It was so cool to be interviewed for Authority Magazine to give my take on how to achieve a healthy body weight. In this video, I talk about 5 actionable steps you can take to reach your goals! Check it out!!
My Top 5 Tips to Achieve a Healthy Body Weight and Keep It Permanently
Before we get started, I want you to grab some paper and a pen so you can participate with me. Don’t just read these and say, “I’ll do them later”.
Decide you want to be better right now!
#1 You Need to Figure Out Your Why?
Why do you REALLY want to lose weight?
You have to know your why, and it has to be something bigger than “I want to fit into a pair of jeans”. I have my humans participate in the 5-7 “whys”. Grab a pen and paper and reflect inward – ask yourself “why” until you get to something that is truly meaningful. Something like, “so I can play on the floor with my grandkids and get up without any help or pain” or “to prevent dying from cardiovascular disease like my father”.
#2 Change Your Mindset
Change is hard. Our mind is often our biggest obstacle. Your brain has 2 main functions – to keep you alive and safe. A big part of this is automating behaviors that have worked in the past. NOT for doing the things we should be doing to lead us to success. Our brains repeat behaviors that have kept us alive, and often these aren’t behaviors that serve us in reaching our goals.
The thing is that our brains will self-sabotage us if we set goals that are different from what we have done in the past. Especially if those goals are big and scary.
#3 Discover What is Going to Get in Your Way?
I want you to figure out your top 5 roadblocks and then come up with a plan to deal with each one of these. Basically, how are you going to “decide in advance”? I call this “ 👊 your future self”.
As humans, when we want to make change, that self-sabotage is going to come up. So, I want you to decide in advance a plan to tackle all those excuses your brain is going to come up with.
#4 Take Action
Figure out what is the next SMALLEST best step? What can you do in 2 minutes towards changing your life? Then do it!
It might be just getting dressed in workout gear and swinging your arms 10 times. Now celebrate your 2-minute win.
Your mind will sabotage you if the goal is too big and scary. The only thing your mind wants to do is keep you from dying and keep you safe, and that means sticking to old patterns. I always tell my humans if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone. But with tiny 1% better changes every day you won’t recognize yourself in a year.
YOU HAVE TO TAKE ACTION, don’t just learn about this, GO DO IT!!! It is life-changing if you take action.
When you take care of yourself first, you are going to be your best self for everyone else around you too.
#5 Move Your Body and Eat Real Food
So, this one is actually 2 parts and I know it’s super broad and there are so many factors that affect nutrition and movement, but I’m quickly going to try to give you my philosophy on each.
Nutrition
First, if you want to change your body composition or lose weight, 80% of that will be done with food and 20% can be done with movement. So, focus on the food portion for weight loss.
I like to stick with that 80/20 rule. Make 80% good choices and 20% fun.
Lose the idea that there are good and bad foods. Some foods are just denser in crap. Eat less of the crap and more of the whole real foods.
Movement
I have 2 big suggestions:
1. Strength train at least 3 times a week, because this will help build your muscles which revs up your metabolism, and your body will burn more calories just by having more muscles. Plus, it will help you feel like a badass. If you don’t like strength training – suck it up and do it anyways or your health, we can’t love everything we have to do.
2. Find some movement you like to do. You are more likely to move your body everyday if you enjoy it. So, try it all, Pilates, yoga, walking, biking, hiking, working with a personal trainer, slacklining, swimming, trampolining, rollerblading, dancing, YouTube videos, keep testing out different things to find something you don’t hate. Recruit a friend and make a date to go for a walk. But move your body daily.
Check out the full article for exercises and actionable steps you can take to start changing your life right now!