By guest blog Alex Sherman
Winter is here! It can be especially hard to maintain or begin any weight-loss journey as the weather gets colder. Our bodies attempt to maintain warmth by holding on to calories via our food intake. Resetting or adjusting current goals to account for any winter changes is important. You might decide to spending less time outdoors exercising, and more time exercising indoors or at the gym.
A twelve-month plan
Where do you want to be with your weight-loss and health in 12 months from now? A great way to figure out healthy and sustainable goals is to discuss these steps with your doctor or dietitian to figure out what is the best course of action for you. You might want to be able to run 10km, do an activity with the kids, become pregnant or fit into an outfit for an event.
Have a one-month plan
Making a small change every month, and monitoring your progress helps to make your bigger goals more achievable. For example, during June, you might want to focus improving the quality of your evening meals by adjusting the ingredients/cooking methods you use. Researching healthy vegetable soups or lighter kilojoule stews is a great way to continue to eat your warming, yummy winter foods, but on the lighter side! Add vegetables to bulk up meals, use light dairy equivalents, and avoid ‘added extra’s’ such as bread on the side of soups or stew.
Focus on “process wins”
What little steps should be made throughout the next 12 months to make reaching your goal a little easier? Instead of just focusing on the scales, think about daily activities that you could adapt to fit a healthier lifestyle. These are called process wins, and can be short- or long-term, depending on where you are on your weight-loss journey. How many coffees do you drink over the course of a day? One full-cream milk cappuccino or latte is really a snack, rather than just a ‘free fluid’! Although very warming during the winter, cutting back to one a day, and substituting with black coffee or tea can reduce your overall energy intake.
And keep on going!
As much as it sounds silly to say, BELIEVING you can do it is an incredibly important step when working towards anything. There will be many mini-wins, like being able to run that extra kilometre. But there will also be a few down times, like watching your weight plateau for a while on the scales. The most crucial thing is to keep going. Remember how far you’ve come, and don’t let one little obstacle stop you on the path to your health and weight-loss goals!
