Nutrition
My Top 4 Strategies for Weight Loss Success
Dec
During my time as a nutrition coach, I’ve developed a number of strategies proven to help my clients achieve the BEST possible results. These strategies are simple and effective, yet so many people fail to stick to them, and as a result, become dissatisfied with their results.
There are a few famous quotes that spring to mind here. I couldn’t decide on just one, so I’ll give you three:
“Don’t be upset with the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do.”
“You can’t expect to succeed if you only put in the work on the days you feel like it.”
“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do some things you’ve never done.”
In short, if you want to see results, you’ve got to do the work. A nutrition coach can give you the guidance and tools you need, but the graft has got to come from you.
So what are my proven strategies?
- Complete a weekly reflection
- Weigh yourself every week
- Keep a daily food diary
- Take monthly measurements and photos
All of these combined steps are in place to help YOU to achieve the best possible results possible. The quicker you can make these strategies a regular habit, the faster you’ll see your results.
You might be wondering how and why these simple strategies work. So allow me to explain…
The importance of self-reflection
Your weekly reflection is a tool for you to take a step back and look at your thoughts, behaviours and emotions from a neutral stand point. It’s the key to self awareness. It helps you to realise there are positives in everything.
Even seemingly negative weeks can teach you something. They teach us important lessons, help us grow and can help us change direction. Challenges like these also help me tailor my support to your specific needs by assigning new habit challenges, sending new recipes or useful resources.
The benefits of a weekly weigh-in
A weekly weigh-in allows you to track your progress without obsessive daily weigh ins, or without falling off track too badly between monthly reviews.
It seems to be the sweet spot for spotting trends and nudging us back on track when we need it. If you’re doing everything you should be and you’re not getting the results you expect, make sure to reach out to your coach for help and guidance.
Why you should keep a daily food dairy?
Research shows that those who keep a food diary get double the results compared to those who don’t. It makes us more aware of our choices and encourages us to be more mindful of not only what we eat, but also how, why and when we’re eating. It sheds light on patterns. It’s so beneficial it has actually been voted the number #1 key strategy for weight loss.
It allows me to see how your food choices are impacting your health. This allows me to offer tweaks and changes where needed to keep the results, and more importantly improvements to your health, coming.
For clients on my Team Travis Masterclass programmes, I aim to do a full review once a month and send suggestions for the following month. You can fire me a message in Just Coach if you’d like me to pop in and check in on it more frequently.
Recognising non-scale victories
The scales don’t always paint a true picture of our progress and sometimes our minds don’t notice them either. That’s why taking measurements with a tape measure and taking progress pictures each month can help you to celebrate those non-scale victories.
Also ask yourself:
- Has my health improved?
- Am I sleeping better?
- Do I have more energy?
- Am I running further, or lifting more?
These are all signs that your nutrition programme IS working, regardless of what the scales say.
Taking monthly progress photos
No one likes taking photos from the most unflattering angles possible wearing next to nothing. But progress photos work. Not only do they allow you to see just how far you’ve come, they serve as a reminder why you’re doing this.
So next time you fall off your programme, look at your progress photos to motivate yourself to stay on track. They give you that much-needed push to keep going, allowing you to visualise what your future self will look like if you keep going.
Help me to help you
By following each of these strategies, you’re enabling me, as your coach, to get a full picture of how you’re doing. This allows me to offer you my best possible advice, support and resources.
If you fail to follow these strategies, you’ll find yourself stuck in a cycle of disappointment every month when you don’t see progress. Nobody wants that!