Have you found yourself exercising regularly and eating relatively healthy, but your belly fat still rests on your jeans? Doing your best to reduce fat seems to not be enough, and your results aren't matching your efforts?
More than half of my clients face the same problem before they come to me. I also had exactly the same experience; we all believe in the "Work harder, get more" myth. I know, it took me a while to understand that this wasn’t true until I actually experienced it myself.
This article is for those of you who rely solely on the AMOUNT of effort to get results - I’m going to suggest another method to make sure every little bit of effort counts.
Excuse or Smart Decision?
Do you find these phrases help with your DISCIPLINE?
- No pain no gain!
- No excuses!
- Do your best no matter what!
Many people misunderstand the concept of "sticking to your plan is good discipline", especially when your new year's resolutions are like "I'll hit the gym every day!" or "I'll quit sweets!". But these goals are so black and white that they can end up being a torture.
As long as you are human, you’ll have ups and downs every day. Goals that ignore such changes are very clear and easy to set. However, in reality, what's waiting for you after pushing so hard when you are stressed is not the good results you were hoping for. It's fatigue, overwork, inflammation, and injuries… The rules you thought were for your better health could end up hurting you.
If you are feeling tired or not keen to do exercise, instead of calling it an “excuse” you might want to call it a “smart decision”.
A Healthy lifestyle isn’t about limitations
Your new lifestyle is meant to be making your life better and happier. If it’s instead giving you stress and limitations, it probably isn’t a “healthy” lifestyle.
If you want a healthy lifestyle, forget about making more rules. It’s about looking for more things that work better for you specifically, because you need the right type of exercise and diet, along with the right timing, for your unique body and daily life.
There's the right timing for everything, and the best option is different every day. For instance, if you take a pain killer when you have motion sickness, you won’t feel its effects. Taking more painkillers is not a solution. If you use a defibrillator on a person with their heart operating normally, it would stop their heartbeat.
Things work the best when you use them in the right way at the right time. If you ignore this, you could end up harming yourself. This is why adjustable planning is necessary to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
Reduced stress improves your metabolism
Stress is the greatest harm to your body. We all know that. But why?
You might be thinking about big life events such as a stroke or depression, but actually stress also has physical and psychological impacts on you on a daily basis.
Continuous stress negatively affects your body's functions. It slows down your metabolism, and decreases energy expenditure. It affects organ function, which causes inflammation and your body gets swollen from holding excess water. It causes your blood sugar levels to crash and makes you binge eat.
When your body is fighting stress in this way, exerting yourself with exercise can do more harm than good to your physical and mental health. So weekly HIIT class might not be the best option for you.
Just because you are not getting results doesn’t mean you are not doing enough. Instead of pushing yourself hard, it would be more beneficial to take into account your mental and physical conditions and work around them.
Don't rely on the amount of effort
If you feel like you are not getting as many results as you should, or your healthy lifestyle is tiring you out, it might be a good sign that you should adjust your plan. The right method could bring you better results with less effort and stress.
So stop trying to add another gym session in your busy schedule just because you want to see more results.
Instead:,
★Start to include leisure time in your day
★Find time to go outside and enjoy nature
★Book a massage session to feel relaxed
★Find another exercise routine that you enjoy if your gym session is becoming a "have to"
★Read a book at your favourite cafe
★Rest
★Fix your posture and look forward
★Laugh more often!
You might feel that you are being lazy, being too nice to yourself, and not taking the fastest route to your goals. But if your current method is not getting you anywhere anyway, why don’t you try taking a “detour” to get more insight on what kind of healthy lifestyle works best for you?