The weight loss challenge is well on its way now, it is a fantastic way to keep yourself focused towards your goal and for you to achieve great results. If you have signed up for the weight loss challenge, we have some tips for you to ensure your success in reaching your weight loss goal.
Tip 1: Involve your circle of influence
By involving your circle of influence, it becomes much easier to stay focused and on track. You need to inform the people who you spend most time with about your goal, what you need to do to achieve your goal and how they can help. If they truly care about you, your health and your happiness than they will be willing to help you no matter what. You may even help them along the way and persuade them to live a healthy lifestyle.
Scenario - You haven't told your circle of influence about your weight loss goal and what you need to accomplish every week for you to achieve it. You go out for dinner with your friends or family at your regular Italian restaurant. At this restaurant, you all have your 'usual' orders. You order your 'usual' because the rest of your friends or family are and you don't want to seem like the odd one out. You order a serving of pasta and a glass of red wine. The rest of your friends or family are having another glass of red wine, so you join in to. The next day you stand on the scales and your weight has increased. What do you do?
Answer: You inform your friends and family about your goal and what you need to accomplish each week to achieve this goal. You tell them your true WHY about your decision to lose weight. Your friends and family couldn't be happier for you and agree to help you reach your goals. It comes to the time where you go out to dinner with your family or friends. Instead of going to your 'usual' Italian restaurant, you request to go somewhere different where you can make a better choice but still enjoy yourself. Your friends or family agree and choose another restaurant. You order first so you don't get influenced by your friends or family with their meal choices - who knows, you may influence them to make a better choice too.
Tip 2: Fill in your food diary & weigh your food daily
Tracking your food is essential using our Vision Virtual Training app or website. It's great if you are putting food into your food diary daily but, are you weighing your food? Your nutrition is worth 70% of your goal weight success, that's a massive percentage. You need to make sure you are completing your food diary daily and weighing the food so the correct measurements can be recorded.
It is also extremely important that you complete your food diary before eating. What happens if you get to the end of the day, you have your afternoon snack and then put it into your food diary which than pushes you over in your macros. You can't get those macros back. If you struggle to plan your entire week in your food diary, it is smart to either fill in your food diary during the morning of or completing the next day the night before.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail - Benjamin Franklin
Tip 3: Hit all your cardio and weight session requirements weekly
In your goal session, is it stated that there is a certain amount of time that must be spent weekly for completing cardio and weight sessions. It is important that these numbers are hit. The number of hours for cardio and weights has been calculated to make sure that you lose weight to reach your goal predicting that you'll also follow your macros. These aren't just random numbers being thrown at you; these are the exercise requirements needed to ensure your goal is reached.
If you can't fit 4 hours of cardio in each week, you need to inform your trainer when doing the goal session so you don't set yourself up to fail before you have even started. You need to be able to comfortably fit the amount of cardio and weights into your weekly routine so you don't feel overwhelmed and disappointed when you stand on the scales and haven't lost as much as you have hoped.
Tip 4: Set weekly goals with your trainer
Sometimes, seeing a big goal is scary and can mess with you mind making you think you can't reach it. It is important you stay on track to your goal and make lifestyle changes along the way so relapse doesn't happen. Setting small weekly goals is a great way to keep you focused and creating a habit of making better lifestyle choices. It's important that the small weekly goals are in line with your bigger goal. There is no point in setting a weekly goal to do more weight sessions if you aren't hitting your cardio requirements to help you lose weight. Make sure you are setting this goal with your trainer so it can be discussed within that week and when you are scheduled to weigh in again.
Tip 5: Prepare yourself for any barriers that you may face
There is always going to be a time where a barrier will arise, you're kidding yourself if you think it won't happen. Anything that will affect you completing your food diary, hitting your macros or completing your exercise requirements is a barrier. It's important that you can recognise these barriers and create a plan to overcome them so you are able to work around it. Don't be afraid to ask your trainer for advice or even other clients in the studio, they may have a great way to overcome a barrier. Open your mind and don't be ashamed to learn off others.
I'm going to use the same scenario I used for involving your circle of influence for an example. You are going out to dinner with your friends or family at a new restaurant you haven't been to before. You aren't sure how to plan your day around this outing because you are unaware of what you'll be having for dinner.
The solution: Look up the restaurant on google and search for their menu. Plan way ahead of time what you'll be having for dinner, put it into your food diary with an estimated weight for each item of food and plan the rest of your day around that. It will create that rough estimate of how many macros it will take up and you can than act accordingly.
We've made it simple for any to reach their health and fitness goal; stick to your macros, track your food on your VVT app or our website and complete the required amount of cardio and weight sessions every week. Involve your circle of influence for your own benefit and continually be aware of barriers to help you make those better lifestyle choices.
Now, let's ring that bell and celebrate your weight loss journey with us!
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
