ or ‘no I don’t want to do that’. Not wanting to is fine, that’s your choice, but if you’ve been struggling to reach your goals and you haven’t been tracking then why not try it?

Do you track your finances? Most people do so they have an idea of how much they’re earning, spending and saving. That’s not obsessive, so why would tracking your calories be?

Can tracking food become obsessive? Yes, like anything, of course it can. Does it have to? No! Do you have to do it forever? No! Does it have value? Yes! It’s a tool – and its value is determined by how it’s used and what you learn from it.

We don’t have an innate working knowledge of portion sizes and calorie content. In fact, studies show that people are awful at estimating how much they eat. We underestimate ALL the time, even nutrition experts do! We are surrounded by highly palatable, calorie dense foods and we have evolved to seek them out. So it’s unsurprising, when these sorts of foods are so readily available, that we need to do some tracking to keep an eye on what’s actually going in our mouths.

The main reasons we don’t track are fear, time and being unsure of how many cals to aim for. The fear is of what we’re going to find out and that we really are eating more than we thought. Time is really about priorities. Yes it can take a few days to get the hang of it, but then it takes seconds to log before you eat. Most people have time to check Instagram/Facebook/watch tv. Even the busiest person has 2 mins to log their food, if they want to. In terms of how many cals to aim for; if you’re not sure, ask! I’m happy to help!

You don’t need to track food forever. You’ll learn about portion sizes, calories in the things you eat and drink, and develop that skill. Then you can cease tracking if you want and see how it goes. You can easily go back and check if you feel that skill needs more honing.

You don’t have to count calories forever, but calories will always count!

Happy Tuesday

😁

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Small changes, big results

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Small changes, big results 🤗

Fad diets and massive changes to eating and exercise habits work well for some people, in the short term but research shows that for most people these drastic changes don’t last and only increase the likelihood of gaining back the weight when we go back to our old ways. It’s also overwhelming and much more likely to lead to failure. So stop trying to change everything at once!

Instead, identifying lots of smaller changes and trying to do them daily works much better. This ‘habit stacking’ has been shown to be more successful than making one massive change. Big goals are overwhelming and scary, and you’re far more likely to stick to small, easy changes and you’ll also get a confidence boost from sticking to them.

So for example rather than going cold turkey on sugar try reducing your 2 spoons of sugar in your tea to one, then none, try reducing your soft drinks to one a day instead of three, try adding one portion of veg to your meals, then two etc. A recent study showed that it takes approximately 8 weeks for a new habit to form so stick with them and you’ll find these new habits will stay with you!

Happy Tuesday

😁

Xx