Your three biggest blocks to weight-loss and achieving your goals?

I'm not saying people are doomed or that they fall into one category over another. Not in the least. But what I am saying is that there are trends I see in client behaviours that predict their success or struggle on this path. Let me share my learnings with you!

The "I want it all & I want it now" block

So many people have such unrealistic expectations when it comes to weight-loss. You have had lots of success over many attempts. You lots seven pounds in seven days, you cabbage-souped, you low-carbed, you high-proteined your way through multiple diets with amazing results.

The weight always crept back up though. Why is that? Can you not just give another extreme weight-loss regimen a go? This time you will keep it off. This time will be different!

Well, no it won't!

You starved your body and got immediate results. But you lost water and muscle along with the fat you hoped to lose. You tampered with your metabolism. It slowed a little every time. As a result, the next time, the results were that little bit slower in coming. And so it went.

These past results you want to see now (& ideally, right now) are misleading. They cannot come from just fat in the short-term. It will cost you muscle, your metabolism and in the long-term, your health. We need to be patient for fat-loss. A loss of 1kg/2lbs per week is to be expected (max, if female) after a certain age. Beyond that you're losing the wrong tissue. Important tissue.

When I address this head-on with a client & I get the sense they’re thinking they can do better than what I offer, I feel instantly that they are setting themselves up for failure. Patience pays off in weight-loss. Not everyone wants to hear this! 

The "If I throw enough money at the problem" block

There is no cream, no heat-treatment, no full-body mask that can remove fat from tissues. They may make you feel great (and I am, therefore a great fan of all of the above) and look svelte (due to water-loss) but they will not change your muscle to fat ratio. This is the goal of appropriate fat loss.

The more expensive the treatment, the bigger the claims. Money does not address fat loss. Hard work, consistency and knowledge do! Throw in a decent pinch of motivation to begin with that can be followed by good habits, stacked week on week and time takes care of the rest.

The "This shortcut is bound to be the answer I’ve been looking for" block

There is no pill out there (legal, at any rate) that can lose the bodyfat content you desire. Yes, chilli, green tea, coffee all create a little metabolic boost (of sorts). Is it significant? NO. Are they worth consuming? Yes. They are great for health. But volumes of fat they will not burn.

No supplement can replace the benefits of good nutrition habits. We are complex systems that demand variety in and volume of good food, daily. No shortcuts! There is no elixir of healthful, sustainable fat-loss that comes in any way palatable (injecting yourself for the remainder of your life falls into a different category for the purposes of this blog).