AS another new year begins, many people will be making the same resolution – to shape up and get fit for 2023.
But a fitness pro has shared the one mistake everyone falls victim to time and time again when trying to lose weight, plus how that can be avoided in the coming months.
Sarah Bockhart, an expert from fitness and wellness app RWL – which stands for Results Wellness Lifestyle – said it takes a simple mindset shift to achieve the results you really want.
The personal trainer and head nutritionist for the brand explained in a video on the brand's Instagram account: “This is probably the biggest mistake you could make with your diet in January.
“The one thing that people do in January is over restrict.
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“Yes, we’ve had loads of Christmas food in abundance and we’re probably sick of it now, so we want to start eating a little bit more healthily.
“But what we do is go into the New Year absolutely restricting everything, eating everything out of our cupboards so that it doesn’t exist anymore, and banning all those foods.”
Sarah then said that this inevitably leads to failure and should be totally avoided.
She went on: “And what happens? You then end up wanting them again.”
Further exposing the problem, Sarah continued: “Yes, an aggressive calorie deficit can get you results quicker if you can stick to it.
“However, they’re quite hard to stick to which means they’re unsustainable, which means you end up overeating and you go round and round in this cycle of yoyo dieting.”
Sarah continued to lift the lid on the right way to go about your resolution and how you could see genuine and lasting results.
She said: “So here’s what you do.
“You use the fact that you’ve had food available in abundance at Christmas.
“And the fact that you want to now start making more goal orientated choices to go forward in your diet without restricting any foods.”
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She added: “Focus on what you can add in, not what you can take out.”
Sarah said this includes not banning a particular food group, as it has the reverse effect and actually makes you crave it more.
After her motivational speech, she concluded by offering up her final helpful tip.
She said: “You still need a calorie deficit to burn fat, but you don’t need to ban anything.
“Focus on what you can add in and get excited about what you can achieve.”
