Originally Posted on Feb 26th, 2019.

You’re busy, you’re stressed and tired. You’re fed up with all the conflicting and misleading information out there regarding fat loss and you want someone to give you an easy quick fix to lose body fat, feel energised and less stressed.

Well the bad news my friend is that there are no long term quick fixes to fat loss. You will have to be consistent with your good habits and may even have to adopt better habits to get the results you’re looking for.

The good news, is that if you really want to do something that will move you closer to your goals, then there are simple habits that you can adopt and here are three simple things you can do TODAY.

1.THROW AWAY THE SCALES

The scale can be a useful measuring tool at the start of your fat loss journey. What gets measured, gets managed after all but relying on a number on the scale can be quite debilitating, psychologically challenging and counter productive to your goals. Not least because you’re attributing your mood, indeed your happiness to a number that tells you how HEAVY your body is and speaks NOTHING of how much of this number represents water, muscle or body fat. My advice would be to get off the scale and measure your progress by taking full body photographs and by how your clothes fit. Better yet, buy a belt and mark on it every time you come down a notch. I find this much more useful than scales and it can be very motivating to see your physical progress instead of relying on what is essentially an arbitrary number. 

2. DRINK A LARGE GLASS OF WATER WITH LEMON JUICE

We’ve all been told to drink plenty of water, right? Are you drinking enough? Water increases brain power and provides you with energy as well as helping your system to flush out toxins. Staying hydrated basically supports the proper functioning of all of your body’s organs. Next to air, we cannot survive without water and that's the bottom line. That fact alone tells us how important water is to our system. 

Amongst a myriad of benefits for your body, the juice from a fresh lemon added to water boosts your immune system, reduces inflammation and helps to balance acid levels in your stomach. Lemon water is also a great alternative to artificially flavoured, higher calorie drinks and best of all, it increases the body’s metabolic rate. The higher your metabolism, the more body fat you will burn.

Do you experience frequent brain fog?

Lemon also improves brain function and mood because the potassium and magnesium contained within lemon juice helps with mental clarity and focus. This could help you to stay focused on making the right nutritional choices for your fitness goals.

Adding lemon to water doesn’t have to be fancy but you do have to make sure you squeeze that lemon within an inch of its life! There’s no point adding it if it’s just going to float on top of your water.

If you don’t currently have a lemon within reach, make sure to pick up a few next time you’re in the fruit isle at the supermarket. In the meantime, I know you’re not the kind of person that would use not having a lemon as an excuse not to at least go now and have a large glass of water, are you?

3. GET MORE SLEEP

Sleep plays a very important role in your physical health. Again, you know this, right? But did you know according to dietician Joe Leech, poor sleep is strongly linked to obesity for example because poor sleep affects hormones that regulate appetite. The bottom line is if you’re trying to lose body fat, getting quality sleep is absolutely crucial.

Here’s the science. You need sleep to allow your body to heal and repair your heart and blood vessels, grow muscle and make hormones as well as improve immune function.

Lack of sleep can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Further, lack of sleep can lead to reduced insulin sensitivity, increased inflammation and depression.

When you’re exhausted, overwhelmed and stressed, even the simplest of tasks can seem challenging. Getting more sleep can help you demonstrate more patience in challenging situations, maximise problem solving skills and enhance memory.

If you’re learning how to eat properly, exercise and sustain good habits that will lead you to achieving your goals, you’ll surely want to maximise brain function to help keep you on track and if you’re over 18, getting between 7-9 hours of sleep every night would be a good habit to get into.

One reason why many people fail in their fat loss attempts is because they feel overwhelmed. They feel they should have everything in place first in order to get going. Meaning, they wait until they feel better informed or until they have a gym membership. Some are still waiting for Monday to start eating nutritionally.

What are you waiting for?

The good news is that you can strip back the confusion and keep things simple with these three things you can do today that will help you accelerate your fat loss. So in a nutshell: throw away the scales, drink lemon water and get more sleep.

Have you poured that glass of water yet?

Your daily lemon water drinking coach,

 Need help with getting unstuck so you can lose your first (or next) 30lbs without giving up on yourself this time? Schedule your free call with me to see if coaching is right for you. 

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