Have 'a plan' but don't be 'on a plan' ... my top tips for creating a healthy lifestyle

I've talked at length on my blog about how I did The Body Coach SSS Plan back in April 2016, it was excellent and I lost 1 stone and 17" but the most important thing that I found from doing it was a desire to learn and understand about nutrition and exercise and how to be healthy as well as maintaining a healthy body composition.  It led me onto other things.

I learnt that 'diets' don't work.

I learnt that you don't need to be 'on a plan' you just need to 'plan' properly.

I learnt that sleep and controlling stress are just as important for fat loss as what you eat.

I learnt that you don't need to be afraid of carbs or demonise a particular food, you just need to find balance and be sensible.  Yep it's that 80/20 rule of which more later.

I learnt that exercise can help you feel amazing but that losing fat is mostly about what you eat - if you consume too many calories it doesn't matter how much exercise you do, you will still be overweight..

I learnt that finding the right mindset is essential - you have to want to do it, you have to believe in yourself, you have to let go of limiting beliefs, you need to surround yourself with positive people.

I learnt that scale weight is not the be all and end all of it!  Yes we say we want to 'lose weight' but what we actually mean is that we want to be smaller, slimmer, feel better in our clothes, wear a size (or few) smaller - they all mean the same thing, we want to feel confident and happy in our bodies.  It is perfectly possible to weigh more but be smaller and leaner - yep really!  What we really want is to lose fat and look leaner.

I learnt that exercise and step count does not need to dominate  your life.  Just move more, get out in the fresh air, go for a walk, do some exercise you enjoy but don't feel like it needs to take hours or take over - it's all about balance again.

I have learnt that confidence and acceptance is key.  I am learning to love my body and my figure.  I am learning that I am good enough.

I learnt you don't need to go hungry.

There is so much more that I could say!!

I learnt that fundamentally we need to plan ahead, create healthy habits that we can stick to and have a happy, balanced approach to life.

Joe Wicks aka The Body Coach has updated and re-launched the SSS Plan - it is now called just the 90 Day Plan, it is cheaper (£97), it is simpler to follow and the exercise element is quicker.  He's listened to advice and acted on it.  And in January it was free to those that have already 'graduated' from his plan - so me!  So I got it.  For me it is basically 90+ recipes and pick n mix food in quantities specifically tailored to me.  It is also gives me links to workouts that I can complete at home without having to search You Tube or make my own up - it removes some of the thinking.

But being 'on a plan' has a start and a finish and we don't need a start and a finish if we are going to create a healthy lifestyle.  So I will be using the recipes and the workouts and I will be planning ... putting exercise sessions into my diary to make sure they happen, I will create a weekly meal plan rather than just winging it, I will create long term habit changes.

Now calories in (what we eat) and calories out (what we burn) is a priority if you are going to 'lose weight' (I wish I knew what other term to use - it is really 'fat loss' that we want) - and that means logging what you eat - mostly on My Fitness Pal BUT I hate doing that - I am a rebel and I personally think life is too short but if you are really serious about losing fat then you really do have to do that (at least to start with) - or you follow recipes where quantities are worked out for you or you have to find some other way to 'measure' your quantities - there are other ways!  

So I have said goodbye to the MFP app.  I am not a detail person and it annoys me - it is more time relying on my phone and I want to spend less time on my phone.  That is why having the recipes with quantities from the The Body Coach plan is going to be very useful for me - but as I get better at creating a lifestyle I will I hopefully know what quantities I can eat to maintain - simply by looking at what is on my plate.  Or I can use this rather clever portion size guide ...

This one is from Bev at Floresco Fitness and Fat Loss Coaching or join her group at Fifty, Fit and Fabulous for lots more information.

Last year I spent quite a few months learning all about nutrition, mindset and movement through an online education programme.  It is enlightening!  

Bev also has an excellent new programme running - called Floresco Diamond Coaching and it is a habit change approach - change our habits, change our lives.  Do take a look!  And read more on my blog here.

And don't forget to read Dr Chatterjee's book, The Four Pillar Plan.

Seriously don't sign up to Weight Watchers or Slimming World (or any of the other mainstream diets) again, they don't work on the long term.  There are much better alternatives now.  Educate yourself, learn about nutrition, learn about movement and learn how to get the right mindset.  You will never look back.

​I know I can be a bit repetitive with my message - but honestly I hope that if I can inspire just one person to ditch the diets and change their lifestyle then it will have been worth it.

I have - come and join me!

Love Michelle xx

This is not me, it is from pinterest but it is proof that (a) fat takes up more space that muscle so you can weigh more but be smaller and (b) scale weight is irrelevant.