Why You Should Start Your Weight Loss Journey TODAY
Grab a cup of coffee, a cozy seat, and let’s chat about why you need to start your weight loss TODAY. Not tomorrow, not next week, not “sometime real soon”. My goal with this post is that you’ll do one thing to start moving in the right direction today!! Nothing crazy, not some big master plan….
I mean, that would be cool too, but at least one thing.
I think I’m very persuasive, so if you are a stubborn girl like me and I do not convince you…comment below and let me know that I failed, and I will go back to the drawing board and write out more reasons. Bahahaha.
Why am I so adamant that it starts today? Because, if you’re like most women I talk to, it is affecting every aspect of your life!!! This is not about how your clothes fit lady. It’s so much more!!!!! And we all know that what we put off until tomorrow does not get done at all.
How long have you been telling yourself, “I need do something about my weight soon?” Well, when is “soon”? I’ll tell ya when, soon is in 5 minutes after you read this. Because “soon” has probably already been a few months, years, or decades. This is long over do. So, let’s get started.
Why women don’t lose weight without a lot of planning
Women, for the most part, are natural care givers and nurtures. We will work hard and go and do and run ourselves ragged, but not for ourselves. We will do it for everyone else’s needs but not our own. Think about the full-time working mom who also takes her kids to hockey EVERY FREAKIN’ DAY! Or the middle-aged working woman who helps with caring for her grandkids and her aging parents. Or all the 1 million things you yourself are doing for others while your own body is crying for help.
I get it! Nurse here, remember? We are the absolute worst at taking care of ourselves, because like all women, we’re only focused on the needs of others. Who even has time to consider getting started on a weight loss program?
Just like the flight attendant tells ya on the plane, you must put your own oxygen mask on before helping others. Why? Because if you try and save everyone around you but your own needs aren’t met, you save nobody. Because you die, then there’s nobody to help them. You must meet your basic needs first!
I’m not saying you become selfish and self-serving in the name of weight loss. Self-care isn’t selfish. It’s the best way to give to others.
But, because your nervous breakdown, heart disease, or any other list of alignments is down the road, I know that won’t motivate you today. So, I’m not going there, because I get it, I kick the can down the road for as long as I can too.
So, let’s talk about some more immediate life consequences instead!
Do Everything Better
Whoa girl, some of you have calendars that give me an anxiety attack, and I’m a busy lady. Want to be better at “all of those things” you do? I mean being a total Rockstar at everything you’re working on? Maybe even have more time to on your plate because you are more efficient?
Then start losing that weight!!
Ok how in the world will losing weight make you more efficient in everything you do? That seems like a stretch!! I promise, it’s true. The women I coach tell me this constantly, usually about 3 weeks in. Sometimes it’s a lot sooner. “I know this is weird but I’ve even noticed I get through my to-do list quicker,” or “I didn’t realize I had a problem focusing until I started focusing better! I just get everything done a little easier, I’m not all over the place.”
And it makes total sense if you think about it. Excess weight is the visualization of treating our body in a way it doesn’t like. It’s a state of being unhealthy. So, how do you lose weight? You treat your body well. In response, your body, including your brain, begins to function better and better.
When you’ve been walking around in a certain state for years, you don’t notice that you’re not 100%. It’s really all you know. When it starts to resolve, you notice!
If you could get through your work better, it frees up little extra pockets of time, and who doesn’t want that?
Have you ever worked hard on something while you were a little sleepy only to come back to it the next day and realize it’s kind of garbage – not your best work, and now you need a redo? I have! And what a waste of time that is.
When you begin to take care of your body, which is how you lose weight (yep that’s the secret, there is no secret), you will also perform better in your life across the board!
Take away: You give your body what it wants, and your body will thank you with making you a more efficient human. Hello to doing all the things better, faster and with less struggle.
More Energy
I don’t need to say much here. If you’re tired, you get me. The sour belly from living on coffee, the brain fog you know is because you don’t get enough quality sleep…did you just put the peanut butter in the fridge and the jelly in the cupboard? (clears throat, yep I’ve done that). We call it mom brain, what does that really mean? It means I do 5 things at a time, with no sleep, on a crap diet and so I do silly things! Duh, leave us alone men! You try to have a conference call while breast feeding and cleaning the kitchen all at the same time on 3 hours of sleep and see how well you do. #rockstarmoms
Ok, back the point.
Things that help you lose weight: better food quality and better sleep quality.
Things that give you more energy: better food quality and better sleep quality.
See what I’m saying? Tough love…If you’re dragging around a lot of extra weight, this is also adding to your fatigue in and of itself. Plus, the drain of what it does for your mindset. Stress, anxiety, and depression about how we feel about ourselves all play a roll in our energy levels.
Take away: Fuel your body with healthy food instead of giving it a sugar crash with junk food and you won’t need a pot of coffee to get through the day.
Better Mood
If you’re grumpy, short tempered, always yelling at someone or crying about something…this is your wake-up call! You can feel better sister. For all the same things we already talked about, feeding your body right helps your mood.
Added factor here, one of the places your feel-good neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and GABA are made is in your gut! All them amazing microbes dancing around in there, making our happy juice, need good food to thrive. It just so happens that the same things that make you skinny are the same things that feed a happy microbiome. And the same things that make you gain weight are the same things that feed a sad microbiome.
