"Walk Slowly But Never Backward" - Building Successful Habits For Weight Loss
Hi everyone, it’s Nicole here!
Most of you know me as ‘The Admin Lady’ (aka CEO) at Who Dares Slims boot camp - some of you know me as a fellow camper who struggles with her weight. I am, and always will be, a self-defined foodie, but along with that title comes a terrible habit of eating too much and too often!
During this 3rd national lockdown, I thought I should check in with my bathroom scales and update my weight in MyFitnessPal. Something I have been avoiding. I know I have been terrible about keeping up with my fitness, drinking too much and ordering one (maybe five) too many Deliveroos. Not going to lie, it wasn’t pretty, and so I’ve set myself on a mission to regain my fitness.
You might think that would be an easy task, given that I live with the hunk we all call Chief Instructor (@adventure.jamie) but actually it makes it harder! MUCH HARDER. This is because his fitness goals are to bulk out and put weight on, meaning there is a conveyor belt of meals and snacks going into him. My penchant for snacking at the same time as he does means that I’m over-eating when I should be cutting back!
With that in mind, it is important that I set myself up with the right tools and processes to succeed. We all know that putting your fitness first during a pandemic can be difficult. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Forming the right positive habits will get you to where you want to go.
One of the things that has inspired me to do this is the book ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. It was a breath of fresh air and helped me re-frame my goals into a more logical and easy to follow framework.
I can’t express enough how fantastic this book has been for helping with me setting my mind up for the challenge. I now feel more motivated and capable than ever to get back on track. In his own words: “It’s better to do less than you hoped for than nothing at all”. Inspired by these words, I’ve just stopped to do my morning 10 squats while I make my cup of tea. A small, simple thing, that when done each and every time I make a cup of tea, mounts up to a significant number of squats!!
The concept of the book is that setting a goal will not ensure success, however having a system to improve will do so. Clear says “If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system.”
I’ve set myself up with a new system, some non-scale victories and have started stacking good habits on top of each other which will all help me to become that healthy, fit and active person that I want to be.
I’m now calling on you, our lovely loyal campers, for more inspiration. Has anyone else read any books - either to do with weight loss goals or hitting your fitness aspirations - that you would recommend?
Drop us a comment on this blog with your recommendations. Thank you!