If you’re anything like most people, a common starting point for weight loss goes something like this…

“Right, I’ve had enough, my jeans are too tight, I’m letting myself down, I want to start feeling better about myself, feel great every day SO I have to do something about this weight, it’s gone too far.”

Sound familiar?

Then, you dive straight to the apps, weight loss clubs, diet books, buy new bits of home gym equipment.  You go full speed for a couple of weeks but the scales aren’t showing much sign of any progress or life just gets in the way.

You end up too busy, stressed, hungry and tired.  You give up.  And then you feel worse.  So you tuck straight back into your favourite drinks and snacks.

A few weeks pass and you’re further back than when you first started!

It frustrates me how predictable this is.  And trust me, I’ve been round this loop a few times myself.

BUT there is another way.  And it’s not another new diet plan or only eating “green” things on a Wednesday!  It’s logic and mindset

When it comes to food and weight loss, our logic seems to get thrown out of the window. If we were faced with a similar challenge at work, or in pretty much any other area of our lives, we would be calm, logical and make progress.

So how about doing the same with our weight?

Imagine if you cut your leg and there was blood pouring out. Is your first thought that you need to amputate?  No, of course not.  You apply pressure, clean the cut and stick a plaster on it.  You don’t overreact then regret.

My point is this: With weight loss, which is, admittedly, a tough nut to crack, we immediately reach for a sledgehammer.

We take drastic action too quickly. We change everything, overnight, set ourselves crazy goals and wildly different ways of living our lives, then wonder why we fail.

With weight loss, most people, including myself, make it way harder than it needs to be.

Here’s another way to try.

Break It Down

Try breaking down your weight loss into different phases.

My suggested phases are this:

1. Stop gaining weight
2. Maintain weight
3. Lose weight

Can you see how most weight loss plans miss out the first two and skip straight to the third? It’s too extreme.

The reason we often skip to stage 3 is, unfortunately, because weight loss is big business. The app builders, book publishers, gyms, slimming clubs and meal box companies can’t really sell us 1 or 2, but boy can they sell us stage 3.

And they sell hard.

Here’s the bad (and slightly sad) news. The weight loss industry’s ideal situation is for you to lose a lot of weight quickly (using whatever new “thing” they are marketing). Then you get bored or frustrated, stop, gradually put the weight back on, then come back in a year and start the process again, wanting the next “new” system.

And that’s what a lot of us do. I’ve done it. But we don’t have to.

The Key First Step is VITAL and easier than you think.

The starting point to moving toward a healthy weight (and staying there forever) is to stop gaining weight. Nothing less, nothing more.

If you are fed up of restrictions and dieting and are looking to lose weight sustainably without giving into another quick-fix, apply to work with me here.