5 simple ways to kick start your weight loss today

Starting your weight loss journey feels daunting. It feels like you have a mountain to climb and that you’re not sure how exactly you’re going to scale it but all you know is that you really want to get to the summit. You may have been trying to get there for many years and failing, which only makes the challenge seem more insurmountable. You may have been cycling through periods of deprivation, followed by bingeing and the back to deprivation again. Your association with ‘dieting’ is possibly deeply negative as a result and there are probably days where it just feels downright impossible to reach your goal.

The key is to just start. Not returning to your old patterns of depriving and bingeing, but to start making small, simple changes that don’t seem overwhelming and that seem entirely doable. Mastering these five fundamentals is the best place to start, then it’s time to take it up a gear, which is where I can help you with my six week DNA Testing Weight Loss or twelve week Complete Metabolic Reset packages. But you can begin to implement these changes all by yourself.

1. Drink more water. Being dehydrated will hinder your progress in many ways, including tricking you into believing you’re hungry but also water is necessary for lipolysis (the metabolism of fat) to occur. If you’re not drinking enough water, your body will hold onto fat. Drink water until your pee is a clear or very pale yellow colour and then stop until there ie a bit more colour and then drink more water until it’s clear again etc.

2. Eat more protein. You should be focussing on protein at every meal, which will stimulate hormones that tell your body you’ve had enough and decrease your appetite. You’ll feel full for longer and be less likely to want to snack in between meals, so start thinking of ways you can up your intake. My six and twelve week meal plans are protein focussed, no matter whether you’re a meat-eater, pescatarian, vegetarian, plant-based etc. This also helps you maintain muscle mass, which you naturally lose with age.

3. Prioritise sleep. Inadequate deep sleep disrupts your hunger hormones, making you believe that you are hungrier than you actually are and far more likely to crave sweet foods. Start winding down for at least an hour before lights off, reading something relaxing, taking a warm bath, doing a skincare routine, listening to calming music or a podcast and avoiding screens, which will disrupt your circadian rhythms.

4. Get moving. Find a way to build movement into your daily routine, even if it’s only 20 minutes a day initially. Ideally this would take place outside, so that you can get some exposure to natural light and even nature. Just doing something is better than nothing so dance around to some music, do some vigorous housework or skip around the garden - whatever it takes to get your heart rate up, which will make you feel positive and more energised.

5. Manage stress. Elevated stress means elevated levels of stress hormone cortisol, which increases your appetite. In my ‘Complete Metabolic Reset’ package, we will measure your stress hormone levels to see if this is an issue that may be hampering your weight loss, as heightened cortisol makes you more likely to comfort eat the wrong types of foods, less likely to exercise and less likely to sleep well. Obviously there are certain life events which trigger stress which are outside our control, but do what you can to mitigate the effects with stress relieving tactics. Try diaphragmatic breathing, take regular breaks when you’re working, get out into nature if possible, limit caffeine and try to get a good night’s sleep.

If you feel you would like some one to one support, including meal plans and functional testing to get to the bottom of the issue, then please book a free strategy call so that we can come up with a plan to help you achieve your goals.