Weight & Fat Loss: NEVER Weigh Your Self-Esteem!
Weight loss is one of the hottest topics ever.
Especially with the rise in obesity levels everyone seems to be trying to lose weight nowadays.
If you are worried, confused, and out and out suffering with your 'weight' read on...
Thing is, weight isn't always the most accurate reading of where you are at?
>> Similar to BMI'S - The average big beefy Rugby type player always reads OBESE on their BMI <<
What about fat loss for example?
People seem to use both terms interchangeably. So what’s the difference between weight loss & fat loss?
Let’s start by defining weight loss & fat loss
Weight Loss - You want to lower your body-weight, the sum weight of your bones, muscles, water, organs, body fat, …
Fat Loss - You want to lower your body fat, the amount of fat your body carries whilst keeping your muscle mass, lean muscle mass for the ladies, in other words your TONE shape and definition
All the things you will ALSO lose as part of 'weight loss'
Therefore, the main difference is LANGUAGE!
I had a period of being a FAT teen which was catalyst of a trauma that i was unaware of at the time but the phycological experiences from that period/cycle stay with you which is why I get it. Including how language plays a part.
Which is how the wake up warrior 5-pillar system came to be (more of that in the content sections) you know, from...
Over 20+ years experience, research, study, investment (and yep failure) within this industry and the majority of people I have coached who say they want 'weight loss' ? What they actually want and need, is to lose body FAT..
Trouble is some then may get offended or triggered (usually the entitled - attitude is a big one for your weight loss and or ANY goal) by the word FAT - Revert back to our cheerleading or coaching - your suffering is optional post below, if you dare :p as not for the easily offended - https://www.wakingthewarrior.com/single-post/suffering-is-optional-weight-loss-worry-s
Also lot of people also attempt to 'lose weight' through fad/quick fix diets, juices, detox's and even these 'transformations' you see the local 'guru' selling, where as soon as you stop all the weight returns, and usually with interest!
So you can see if you want to lose weight, it’s most likely because you are carry too much fat.
There are people who will have a lot of timber to shift (obese overweight) so of course they need to lose weight but the majority of that weight will be fat including the visceral fat
This is the worse kind as it's the fat that surrounds all your internal organs - eg fatty liver/heart arteries etc
(so yep a calorie deficit will be require INITIALLY)
There will also be others, like 'WEIGHT DIVISION' athletes who must lose weight before a competition, but for most?
You actually want fat loss. So STOP constantly weighing yourself and your self-esteem?
**Once had a client who would weight herself everyday and adjusted her mood accordingly = MADNESS**
Same one who would tell me it was OK to drink 7 cans of diet soda every day because it had no calories
(carbonated artificial fizz cause bloating amongst many others, food post in contents, but comes back to beliefs again)
Anyhow, problems with using ONLY Weight Loss as your guide?
It's Unreliable. Your body-weight can fluctuate daily since it’s influenced by your stomach/bowel/bladder content, water loss/retention, muscle loss/gain, fat loss/gain, … You’ll have no idea what’s going on.
It's Irrelevant. 2 people with similar height can weigh the same, but look completely different because one has lower body fat than the other. See below
Below a variety of shapes, (ecto. endo, and mesomorphs etc) sizes, and heights where all women weigh the SAME!
You Can You See How The Weight Scale Can Mislead You ?
However, clothes, mirrors & pictures don’t lie. Neither does the fat %
**From experience I have a good idea of peoples fat % from just looking at them**
However, the weight scales can become your worst enemy by misleading you and killing your motivation.
**This also comes back to BELIEFS and why the wake up warriors question the very beliefs that can hold us back daily**
Below, just a couple of more things to consider/question/...
1, Carbs & Water. Carbs bind to water. So eating less carbs will make you lose weight: water loss. This is why you lose so much weight on a diet like Atkins the first 2 weeks: it’s mostly water. Of course, increasing your carb intake will make you gain weight again: water retention.
2, Muscle Gains & Fat Loss. You’ll gain muscle (lean) while losing fat when you get into strength training. But on the weight scale, it will look like you’re not making progress: your body weight doesn’t change.
Track your body fat % using a fat caliper, as I do with my clients, and you’ll see your body fat is going down.
The more muscle you have the more fat you will burn, this is why building real usable strength/resistance is part of the wake up warrior 5-pillar system.
Ladies you can NOT get BIG (their are those beliefs again) unless you start consuming anabolic steroids (not advised :p) as you only have small amounts of testosterone, muscle building hormone.
3, Emotions. Also when we look at Weight/Fat Loss there is a bigger picture, the physiological barriers and emotional aspects come in to play. Do you have Physical Hunger or Emotional Hunger?
