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Kickstarting weight loss can often be a hard first step, so here’s how to make it a little easier!

Weight loss is hard, particularly when you are starting out, and for me, kickstarting when I had fallen off the food wagon was the most difficult. Kickstarting weight loss is about mentality and attitude as well as the physical and since I managed to lose 5 stone (see my weight loss journey timeline in pictures) with these tips and advice, I figure I would share some of my “wisdom.”

It is important to remember to do what is best for you and use this as a guide to adapt to your own. If something doesn’t work then move on and find what does– none of it is rocket science but sometimes simple is better!

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Get A Food/Exercise Journal

Writing things down makes me stop and think about what I’ve eaten and at the least makes me feel more accountable. I’ve had 3 different journals so far of different types and I find that combination journals that note food and exercise at once is easiest. These are my recommendations:

I started with an (Aff) fitbook BLACK: fitness and nutrition journal which I found has been the best of the three with plenty of room to input the diet and exercise that you need – BUT it is the most expensive. It does come with a pen though and I am a sucker for stationary!

Then I had (Aff) Gym Diary – A pocket sized workout log book … (Red) which is the cheapest (by a long way) and is perfect for the gym (hence the name) because it’s small and portable. However, I then bought a food diary alongside it and didn’t enjoy inputting into two diaries each day.

Then the (Aff) Workout Journal (Diary, Notebook, Fitness, Log) which is a nice mid range price with room for food and exercise BUT it requires you to write A LOT smaller so can be a bit of a hindrence for looking back and tracking progress. 

How is it helpful?

• It’s motivating to see how far you’ve come and easy to look back on previous weeks and see your own progress.
• Great for planning future workouts and food, and allows you to see what you have coming up this week.
• Keeps you accountable of all the food you have eaten

Vary Your Workouts

Give a range of exercises a go, from strength moves and different interval to new types of training e.g. fartlek, hill training. Just make sure that you keep trying to work different parts of your body and get a well-rounded program.

How is it helpful?

• Keeps you interested in your training program
• Improves motivation
• Good for progression
• Variety means you’ll notice any weaknesses easier and can adjust for them
• Reduces the risk of injury from training the same muscles all the time

Try Classes

Enroll at the gym, the local community center or start an informal class of your own with your friends and try new sports/classes – e.g yoga, netball, circuits, kickboxing, spin classes to name just a few. You’ll soon find something for you that will make you want to keep working.

How is it helpful?

• You might stumble on a new hobby
• It can complement your current training plans e.g. for runners swimming/cycling is a great way to build supporting muscle and strength
• Find out any muscle weaknesses
• Keeps you interested in exercise
• Perfect for socializing and meeting new people. (More people to hold you accountable!)
• It gives you a break from one type of exercise which can mentally refresh you
• Could provide good backups – incase for example you cannot run. When I broke my ankle, swimming was an excellent way to regain fitness when I was out of the cast!

Have a Plan

Draw out a plan and have it up on the wall somewhere. I tend to plan 8-16 weeks of exercise depending on the goals I set and this helps me visualize what I want and where I want to go. Seeing big goals like “half-marathon” or 10K make me want to work hard to achieve them. Find out more about The Importance of Goal Setting.

How is it helpful?

• So you and everyone else can see it and you don’t double book so helps logistically
• Keeps you accountable so you are more likely to stick to it
• Gives you an official start date!
• So you can see if there are any triggers coming up and be prepared (birthdays, special occasions etc)

Stay Busy

When you are sitting keep your hands busy e.g. when you are watching TV. If you have a tendency to sit around during the day, get up and take walking breaks! Sitting could even be injuring you so make sure you are always doing something to keep your mind off food or your vices.

How is it helpful?

• keeping your hands busy stops you from reaching for the snacks!
• Breaking up long sitting breaks is good for the muscles and recovery

Find a Buddy

Finding someone who is going through the same thing or is willing to help you by being understanding but also push you is the best support you can get. Buddies keep you accountable, can console you when things go wrong or be there to celebrate successes!

How is it helpful?

• They Keep you company on your workouts which means they are more fun and you are more likely to go back
• Give you support when you are feeling like quitting
• Someone will keep you accountable and you won’t want to let them down
• You can help them! sometimes it takes helping someone else on their journey to learn more about your own

Set Goals

Make sure there are short and long-term ones, such as: “Run 3 miles this week” to “Run a half marathon by September” Ensuring that they are measurable means you are able to track progress and know EXACTLY what you are working towards.

How is it helpful?

• Gives you a sense of achievement
• Makes you appreciate the small achievements
• Helps to keep you on the right route towards what you want
• Helps you to plan the right workouts for your goals so you don’t end up progressing or missing workout