#112 How To Get Back On Track After You’ve Gained Weight
Gaining weight / fat can make you feel really terrible. One thing you should absolutely not do is feel sorry for yourself and give up. Honestly, it happens to pretty much everyone in their lives. And usually afterwards, you come out on top! So get determined to change and get back to your usual self. Here are some tips to help you if you have gained weight.
1. Why do you really want it
Take some time to think about why you really want this. Having a why will give you that extra motivation. Once you have your why, set yourself a small goal. Write down your reason and goal somewhere that you can see it (even if it’s just on your phone) and so that you can refer to it in times of need.
2. Take progress photos
I know this one sounds a bit silly, but having photos to track your progress is honestly so motivating! Most people don’t actually release how much progress they’ve made until they look back at photos. It will make you realise that you are making changes, even if sometimes you don’t feel like you are. Take a photo of yourself (nobody has to see it) and then take another one on the exact same day in 2 weeks time. Take photos every fortnight. You will be more determined to stay on track if you know that you are doing regular photos.
3. Think about what causes you to fail
Why is it that you fall off the bandwagon? What is your biggest culprit? Is it because you get lazy and skip your workouts in the cold weather? Or do certain situations cause you to binge eat? When you know the reason you can do something to change it, and you are less likely to have this issue and fall into the same trap. Take some time to do this because it will help you!
4. Clean out your fridge/cupboards
OK any junk food you have in your house, throw it out right now. Ice cream, biscuits, cereal, ANYTHING! Check out my previous blog post on things you should not buy, and throw out all of those things too. If there are any foods that you know cause you to binge eat, they should be gone too, even if they’re healthy. If you don’t have the bad food in your house, you are less likely to eat it! This is a must.
5. Prepare your food on the weekend
Being prepared will go along way to keeping you on track and really having long term success. I know it’s a bit of an effort, but spend time on the weekend planning out your meals for the upcoming week, doing your grocery shopping, and then doing some meal prep. I like to prepare something for lunches for the week (usually I’ll make leftovers of Sunday night’s dinner that will serve as lunches). I also like to make something healthy to have as snacks during the week.
6. Accountability
Discuss your goals with a friend or partner. Let them know that you are trying to lose weight and that you have a set goal in mind. That way they can support you when you feel like you need it. It will keep you accountable and will hopefully keep you extra motivated to reach your goal! You never know, they may have a similar goal and you can work toward it together.
7. Schedule workouts
Make workouts a top priority. Until you have reached your goal, they should come before anything else (within reason). If you have dinner plans with your girlfriends, get up early and fit your workout in before work. Do everything you can to not miss a workout. At the start of the week, write down every workout that you will do in your calendar, and stick to it. Tick them off as you do them to make you feel accomplished.
I hope these tips have helped you! If you need extra motivation with a workout and nutrition program, check out my ebooks xx
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Rachael is an Australian born certified personal trainer and nutritionist who holds a Bachelor degree in Science.
After struggling for years to find an exercise and diet program that is tailored to women striving for lean and toned body with no bulk she designed her Lean Legs Program. This program is tailored to each body type and focused on helping women get toned but feminine bodies, without getting bulky.
Her mission is to empower women and help them stay in shape in a healthy and balanced way.
Hi Rachael! I was wondering if you think it would be a good idea to do the paleo diet or if there are any other types of diets that are good and safe. Thanks!
Hi Michele, I think the Paleo diet is actually great. I try to stick to this, but I am not 100% perfect! Just be wary of eating TOO much fat as it is high in calories x
Hi Rachael! I just got done of week 1 of eating healthy, and exercising everyday. This is my fourth attempt due to lack of motivation and the fact whenever I do eat healthy and exercise I get more bloated. It makes me easy to give up. Sometimes, after a week or two, I don’t see much difference at all. I do full body weight training 3x a week and cardio or HIIT 3x a week plus one rest day. I typical day of eating consists of an egg and banana every morning followed by a salad of spinach and peppers with berries for lunch, and dinner is chicken with avocado. Snacks in between are carrots or greek yogurt. I don’t know whats wrong or causing the bloat, but thank you for taking the time to read!
Hi Casey, great work for getting through 1 week! That is a great achievement so don’t forget it. It sounds like your issue is sticking it out for a good 8-12 weeks. Remember that it will take longer than 2 weeks to see any change so don’t give up! Keep a food and exercise diary to see where you may be going wrong (trust me it works!). Otherwise have a read of some of my other blog posts on bloating and why you may not be losing weight xx
Hi Rachael :) I’ve already sent you a message in the past and I keep following you! Thanks for being here!
I really try hard to achieve my goals thanks to your advice but I cannot :( one day, I’m determined and another one, I binge eating and then, am desperate. I’ve already succeeded in loosing weight with my meal plan but now, I can’t anymore.
Sport is not my problem, it’s definitely food. I’m used to fixing lunch and dinner, it’s not helping me because I’m somehow always too close to food. I really want to eat healthy meals as much as possible but when I don’t have a lot of time, it’s always hard. I’m also looking for a healthy pack lunch.
I’m in high school but still, keep enough time to do my sport 3 times per week.
So, as you can see, I tried a lot and can’t understand why I cannot keep in mind to be careful. I know something is bad but I won’t stop because it’s compulsive. It’s so awful!
Is it possible to keep talking by mail? Time flies and I’m feeling bad :(
Hi Claire, thanks for all of your support! Aww I am sorry to hear this. It definitely sounds like the issue is with your eating and being able to stick to it. If you really restrict yourself, it will make you feel deprived and you’ll want to eat those bad foods. Try to change your thinking so that you are eating healthy 80% of the time, but having treats 20% of the time. That way, you know that if you REALLY want the bad food, you can have it! Just only have it when you really really want it. And yes feel free to email me if you need to hun x