Avoid yo-yo dieting

I see this far too often from people with good intentions.

The crazy low calorie diets that people are going to go on in hopes of losing WEIGHT. You really should be after FAT LOSS, but I know what you’re saying.

EAT LESS AND MOVE MORE!

That is the mantra of most of you out there who really want to lose weight. But this approach simply doesn’t work for the long haul. Yes, you may drop some scale weight initially, but it won’t last, and you’ll start the yo-yo process all over again.

With my clients I have them approach weight loss from many angles. It isn’t enough to just say, “Go do this work out program and eat______.” We are very complex and I believe this approach is too simplistic. I feel you must take a holistic approach when working with someone. You must address all the parts of the person, and not just one area. Now, that isn’t to say that someone can’t benefit from a training program only, you just need to be honest with yourself and where you’re at on your journey.

1. Address what is driving the urge to emotionally eat/numb/avoid or basically run from unpleasant feelings.

You are eating out of emotion for a reason. Understand that the weight you are carrying is just a SYMPTOM of what is going on inside of you. Address WHY and you’ll begin to see the weight taking care of itself.

2. Develop new habits.

We cannot eliminate old habits so why bother. We focus on creating new habits that will help you to be successful in all areas of your life. You don’t have to be a slave to your old, ineffective habits any longer. You can choose to make different choices, and I’ll show you how.

3. Eat foods to optimize hormones, reduce cravings, and feel satiated.

I really want you to think about how you eat, what you eat, and the response from your body. Does the food you fuel your body with make you feel alive or sluggish? do you feel like you could go climb a mountain or climb into bed? Also, when do you notice your cravings hit you the hardest? These are all things we would look at so that you can make better choices for yourself. I want to help set you up for success.

4. Aerobic/Anaerobic activities.

I want to help you find those things that you truly enjoy doing, be it strength training, hiking, biking, swimming, running, walking, etc; It’s all good with me. We will create a strength training program that you will be able to do in under 40 minutes. It will be geared to the environment you train in; home or gym. Your current physical fitness level is taken into consideration, and it will be progressive in nature. Meaning, you will progress to more challenging movements, weights, etc; over time. This will all help you to be able to become stronger, decrease body-fat, move better, look better in your clothes, but most important; feel better about yourself.

If you have struggled with your weight, tried diet after diet, only to end up right back where you are now, seek help. It isn’t a bad thing to invest in yourself, and in fact, it’s a great form of self-care. Too many people, especially women, think of themselves last. That is tragic to me. You can’t pour from an empty vessel, and if you’re not taking care of yourself properly, then you’ll struggle to care for others. Stop putting yourself on the back burner, and take care of the magnificent body that God gave you.

Improving your health has so many wonderful benefits:

• Improved mental state; happiness
• Decreased anxiety and depression
• Fat loss
• Better sex life/more confidence in self
• More stamina to do those activities you enjoy
• Keep up with the kids or grandkids
• Wear clothes you actually like
• Improved self-esteem
• Get off certain medications
• Be stronger physically
• Improve bone density

The list really is endless for you. If you’re ready to start but just feel unsure of how or where to begin, I want to be your coach. I will walk along with you, and make sure that you have the tools you need to be successful.

I know that the thought of changing brings about a feeling of fear, and that is okay, it’s normal. When you step outside of your comfort zone  you should feel some anxiety, that’s good, it means you’re changing.

Remember that courage isn’t acting in the absence of fear, it’s acting in spite of it.

Cheers,

Brandon Jenkins