You can’t lose weight without controlling your nutrition.
If you’re trying to lose fat by joining a gym — but not changing the way you eat — it won’t work in the long term. Not even by joining Andfit workouts, which are the best in Auckland CBD (smiley face!).
What about a “diet”?
Although we loosely use it to describe any type of eating regimen, we do often associate it with negative terms such as restriction, rigidness and deprivation.
Not only. We know from different research conducted on traditional diets that diets are not actually effective in helping people lose weight and keep it off (check this study published in the International Journal of Obesity).
What CAN we do to control our weight?
So if diets don’t work and they usually backfire, what CAN we do to control our weight?
- Create healthy habits.
If a diet only focuses on food choices – “eat that, don’t eat that” – it does not touch on deep rooted beliefs and behaviours – “why we eat this”. Knowing “why” can help us make sustainable changes in our eating habits. - Track positive changes.
Just writing it down makes a huge difference. Record it in a blank notebook or use apps like MyFitnessPal. We like MyFitnessPal because you can work together with your coach on the platform. - Mindful eating. Mindful eating is a great approach to pay attention to our emotions while we eat and honour our body’s hunger cues instead of our cravings.
- Focus on “more” rather than less
Instead of limiting yourself (“eat that, don’t eat that”), adopt a positive mindset focusing on “more”. By including more fruits and vegetables, more healthy fats and naturally occurring sugars, more exercise and more water intake. Your body will naturally be satiated with fiber-rich, healthy meals and will not crave for unhealthy options anymore. Subscribe to our
- Look at the whole picture
Though eating plays a crucial role in our ability to maintain a healthy weight, all too often, we discount other factors that contribute to our waistline, including exercise, quality sleep and mental health. An imbalance in any of these areas will cause great damage to our eating efforts.
Whenever you see a new diet on TV or in a magazine, ask yourself: “Can I eat this way forever?” If not, it’s not worth consideration. Save yourself a lot of pain today and guilt in the future.
Healthy eating is a lifestyle choice, not a diet.
The bottom line is: Healthy eating is a lifestyle choice, not a diet. Establishing the basics for a positive relationship with our body and food is the key to long-lasting and sustainable eating behaviours and ultimately to reach our healthy weight.
Keep it simple. Come work out with us!