You can't keep doing the same thing every day
And expect a different result!
Humans: We are such creatures of habit!
It is so easy to get habitual with your eating too. I am a big fan of routine and structure and there is nothing wrong with eating similar food at the same time each day – unless you are stuck on a weight loss plateau.
Plateaus are a normal part of weight loss. It’s important to remember that fat burning is stressful to the body and your body is always trying to adapt to what you are doing so it can stabilise your weight. This is a great thing when you are at your goal, but a complete pain in the butt when you still have a way to go and the scales won’t budge.
When my clients want to achieve quicker results, I have a variety of strategies I implement, to help shake things up and stimulate their metabolism. One concept that works really well is the 7-day plan. This is a great way to approach your eating each week, particularly if you are stuck on a stubborn stall on the scales.
The 7-day plan can be used by anyone, adjusted to suit their current food plan and weight loss journey.
There are many areas you can adjust to shake things up on a daily basis:
- Amount of carbohydrates
- Amount of protein
- Timing of meals
- Number of meals
- Cutting out certain food types, eg dairy
To create your 7-day plan, choose a couple of these ideas and add them into your week. You can start simply by just adding 1-2 very low carb (ie keto) days into your plan, or you can start cutting down the number of meals you have each day. The options are endless and there is no right or wrong: you just have to try something!
Here is an example of a 7-day plan I created for a client recently. She came for her check-in this week and we were delighted to see she was down nearly 3kgs of fat in a month – her best result ever. This was after repeating her 7-day plan for 3 weeks of the month. Best of all, she found the plan easy to follow and enjoyable.
DAY ONE
3 meals, no snacks
DAY TWO
1 large meal, 1 protein shake
DAY THREE
3 meals, no snacks
DAY FOUR
2 meals, no snacks
DAY FIVE
Zero carb day – 4 small meals-
DAY SIX
2 meals, early dinner
DAY SEVEN
1 large meal, no snacks
What I love about this concept is that it is structured and yet also flexible. You can try it for a week and then change the days around if you think a different order will suit you better. It all depends on what works for you.
There is no crystal ball in weight loss but I definitely know one thing to be true: if you try something different you have a much better chance of getting a different result!
If you’re not sure what the best option is for you, book in for a free phone call and we can have a chat about ideas