View the featured blogs to view just a few of my clients success stories (including my own) and read more about these subconscious barriers, bias, and beliefs that can keep us stuck, miserable, and unhappy!
If you are suffering with your weight or any goal? You will need to revert back to YOUR CLARITY
Example - Once had a lady who attended some of our local classes back in the day, who enjoyed and had a bias towards running, contacted me with regards private weight loss coaching, so we discussed how, committing to and prioritising, this simple proven system would achieve her desired results only for her to inform me..
''I'm not prepared to miss running club for anything''
So I want you to help me achieve my training goals but it must be on my terms with my ground rules
Does this sound familiar?
She obviously didn't have clear clarity on what she wanted and what she was prepared to do
(Attitude and entitlement also comes into play - all can be fund in the contents section if you dare :p)
Once you have your clarity, you find your leverage - reason for taking action - And that all important emotional attachment
Perhaps it's not dying young
Or setting an example to your kids
Bit like why people stay stuck in jobs they hate because they have the emotional attachment of being paid
(outweighs fear of change, fear of unknown, fear of criticism etc - for a while at least)
Change isn't easy I know, well not until 'the pain of staying the same outweighs that pain of change'
^^read that again^^
Think about the negative consequences of not changing as well as the positive ones.
Getting healthy must become a priority and your life must be organised accordingly. Nobody can change you but you, and once you've made the changes, you need to stay focused.
Successful individuals keep their strategy, clarity, and leverage in the forefront of their minds all the time.
The biggest take home should be that the physical alone isn't enough
Phycological barriers come are a HUGE PART and to achieve new results requires new behaviours
To do this we must take on a new way of thinking - A new MINDSET
The MIND controls and the body OBEYS
All of this was covered in more depth within the 'your suffering is optional' post
Consider this, If you gave a test to a million people and three-quarters of them failed the test, would you attribute their failure to a lack of willpower or laziness? Or would you wonder if the test was flawed?
If the test measured the ability to lose weight, the results would parallel the failure rates for people who are trying to reduce their girth. According to the 2011 Food & Health Survey conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation, 77 percent of Americans ( I researched this as we know that America has a serious obesity epidemic and that the UK and the REST of the world are catching up very fast ) are trying to lose weight or avoid gaining weight.
Despite their efforts, nearly 70 percent of Americans are overweight or obese.
Given the inability of the majority of us to manage our weight, are we all just weak-willed slackers?
Or are other factors operating to make failure the most likely outcome?
Getting back to the survey, for the most part, the test takers do not blame others for their failure; they blame themselves.
Desperate to succeed despite a history of dangerous scams and diet schemes, consumers continue their search for a magical solution to weight loss and willingly throw money at the problem.
Growing at an annual rate of nearly 11 percent for the past five years, the market for weight-loss products (food, drugs, supplements, services, ingredients, devices, accessories and cosmetics) in 2014 is projected to reach $586 billion.
Reverting back to the quick fads, as mentioned earlier in this post, which is what is wrong with the industry then throw social media and all the perceived success/BS into the mix. Again why the 5-pillar system came to be..
Below Michelle who lost 25kg (4 stones) is one of the many 'online' wake up warriors demonstrating the art of health sustainable weight loss management having FINALLY broken the yo-yo (stop/start) cycle of 2 stone on/off.
Now that Michelle is at her NATURAL healthy weight it becomes all about body fat% once she starts to reduce her fat % she will start to see more tone/definition (she choses to do this because this wasn't a quick fix or transformation it is now a healthier happier empowering lifestyle) this will be lean muscle because as a lady she has limited amounts of testosterone, one of the stories ladies will tell themselves...
So NO you won;t get BIG unless you are taking the juice (steroids) you'll find you will be strong and toned and the more lean muscle mass you have? The FASTER you burn FAT - another reason why you should aim for FAT LOSS over Weight
So, even though we more for coaching than cheerleading - don't be too hard on yourself, especially if you are taking action
As there are many psychological battles, hurdles, and hurdles to overcome!
Hence, why it can be so difficult to lose weight.
We're Designed to Eat - Obesity psychologist Jim Keller, Director of Behavioral Health at the WeightWise Bariatric Program in Oklahoma City, asserts that the human body and brain are designed to eat -- thus explaining why losing weight proves so challenging for so many.
Keller, who has conducted 14,000 psychological interviews of individuals considering bariatric surgery (Surgery on the stomach and/or intestines to help a person with extreme obesity lose weight), says that the causes of obesity are complex. Obesity is not simply a function of laziness or an indication of emotional instability.
