When you are trying to lose fat it can feel like the world is working against you, and it is.

In this article, I want to uncover 3 ways you are sabotaging yourself and how you can upgrade yourself and ENJOY this journey

WARNING: These 3 points might cause you to question your whole world view…

Sabotage #1 – Eating less to lose fat

Eat too much = gain weight

Eat less = lose weight

When you were 20 this is how it worked…

Now if you aren’t taking your first uni summer paper it’s not quite this simple.

If you look at your body as a simple maths equation you’re in for a bit of a shock when you get stuck eating 900cals a day and not losing any weight…

In the modern world we have so much going on, and it all affects our ability to burn fat and keep our body healthy.

I have said it a hundred times but what I focus on with my clients FIRST before any calculations need to be made is to start with your health anchors…

Why?

Because you need to make sure you have a good set of brakes and tires before you throw in your V8 engine, otherwise you’re heading straight into the barrier.

Health anchors = things that are holding you back from performing optimally.

This could include schedule optimization, stress, meal frequency, digestion, gut health, sleep quality, job satisfaction, and emotional status.

Start there, because I’ve had clients lose upwards of 20kg or add KILOS of muscle simply by addressing these health anchors before food amounts come into the conversation.

Sabotage #2 – Choosing ‘health foods” to help you lose weight

The trouble is that most government guidelines are about 30yrs behind so we still have “health ratings” that are complete horse shit.

In the mid-80s, governments started to implement these low-fat guidelines. The result: we saw a massive SPIKE in deaths caused by heart attacks, diabetes, etc. because people started choosing low-fat options thinking they were healthier, not realizing that fat had been replaced with sugars, sweeteners, and thickeners. 

What you need to know is that fats (i.e.Triglycerides, cholesterol and other essential fatty acids) are responsible for so many functions in the body including but not limited to cell repair and protection, hormone regulation, nutrient transportation, and provision of energy.

…kinda important stuff.

As we now know (or should know), sugar causes an increase in inflammation, leaky gut, depression, anxiety, insulin resistance, an increase in cravings and so much more.

Yet society is still choosing the low-fat options over the low-sugar options because “it’s less calorie dense”.

Think you’re smarter than that? Artificial sweeteners will have much of the same response…. And don’t even get me started on vodka being your “healthy alternative…

So your only action step here is read #1 again and focus on your health anchors, then start to look into what foods are causing you to feel shitty. Milk or whey cause you to bloat or feel sluggish? – REMOVE it, don’t just keep taking it because your favorite athlete sells it…

Sabotage #3 – Your unconscious connection with sugar

Now bear with me, this might get a little deeper than you were expecting…

This is something that has been conditioned to ALL of us as kids and it’s the notion that “treats” = happiness. 

When you were sitting there crying as a kid or didn’t want to do something, what was an easy trick for your parents to deploy?

“If you [insert activity or emotion here] we will go to McDonald’s or go get a donut.”

You do this enough times and you start to associate happiness as something external that can give you immediate satisfaction.

Now you can take this as many ways as you like but at the core, this could be the linchpin for abuse of alcohol, drugs, sex, food, EVEN EXERCISE because we are conditioned to seek something externally in order to feel better about the situation.

This is a whole other article in itself but I want you to ask yourself these questions…

Do you overeat or go out for a couple more drinks than you should because you had a stressful or downright awful day/week? – we’ve all done it.

The only reason I am asking these harder questions is that NOBODY talks about this and if we can identify it, then you can become a lot more AWARE of it and start to improve it.

How do you improve it?

Now that gets tricky, but one thing I have found with clients that can be effective for most people –  is to find something to replace it with.

• Too much coffee? Replace it with a tea
• Glued to your phone till bedtime and have shitty sleep? Replace with a book
• Demolish ice cream after a shit day? Go for a walk, swim, sauna, exercise
• Quit smoking? Vape – lol just joking, it’s just as bad. Start with tea or nicotine patch

Now, this last one will be the hardest to adjust, but if you are aware of it and you’re not “rewarding” yourself like a dog, then you are one step closer to controlling the way you look and feel. 

Human behavior is a funny thing and even if it seems logical you will find a way to derail yourself once in a while. Just remember you still need to have your treats from time to time but question WHY you are having them. Then you can start to plan for them and enjoy them without the guilt or overkill because you’re trying to cover up another emotion. 

Action step: STOP using sugar and treats as a coping mechanism for the shit in your life. Sort that out first, clear your head and enjoy food for what it is without the need to fill a hole – you’ll make better choices and you’ll feel 10x better for it.

This is exactly why coaching exists because this stuff is so much bigger than calculating the perfect macro split or perfect workout program because it doesn’t exist. 

Coaching focuses on the human, and humans are complex and come with their own unique obstacles and struggles. If you haven’t got someone in your corner to keep you accountable, you only make this road 10 times longer. 

Get committed to the vision of who you want to become, hire someone who can get you there, and be RELENTLESS in your execution to achieve it – that is the difference between goal setting and goal achievement.