When I ask women on coaching calls to tell me what they think they need to be successful at losing weight, the number two answer I receive is accountability.

• “I just need to know someone is watching and then I follow through.”
• “When someone tells me what to do and follows my progress, I’ll do it.”
• “I have to have a person call me out on my excuses, even when I know they are excuses.”

I get it.  It does seem so much easier when you know people are watching.

And I think external accountability is awesome!  It’s part of my job as a coach.  

The problem with solely relying on outside accountability is that you don’t ALWAYS have someone to watch what you’re doing and point out the obstacles you are putting in your own way.

Have you ever said something like, “I did so well when… (I had a friend texting me daily, in group fitness call, part of a challenge group, etc.)” 

Then you...

It's the last in this series about how to make weight loss easier (even though that’s basically what I want to always help you with ;) )

This one is by FAR the most important.

If you want to make weight loss easier and sustainable, putting God front and center on the journey is vital.

Here are 2 main reasons why…

1. You strengthen your relationship with God, which strengthens your relationship with yourself and thus decreases emotional swings that lead to eating..
2. Willpower is fleeting but God’s gift of self-control that comes from His Spirit is always available.

Let’s break each one of these down so you can get a little clear picture of what I’m talking about.

Putting God front and center on this journey inherently means that you are going to grow closer to Him.  You will know God better and be faced with His truth more often.

The truth is, YOU are a creation of God.  This means that you are completely worthy, from the day you...

Are you tired of hearing about making weight loss easier?

I hope not.

Because here comes another edition!

Muscle and movement.

I don’t want to get all technical and in the weeds of this topic.  So, I’m going to keep this post quite short.

I’ve given you the basic formula for losing FAT; which is a waaaay better idea than just losing weight by the way.  You can lose weight by not taking in any water one day or having a good bowel movement.  My guess isn’t you wouldn’t count that as losing weight because what you really WANT is to lose fat.

Back to the basic formula:

Energy (calories) consumed < Energy expended = Energy deficit (burning fat to use for fuel for your body)

Simply, you need to use more energy than what you put into your body each day.

So, there are two ways to lose fat. 

One...eat less energy.

My last two posts have been focused on consuming fewer calories by eating more protein and managing...

Let's continue our discussion about t making weight loss easier for you...

Over and over again when I’m chatting with women about their health and losing weight, I hear this phrase, “It’s just really hard.”

I get it.  I’ve said this before myself. 

And losing weight does FEEL hard at times.  Choosing to walk away from those brownies is really uncomfortable sometimes.

But, if you keep looking at weight loss as hard, you’ll keep running in the opposite direction of it... because who wants more hard stuff to deal with?

You know what I mean. Like that time when you were going to start a sugar fast the next day so you eat the whole bag of chocolate chips in your pantry the night before.

Part of the reason you do that is because you’re focusing on how HARD the sugar fast is going to be (even though this doesn’t make sense since you’re just making it harder on yourself… the crazy things we do...

I get it... another study came about about nutrition. This one says the opposite of the last one you heard about. 

Now you're confused.

There are so many contradicting studies, what do you believe anymore?

Well, I read a lot of them.  One thing that is starting to be consistent and keeps showing favorable results for weight loss and weight loss maintenance…

PROTEIN.

Okay, let’s talk about this.

Protein is a macronutrient.  All that means is that we need larger quantities of this nutrient to provide our bodies energy and maintain a healthy temple.

When most people think of protein, they think of meat.  But protein can be found in dairy and plants.

Basics... but really important to know.

Now, let’s talk about what protein does for the body.

Proteins are the building blocks for life.  Every cell in the human body contains protein.  You need protein to repair cells, make new cells, build/maintain muscle, carry oxygen...

“I don’t want to think about food all the time… I just want to eat like a normal person.”

Have you ever said this to yourself?

Let me ask you this…

What is normal eating?

The simplest answer is that you just eat when you are hungry and you stop when you’re full.

Does that sound hard?  If it sounds hard for you too, I get it… it sounded impossible for a long time for me.

Because I would be eating and often KNOW I was not hungry… but yet keep eating. 

Normal eating is simple… but it’s not easy.

It’s not easy because you have a real problem.

And it’s not with WHAT the food is.

The PROBLEM is all your THINKING going on in between when you’re body is hungry.

Thinking like…

• Is this healthy?
• Is it bad for me?
• Is it time?
• Will I hurt their feelings if I don't eat?
• I don't want to feel bad right now.
• I'm tired and need a break. 
• I need a treat.
• A little won’t hurt. 

...

Shortcuts.

Don’t you love a good shortcut? 

Isn't fun to think something might get you “there” faster and easier. 

I don’t know about you, but I am often sucked into shortcuts when it comes to losing weight or getting healthy.

You know the ones…

• “Lose your food urges and drop 10 pounds today.”
• “Take this drug and never feel hungry.”
• “Eat this pre-packaged food to get all the nutrients you need.”
• “Use this 5-minute HIIT routine to make the fat melt.” 

Of course, we are attracted to these! 

Learning to manage your food urges is hard work.

Listening to your body and learning to eat only when it needs food takes effort.

Slowing down to prepare food and think about your choices takes time.

Strength training and movement feel complicated and overwhelming.

Notice how the enemy loves to distract us with shortcuts.

We want what we want... when we want it… with the least...

There is no other option.

That’s what the word decide means.

I think we get the word decide confused with “try” or “test”.

But it’s not.

It has the same ending as homicide and genocide… basically to “kill off”.  

When you are deciding you are killing off all other options.

Weight loss is a decision you make EVERY DAY to kill off all other options.

If you wake up in the morning and make this DECISION very deliberately (that means you don’t just try), you will have more success in getting to your goals.

So what does this practically look like?

Upon waking, you say a verse, meditate in prayer, or read your Bible (you don't have to do all three...) giving your day to God.  Then you pray over your day and the decision you are making with God to honor your temple. 

This simple step can take as little as 1 minute.

Then (as I recommend to my clients) you are going to remind yourself and put...

I bet you’re thinking, “Oh, weight loss coach trying to have us dream big… talking about how much weight I could lose…”

No. Not today.

I don’t know how much weight you could lose.  Every BODY is different.  But, that’s a whole other post.

Instead, I rather focus on…

What could you lose OUT on in your future? 

The new year is a good time to reflect.

Honestly, I don’t set goals in the New Year.  I set new goals once I achieve a goal or God directs me elsewhere.  Just because a new year begins doesn’t mean either one of these things has happened.

Often, I find myself at the new year REEVALUATING.

Yes, my goals AND reevaluating if what I am doing is getting me closer to my goals or not.

I think this time of year is the perfect time to reflect and renew GOING forward.

So, let’s focus there.

How?

Well, I take 3 steps.  Take them or leave them.  I’m not going to suggest I’m...