Take away: Eat better, lose weight, yell at your kids less – It’s so nice when one thing can give you multiple benefits!
Better Sex
Yep, I’m going there. Want a better sex life? Well, that starts with better overall health and better self-esteem. Good thing we can accomplish both with 1 plan. We’re healthier, more energetic, have more balanced hormones, and are friskier when we do all the things that cause weight loss.
If you really want to increase your drive, toss some heavy weights around. Unscientific anecdote here but most women I talk to say their appetite for sex and their satisfaction with it went up when they started lifting. I do not have an explanation; I’m just telling you what they tell me.
Bonus, when you feel better about yourself, you’re more excited about taking your clothes off! See how this all ties together.
Take away: Not that you have time to have sex anyways, but maybe when you lose the weight, have more energy, and want to do IT more you’ll also have more time on your calendar from your increased efficiency at life in general, as noted in point number 1.
You are CALLED to take care of your body
Going right from the sex part of the talk to the Jesus part! Man, I’m on a roll today. If you’re not a woman of faith, no problem, skip to the next section.
This topic could be an entire book, in fact, it’s a half-written book on my computer. If anyone likes this topic and wants me to finish it, please let me know and I’ll start back up. But I’ll keep it very brief and top level here, for time’s sake.
God gave you one place to live on this planet, and it’s your body. Guess who else lives in your body? The Holy Spirit…the Spirit of the creator of the universe lives in your body. You clean up for company to come over and your company probably lives in their own messy house. No need to impress them. But THE Spirit is kickin’ it with you every day in there, make it a cozy stay.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made, He knows every hair on your head, and you are made in His image!! I don’t think it’s a crazy leap that He would want us to take care of ourselves.
I’ll throw this one out there for you parents: How upsetting is it when your child does things that put themselves in danger, or when they don’t take care of themselves, or when they are unhappy with a gift you worked hard to give them, and they devalue it?
Ugh, gut punch. God sees them arteries clogging, He sees the pain that the weight causes us mentally, He sees the pain that illness causes us in the present or the future. And He probably feels just like you when you’re watching your kid make life so much harder than it needs to be.
We know from Galatians 5:22-23 that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. As Christians we are to develop discipline over our minds, our urges, etc. We are also not supposed to overindulge, and that’s not just alcohol, it’s food also.
Ok preachy time is over…
Take away: Your body was made with a lot of love and care from our heavenly Father, it is a precious gift, treat it with special care.
Builds an Unbreakable Mindset
Losing weight is a challenge. Each step you conquer on this journey builds a little more grit and teaches you a little more discipline. When you accomplish things you set out to do, it builds confidence. All of this will carry over into other aspects of your life.
Maybe even more important, when you set out to do something and hold your own feet to the fire and make it happen…it’s a promise kept to yourself! You begin to trust yourself which leads to greater achievements and more consistent behavior.
Take away: Accomplishing things you have set out to do builds character and grit, which will improve every aspect of how you “do” life.
You Deserve It
I saved the best for last because I know it’s the one you will struggle to believe the most, and if I led with this, I would probably have lost you.
Say this out loud, unless you’re in public because you’ll look like a weirdo. But if you’re at home, pause and say out loud “I deserve to feel my best.” It’s super cheesy, and I’m not usually a cheesy kinda gal. But it is so important for you to own that you DO in fact DESERVE to feel happy and healthy.
If you have reasons to think that you do not deserve it, they are LIES. And you need to do the hard work and get past those. It’s also a lie that it is “selfish” to take time and resources to care for yourself. You can give others your best when you feel your best!
Maybe you don’t have any doubt that you deserve it, but you don’t take the time out of your crazy day to consider how it might feel to make the changes you’ve been wanting to make. So, let me paint you a picture to close this out.
From women who didn’t think they could, and then they did.
“I never thought I would get back in these jeans again. They aren’t even in style anymore but I don’t give a s*&!, I cried when I buttoned them up and they fit”.
“I just wrapped a regular size towel around my body. I haven’t wrapped a regular size towel around my body since I was in high school. I can’t even believe this.”
(And que water works because I bawled like a baby when I got that text).
“Mom, you’re more fun to be around when you take that stuff, like, you yell at us less.” – From a woman using adaptogens to lose weight, this wasn’t the effect she was expecting, but she was happy about none the less.
“I don’t hide in the closet to change my clothes anymore if my husband is the room.” – This needs no commentary.
START NOW!
If you could know and feel what these women now understand, these women who were recently in your shoes, you would start right now. I could just cry or scream or lose my mind that I know some of you still won’t do it. I want this for you SOOOOO bad, you have no idea how bad, even if we’ve never met.
But I can’t want it for you. You have to want it for you. And I pray that you do, enough to do one thing today.
So, here’s a list of possible things you can do today:
· Say “no” to one sugary thing you normally have
· Go on a 10 minute walk
· Drink an extra glass of water
· Decide now is the time, and start the planning process
· Eat 1 clean meal today
· Go to bed a little earlier
· Eat big meals instead of snacking
· Don’t eat within a few hours of going to bed tonight
One of these things alone may not get you where you need to be, but taking the first step is usually the hardest, so pick something and go for it! Then let the action snowball into more action.
If you’re ready to jump in, grab my free “3 Steps to Sticking with Your Weight Loss Plan” here so you’re ready to roll!
