Slimming down without dieting month 1: Preparatory work
Slimming down without dieting month 1: Preparatory work. All beginnings are difficult. But as long as you keep trusting your gut, everything will work out. After all, we know best what is or is not good for us, only sometimes we are just a bit stubborn (or just find it hard to act sensibly on what our gut tells us).
At least you have taken the first step by looking for useful weight-loss advice and delving into the workings of metabolism that has probably made you look at diet and exercise very differently.
Hopefully this will help you deal with this differently too, which will soon make you feel fitter and more confident. The journey to your new 'me' started today, and you know: the goal of the journey is just as important as the way there. So we are going to make this journey as fun as possible!
The first step towards a slimmer 'me' is taken today.
An important day, because from today onwards you will really take your will to slim down seriously. Nevertheless, it will definitely be fun too! You will start to feel better, get back in shape, improve your health and... lose weight which will make you feel more comfortable in your own skin in no time!
Using the steps below, you can put together your own balance starter kit. Of course, you decide for yourself what you like and want to buy or not, nothing has to! Think of it as well-meaning advice based on my own experiences.
Step 1: The turning point
Before you start, it's important to go back to when you started changing your lifestyle that may have caused you to exercise less, eat more, snack more and make your fitness worse.
When you dare to be honest with yourself and go back to when you started living unhealthier, it is easier to pick up your good lifestyle from before.
Buy a notebook and make this your own weight-loss workbook. Start by writing down when things went wrong (see here as an example my own story) and what was the turning point for you that you went wrong.
If you really want to get serious, >THIS a nice and handy weight-loss diary to work in over the next few months. Nice to have as a reference work when you have reached your goal!
Step 2: Objective and reward
When you have got clear to yourself where you went wrong, it is time to write down your goal plus the reward when you have achieved it. How much do you want to lose weight (calculate your BMI) and what is your gift to yourself when you have succeeded?
| Reward five kilos weight loss: | |
| Reward ten kilos of weight loss: | |
| Reward fifteen kilos weight loss: | |
| Reward 20 kilos weight loss: | |
| Reward five and 20 kilos weight loss: | |
| Reward thirty kilos weight loss: |
You already have a lot to look forward to, and losing five kilos is actually not that difficult at all. I've managed it many times, only I kept eating them off afterwards. Now the trick is to persevere!
We are going to lose five kilos together and when we have succeeded, we will just do it again. And again. Just until we reach our target weight!
Step 3: What do you note and when?
Every day
| Breakfast: | |
| Snack: | |
| Lunch: | |
| Snack: | |
| Dinner: | |
| Snack: | |
| Motion: | |
| Map: | |
Every week
| Weight: | ||
| Waist in centimetres: | ||
| Abdominal circumference in centimetres: | ||
| Size of hips in centimetres: | ||
| Upper leg circumference in centimetres: | ||
| Lost weight this week: | ||
| Striking? | ||
>HERE you will find the ideal tape measure. I use this one myself. You can find cheaper ones, but they are made of less sturdy material and break easily. This one works absolutely fine.
>DIT is the scale I also use myself. Strong and accurate.
Every month
| How much did you lose in total? | |
| Have you achieved any of your goals? | |
| How many cm have you lost in total in terms of chest size? | |
| How many cm have you lost in total in terms of waist? | |
| How many cm have you lost in total in terms of hips? | |
| How many cm have you lost in total in terms of thighs? | |
| How do you feel about this? | |
| What did you do for it? | |
| Have you gained weight? If so, how much? | |
| How is that possible? | |
|
How do you think you can start doing something about this? (Ask the cards for advice, if necessary) |
Step 4: Coach cards
Do you plan to work with coach cards as I do?
The slimming advice at the cards are written on The Rider Waite Tarot, but I personally think it is also very cool to use The Tattooed Tarot as coach cards.
Despite the Rider Waite symbolism missing from many of these cards, the meanings still appear to match the illustrations.
The physical aspect of this deck makes it very suitable as a slimming tool. In short, I am very excited!
The Tattooed Tarot can be found >HERE
The Rider Waite Tarot can be found >HERE
Don't feel like working with maps at home yourself?
>HERE draw your own coach cards online for free.
Don't feel like playing cards at all? Fine too, without them, balancing works very well too.
TIP: Buy a nice dopper so you always have fresh water within reach. We are going to have a lot of drink! Fine doppers in all kinds of colours can be found >HERE
The above text previously appeared in the Balance book. The book is now sold out, but may still be available to order second-hand via the link below.
Slimming blog >HOME.
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