You’ve decided you wanted to make a change. You’ve joined a gym, a club or or have begun engaging in some extra physical activity of some calibre! Yet still, you feel demotivated as you are not progressing at a rate that you feel is tangible when your effort and consistency is taken into consideration. Regardless of your fitness goals, the points I will raise below will likely resonate with many individuals on their fitness journey. In this instance – we will focus on weight loss!

You’re over consuming

As the old saying goes “abs are made in the kitchen”. So how can we get an idea whether we are overconsuming or not? It’s a relatively simple concept. Everybody will burn a certain amount of calories at rest each day, any extra activities/activities will burn additional calories. While this number can fluctuate slightly through the month due to hormonal changes, stress, menstrual cycle, etc. It will rarely fluctuate above or below by more than 200-300 calories. If we are consuming more calories than we are burning – we are over consuming. This will be quite apparent when looking at metrics such as scale weight which will stay the same or begin to trend upwards. In order to lose weight, we will need to be in a calorie deficit, i.e. consuming less calories than we burn. If our body weight begins to descend, we are now likely in a Calorie deficit and will likely be on track to reach our weight loss goal.

You’re not moving enough!

While a lot of work can be done in the kitchen in terms of losing weight. Physical activity will be your best friend! Aside from burning extra calories, physical activity, most notably resistance training – will help us retain what muscle mass we have already. This muscle mass helps in a variety ways towards our cause. The more muscle we can retain and even build will help give us that “toned” or “lean” look which will help towards our body composition goals. The added muscle mass also aids us in terms of our metabolism. The more muscle we have, the more calories we will burn at rest. Another significant bonus of moving more is also going to improve our function and strength while also reducing the risks of several conditions such as osteoporosis and sarcopenia which get much more prevalent as we age. Making a conscious effort to move more and set ourselves a daily step target is a great start here.

You don’t have a plan

Pretty self-explanatory right? Setting out on your health and fitness will likely require adequate planning and goal setting in order to be efficient. If you are going with the flow – you become susceptible to a plethora of issues. Consistency and adherence become significant issues here, having no plan or smaller goals to work towards can often leave us feeling directionless and makes it much harder to remain consistent with pushing towards our goals. Make a plan, this could include some long term goals to start with, add some short goals that will take you towards your long term goals. Ask yourself(or your coach!) “What can I be doing on a daily basis, what are some small habits and tasks that will take me closer to my goals each week?” This is a great starting point for most struggling to make progress!

I hope this article is a helpful reminder that our fitness goals do not have to be over complicated. There are a number of simple tweaks we can begin to make ourselves aware of and how they might influence our progress!

Lastly, I would also like to clarify that I am not a registered dietician. All advice disclosed here is simply advisory based on my qualifications as a fitness professional and personal experience and knowledge gained working with individuals and helping them reach their goals. The advice given is not designed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem – nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

Article written by Cashel ~ instagram @coachedbycashel_