One of the main things I hear when trying to lose weight is “I’ve been trying everything, exercising every day, eating healthy and I still can’t lose any weight.” Usually the issue is that they KNOW how to exercise and eat healthy, but just aren’t doing it consistently.
So if you are in the same situation, what I want you to do is have a look at this checklist and see if you’re doing all of these things. Remember you need to be doing these things consistently, EVERYDAY. Not just Monday to Friday, not just when you are getting back on the bandwagon, not just whenever you feel like it. If you want results and you want to be able to sustain them, you need to do these things.
Questions You Need To Ask Yourself
Do you eat less than 30g sugar per day?
This includes natural sugar! If you eat healthy whole foods and make a conscious effort to check the sugar levels in your food, this is achievable. Of course there might be 1-2 days per week where you treat yourself. But if you’re trying to lose weight, the less you treat yourself, the quicker you will get the results.
For your reference, 1 medium banana contains 14-17g of sugar and 1 cup of strawberries contains 7-8g of sugar. The majority of your sugar SHOULD come from fruit, and the rest of your meals should include lots of vegetables, nuts, seeds, protein and whole grains which are all low in sugar.
PS – 1 small can (355mL) of Coca Cola contains 39g of sugar!
Do you eat at least 1 piece of fruit per day?
With that being said, fruit is still full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients so you should definitely be eating it. Just make sure you watch out for the sugar and how this relates to your entire daily sugar intake.
Do you eat at least 5 serves of vegetables per day?
I serve of vegetables is ½ cup (roughly). So you need to be eating around 2.5 cups of vegetables per day. I actually find this hard to do unless I’m consciously thinking about it and making decisions about it. But I do make these conscious decisions now and make sure I’m eating vegetables at every opportunity.
Do you drink at least 2L of water per day?
Check out my blog post for some tips on how to get enough water. I know a lot of people struggle to get to 2L per day. I find it easy to drink more than 3L and I think the main reason is because I always have it with me. I carry a water bottle wherever I go. Even when I’m sitting at home on the couch, the water bottle is next to me.
Try to avoid other beverages such as juice, soft drink, iced tea, etc. And limit alcohol to 1 day per week.
Pure coconut water is low in sugar so it is OK to drink. And of course it is OK to have some dairy which also contains sugar. Just make sure you read the labels and choose the variety with the least amount of sugar.
Do you walk 10,000 steps per day?
You all know how great walking is for leaning out your legs, but just keeping active and moving about has so many great health benefits! iPhones have a Health app that tracks your steps. I take this with me everywhere and check it every day to make sure I’m doing enough walking.
Do you do at least 30 minutes of exercise everyday (not including walking)?
The 30 minutes of exercise should be something that is a challenge. It could be a circuit, a run, cycle class, gym class, hiking, HIIT, Pilates, yoga, etc. Overall, you should be aiming to do at least 2 resistance training sessions per week. The other sessions are up to you! The harder you work out, the better and quicker your results are going to be.
If you are actually doing ALL of this and still can’t lose weight, then it is very likely that there is something else going on. Many factors contribute to your weight loss, including hormones, your thyroid function, liver function, etc. I would suggest a checkup with your doctor and/or naturopath. Hormone imbalances are actually more common than you think (I currently have one). Click here to find out if you have a hormone imbalance and how it can contribute to weight gain.
It’s FREE