WHY YOU'RE NOT LOSING WEIGHT (PART 1)

Do you find yourself in a place where you really don’t recognize your body? Somehow, you’ve put on some weight (maybe more than you’d like to admit), and you’re not sure how it happened...how you got here. And so you’ve been trying to make some changes, but for some reason the scale is not budging. And you’re beginning to panic. And feel desperate.

Deep down you know it’s not all about the scale and how much you weigh, but it really reflects how you FEEL about your body right now. And you don’t like it.

In this two-part mini-series, I’m going to help you troubleshoot this situation. If you’re not sure why you’re not losing the weight, and you need help, these episodes are for you. Let’s dive in.

It's not just about weight loss:

I don’t always talk about weight loss, because it’s not everything. And it’s especially not the thing that makes you valuable or worthy.

I constantly want to help you see your body in a multi-dimensional way...not just a number on the scale. Because once your weight and weight loss becomes everything to you, you end up being willing to do anything, even damaging things, to make it happen.

Listen to me… you are more than a before and after photo. And I’m not just saying that. Your body, and the health of your body, is far more complex and beautiful than what could be shown in a dramatic weight loss photo.

And when you see those photos of someone that is celebrating her 20 pounds gone in one month (and she says she’s feeling better than ever before), what you don’t see is that she is literally starving. At that very moment, her metabolism is resetting down to 800 calories per day. She is triggering all of her stress hormones. And it will take years to repair the damage that’s happening. As soon as she begins eating real food again, she will start gaining weight at a faster rate than she ever has before.
Weight loss at all cost.

So hear me when I say that it’s ok to want to lose some weight and drop some pounds. But it’s not ok to do anything to make that happen, especially if it hurts you more in the long run.

So, if you’re feeling desperate right now… And you’re watching the scale go up and your clothes get tight and your body start to not feel good -  listen to me and trust me when I give you guidance. Because I really do have your best interest at heart and I’m going to do my absolute best to help you lose that weight without asking for your soul in return.

1. If you are struggling to lose weight: Do NOT focus on the outcome.

Instead, focus on the journey...the daily habits. What you need to be doing right today, right here at this moment.
And when you do, the weight loss almost becomes an afterthought.

Let me tell you a STORY about Diann: she signed up for my Jumpstart30 program in May. She knew she was overweight, in fact she had the same 20 pounds that she had been trying to get rid of for years, and just felt generally unhealthy, so she took the chance and decided to give it a try. (Now, what I do with you in Jumpstart 30 is give you very specific exercise and nutrition tasks to accomplish each day… they’re very easy to do, I just need you to do it.) So I told Diann exactly what to do each day, and she just focused on that one thing. She wasn’t focusing on “losing weight, losing weight, am I losing the weight”... NO! She trusted me and just paid attention to the job that needed to be done that day. No more no less. Well Diann finished Jumpstart30, felt so good and kept going and did Jumpstart60, just kept going and did Getstrong30. I checked in with her a couple weeks ago to see how things were going, and she said “I’m so much stronger, my body doesn’t hurt, I have more energy, my habits are immensely better, I feel healthier than I’ve felt in years, oh and by the way I’ve lost all those 20 pounds, too.”

This is a perfect example of someone that just put their head down and stayed focused on the journey, not the outcome. And did you catch her attitude about her weight loss? Somehow along the way, the scope of what she was accomplishing was impacting far more things in her life than just weight loss. So let that just encourage you to know that the simple daily tasks really do add up and can help you achieve your goals and so much more.
So that’s the first thing… your mindset and willingness to commit to doing the right thing TODAY.

Now, once your mindset is in place and you’re screaming at me “Megan, I’m willing to do the thing! Just tell me what it is!”

Then…

2. Let’s take a closer look at some of the specific reasons why you might not be losing weight as you’d like:

NUTRITION. Start with the obvious

If you want to experience good, quality weight loss (fat loss), you need to be eating the right quantities of nutrient dense foods 90% of the time.

Those are 3 things that MATTER with your nutrition to actually experience change.
If you overeat, if you eat calorie dense foods, and you only eat healthy 60% of the time, you will not see results.

1. The right quantities. How do you eat the right quantities?
Eat at regular intervals throughout the day (every 3-4 hours)
Eat slow (15-20 min) and listen to your fullness cues, stop eating at 80% fullness
Use your hand as your guide

2. The right ingredients or nutrients. How do you eat nutrient dense foods?
Choose foods that are high in nutrients and bulk, so that they fill you up sooner and provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to thrive and operate optimally,
What does this look like? Protein and produce (vegetables)
Eat your PRO’s!
Have 1 palm sized amount of lean protein at your meal (20-30g protein) - chicken breast, turkey, fish like salmon, sirloin steak, extra lean ground beef, lean pork, eggs
Have 2 fist-sized amounts of vegetables at your meal

3. Final thing: Consistency. Eating like this 90% of the time.
I don’t want you to eat perfectly, you’ll explode
I want you to eat PRO’s at every meal except 10% of your meals throughout the week. (4 meals/day x 7 days/week = 28 meals total). 10% is roughly 3 meals over the course of the week are NOT full of PRO’s.

The nutrition part is HARD. And it can become more intricate and complicated, but usually if someone follows these guidelines I just mentioned, and does it honestly and consistently, they will see and feel a difference and never need to do the more complicated, advanced things… like counting calories or full-on macro counting.

Make sure to come back for the very next episode. We’re doing something different this time and dropping it tomorrow, so you don’t have to wait for the second part of this story. So look for that.

And keep in mind, if you’ve been trying to lose weight and have been feeling tempted to do something super drastic and damaging about it, join me for the next group that I’ll be coaching through Jumpstart30 instead. I’ll hold your hand the whole way, and you can be confident that you’re doing something right, and something truly healthy for your body. You can find a link to it in the show notes.

More Resources:

• JUMPSTART 30 – HOLIDAY EDITION! 30 days of accountability and guidance to help you finally gain consistency! The FREE Body Type Quiz
• The FREE Body Type Quiz

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