J U R A S SIC PE R K S
Now, as your eyes skim this article,
noticing the end is near, don’t despair,
I want to assure you that it’s now time
for me to give you a helping hand in
working around this issue. As you’ll
be glad to know, despite the high
rebound rate and half a year halt in
many weight loss endeavours, I have
clients maintaining their lost weight
for years and many of my clients
surpass the six/eight-month mark of
dieting to attain their physique goals.
Here are six points to add to your
toolbox in a bid to override your inner
Hunter-gatherer:
Education: Understanding
some of the changes that occur
with dieting can increase conscious
control of your actions. Yes, your
motivation for eating a muffin may feel
overwhelming, but through education,
you know that these feelings are
normal for someone who’s lost weight
and thus exercising a degree of
willpower knowing that succumbing
to the temptation doesn’t align to your
long-term goals can prevent you from
indulging. Put the muffin down young
Padawan (last Star Wars reference,
I promise)
tells us that a heightened degree of
activity helps self-regulate homeostatic
appetite (Blundell, Gibbons, Caudwell,
Finlayson, & Hopkins, 2015).
Stress management: Actively
work on tactics to manage your stress
levels. If you’re constantly stressed,
over consuming on calories can be an
easy excuse to self-remedy (Dallman,
et al., 2003).
Self-monitor: Whether it’s
photos, scales or girth measurements,
track some element of progress. Doing
so, will repeatedly instil your mind-set
towards actively pursuing habits that
support the maintenance of your lost
weight.
Support network: ‘You’re the
average of the five people you spend
the most time with.’ No scientific
evidence for this one, I’m afraid, but
it’s certainly a mantra I live by and
encourage my clients to consider for
consistently moulding their right
thought process towards their life. On
that note, build a social environment
around you that encourages you to
instinctively make healthy choices
with your body and mind.
Writer:
Alex Ritson MSc. Dip.ISSN, CISSN
Website:
www.leanbodyperformance.co.uk
Podcasts:
www.firesidenutrition.com
Instagram: @alexjamesritson
Food environment: Keep
junk foods out of your day-to-day
environment. Enjoy them as a treat
of course, but, generally, only allow
whole, unrefined foods in your home
and work space to permit better
management of appetite regulation.
Encourage family and friends to
do the same.
Increase daily physical
activity: Hack your daily
environment to become more active. If
this means parking further away from
work or going for a walk post lunch,
then do it. Conserving energy through
drive thru’s and elevators would have
been a welcomed reward amid the
constant effort of hunting down prey
and growing crops; this is of course
not our current standard of living
and thus we have to make a conscious
effort to be more active. Research
MARCH 2018 / MUSCLE & FITNESS
135