In addition, genetic and biological factors do not act in isolation but are constantly interacting with an array of environmental factors. Keller notes that BOTH the availability and persuasive advertising of unhealthy food contribute to the obesity epidemic.
So Why Is Changing Eating Habits So Difficult?
We touched on new behaviours above..
While external and genetic factors play a role, no one questions that individuals are in charge of their daily decisions about what and how much to eat. So once we make up our minds to change a habit, why do we find ourselves falling back into old ones? Why can't we simply make a decision and get on with it?
What puzzles and frustrates many trying to lose weight is why changing one's eating habits is so hard.
According to Dr. Howard Rankin, an expert on behavioral change, a key part of the problem is that we believe we have more control over our behavior than we really do. Stress, anxiety and addiction can limit the conscious control we have over our choices. Dr. Rankin asserts:
What drives our behavior is not logic but brain biochemistry, habits and addiction, states of consciousness and what we see people around us doing. We are emotional beings with the ability to rationalize -- not rational beings with emotions.
If we are stressed, depressed or addicted, no matter how good the advice we are given, chances are that we will not be able to act on it. The more primitive, emotional brain generally has precedence over the newer, more rational brain.
But even if we removed those individuals who are stressed, depressed or addicted from the test group, we still would be left with a large population of individuals who are unable to stick with their resolve to lose weight.
I speak from personal experience. I've started many a day resolved to eat healthfully for the rest of my life. But by late evening, a piece of chocolate cake has somehow found its way into my stomach. (''o)
One possibility is that we have multiple personalities.
Another is that resolve is not constant. According to Dr. Rankin, resolve ebbs and flows like the tide. One moment we can be fired up to be mindful of our eating, but in the next instant, our mood, our state of consciousness or the context has changed. Much to our chagrin, we find ourselves indulging in unhealthy treats.
Dr. Rankin (He's a clever guy) also has a healthy respect for people's extraordinary ability to rationalize almost any behavior. We can persuade ourselves to do almost anything we want to do
Especially when the behaviors are ones that our brains are used to doing. But trying to persuade ourselves to do things that we don't really want to do - behaviors our brain is not used to - is not easy. We are very adept at making wonderful (and plausible) excuses/stories as to why we can't do what we don't want to do.
In closing we only have a limited amount of willpower before it runs out similar deal with stress and overwhelm which is why we have a proven system that works on INREASING our capacity to deal with all of this!
What you can do?
Grab my free wake up warrior 5-pillar blueprint that includes my bonus in-depth 'weight loss/management pdf' with a breakdown of each pillar and five way to help you lose weight/fat and sustain it for a happier healthier you:
Above - Nicola another one of our many amazing online wake up warriors doing amazing things for themselves...
Change is difficult, and whoever finds a way to bottle and market motivation and self-discipline will make a fortune. In the absence of such a product, however, the next best thing is helpful insights into the process of changing our behavior.
Dr. Rankin reminds us that, for better or worse, our core, emotional values will ultimately determine our choices. Once we identify our heartfelt desires, we can use them to create a healthy lifestyle that reflects our best self.
Our deepest values can be summoned to keep us on track, especially when we are facing temptations and distractions. They can also serve as our compass when we go astray.
If we are willing to remain diligently committed to our emotional values and that clarity/leverage as mentioned earlier
We can be confident that we will succeed in realising our health and fitness goals. And when we do, maybe some of us will go one step further and give support to family and friends so that they can join us in becoming healthier and happier.
Anton 'former fatty' Hedges
PS - If you are worried and or suffering with your weight
And you have actually been DOING something about it (you know, taking responsibility) then firstly
WELL DONE YOU
As action is what is required, not talking, asking the universe, or positive thinking and all that guff
Take it from someone who knows you will NEVER think your way out of negativity
Positive action is whats required
However, if you are not overly happy with your current results and reality
(Or just can't seem to get started - that will be our old friend fear AGAIN)
Don't fall into the trap of your own impatience. I read comments here and there from people who feel frustrated when they don't see results (usually weight loss) after only 2 weeks of regular exercise.
Don't forget that fat is more accurate regardless of it it triggers unlike the more diplomatic Dr Rankin :p
Also that health/fitness is tough but it's also fair. You get exactly what you put into it.
The results of years of a sedentary lifestyle can not be undone in two weeks. Not even 4 weeks.
Give regular exercise/movement and healthier balanced sustainable eating at least 3 months and get used to the fact that this is your new LIFESTYLE and once you stop you'll go back to where you started.
It's a work that's never done, but it's so worth it!
Need some help grab the blueprint, it's free: https://anybodyspt.lpages.co/warrior-weight-loss-wellness-online/
Research sources- Physio doctor, Stronglifts, Dr Rankin,
