The Real Reason You Aren’t Losing Weight, By a Secret Slimmer
No one knows our plan quite like our Secret Slimmers! Here, one customer shares why neglecting self care could be the real reason why you aren’t losing weight, and shares her 4 top tips to give your self-care routine a boost.
Lists. They are great, aren’t they? Currently I have around 6 lists on repeat in my head. I have the overall to do list. You know the one. The things that ‘absolutely have to get done.’ Urgent and important things such as renew the car insurance, check out what that scraping noise is when I press the brakes and drop my teenage son to his endless social engagements.
I also have a ‘Things that need done in the house’ list. This list has around 30 to-dos, yet I never seem to get beyond the first 4 of laundry, hoover, mop and clean bathroom. I have a To Do list for my pets, I have a To Do list for my teenager that is never ending, and I have a family To Do list which has been elevated in status since my mum had a fall. Oh, and work. I have a work To Do List. You know the thing that actually pays the bills.
Spotted what’s missing yet? Yes, the ‘me’ list. Where jostling for position beside meditate, start a regular yoga practice and do pelvic floor exercises is the never ending ‘to do’… lose weight.
I worked out yesterday that the losing weight ’to-do’ has been on my list for 4 years. 4 freaking years! And I really thought I’d cracked it. I started the New You Plan 6 months ago and to date, I have lost 2.5 stone. Yay me! But. I have another 2 stone to go. However, I have stalled. I have been on and off plan, I can’t seem to get past day 1 at the minute and it is frustrating the absolute life out of me.
I know the plan works and I have found my ‘go to’ products, (Apple and Cinnamon Porridge, Coconut Bar, Vegetable Risotto and Strawberry Shake if you are interested), I am motivated as anything to lose weight (health reasons) so why am I not starting on plan and staying on plan until I lose the remaining 2 stone? We all know that the average weight loss on the New You Plan is a stone in a month. In just 2 months I would be at my goal weight. So why on earth am I not channeling my inner Nike and just doing it?
Well… huge revelation coming your way. Oh the joys of self-reflection. The New You Plan is wonderfully simple right? 4 products. 4 litres of water. The challenge for me tends to come when I don’t actually make time for myself to work the plan. I might delay drinking water because I am giving a lift to someone and don’t want to be too far from a bathroom…only to find myself blipping because I hadn’t met my water goal for the day. Or I over schedule myself and delay my packs only to end up bingeing on the same old stuff. I also can revert from self-care to self-indulgence very easily. ‘You’ve had a hard day… sure start again tomorrow’ is practically a daily mantra. So here it comes. The reason I am no longer losing weight is because it is not a priority for me. Because I am not a priority for me. Ouch. As Lizzo says: Truth Hurts.
You see, by the time I get to the end of my ‘lists’ for everyone else, (who am I kidding I never get to the end), I am exhausted. Emotionally and physically. I Can’t Do It. Whatever it is. Let me give you an example. I have a thing about feet. And every time I am in a discount store, I buy one of those little foot masks for £1. You know, the one with the boots. Now ALL I have to do is walk upstairs, grab a pack and shove them on my feet. Do you know how many times this year I have done that? Twice. Two times in 8 months. The reason why? I am not a priority for me. Yes, still hurts. I realise that has to change. Here’s how I am going to do it.
4 Tips to Improve Your Self-Care and be a Priority (When You’re the One Who Takes Care of Others)
What Is Self-Care?
The term “self-care” often sparks visions of a day at the spa wearing a fluffy robe, with a glass of champagne in hand, chatting with your bestie while a beautician gives you a pedicure. While a spa day, a five-course brunch or a Caribbean holiday sounds lovely, it’s simply not realistic that this vision of self-care can happen daily; nor does it have to.
In reality, self-care is so much more (or less) than this.
Day to day self-care is the basics:
- Getting enough sleep
- Following a healthy eating plan
- Exercising a few days per week
- Spending focused quality time with your partner, children, family, and friends
- Participating in leisure activities
- Doing absolutely nothing
We all know we should be completing these activities almost every day. But unfortunately, many of us don’t tick these boxes, be it because even doing the bare minimum feels inaccessible, or because our many responsibilities leave us with little time for ourselves.
If you’re struggling to make self-care a priority in your life, try these four tips to improve your self-care.
1. Make It a Habit
Depending on the difficulty of the habit, it can take between three weeks and six months to get into a habit of doing something new. Once you’ve chosen your first self-care task, work on it — and only it — until it becomes a habit. Try to schedule the task at the same time each day, or each week so you develop a regular routine.
In time, you’ll notice you look forward to your weekly yoga session, nightly reading or fortnightly catch up with friends. Once this happens, you’re likely ready to add a little more self-care by introducing another task that will, in time, also become a habit.
TFR Task
For my TFR journey I am going to add my packs and water intake onto existing habits. For example, I am going to have my first pack of the day and 1st 500mls of water when I am back from walking the dogs.
2. Book Self-Care Time in Your Diary
Until it becomes a habit, treat self-care time as a set appointment. If you want to exercise more, book it into your calendar. If you want to meditate often, add it to your daily to-do list. Then remember, you wouldn’t skip a doctor’s appointment or an eye test because you had too much work to do, so once it’s scheduled, don’t skip your self-care time either.
Set the time in your calendar to “busy” and don’t book other appointments during this time. Don’t be tempted to constantly reschedule either. Book self-care time, then use it. You’ll thank yourself later.
TFR Task
Try booking your New You packs and water timings into your diary too. This will help you stick to it.
3. Plan Ahead
When you’re busy, planning ahead is essential for maintaining a self-care routine.
When you make healthy decisions in advance, you remove the last-minute decision-making that may take you further away from your goals, like grabbing a takeaway on your way home from work on a Friday evening.
TFR Task
Make sure you have enough packs to last for your time on the New You Plan. And stock up on favourites! It’s easy to ‘talk yourself out of a certain pack’ and into a blip if you don’t really like that particular pack. Plan out what you are going to have and when. If you have a social event coming up, plan how you are going to manage that. Do you plan to stay on TFR? Perhaps eat your packs beforehand. Planning on eating? Schedule a family focus day.
4. Ask for Help
As someone who’s always supporting others, it can be hard to ask for help. In order to make self-care a reality, you must ask for help. Jump onto Secret Slimmers, the New You plan online community for motivation and support. Ask a family member to watch the kids for an hour so you can take some time out. Hire a babysitter. Just because you’re looking after yourself, doesn’t mean you have to go it alone.
TFR Task
Log on to Secret Slimmers!
The Key to Making Self-Care a Reality
The key to adding a dose of self-care into your life is letting go of visions of perfection. Don’t wait until you have a clear social calendar to start TFR. Starting now is better than waiting for the perfect time to start. Prioritise you. Now where’s that foot mask?
Start Your TFR Journey Today!
Getting started is the first step in your journey to a brand New You! To help you understand fully how our plan works, our Get Started page was designed specifically for people new to the plan.
Head over to our site where you’ll find tonnes of important information including how our plan works, the science behind it, loads of top tips, information on our meals, as well as real customer testimonials.
Click here to visit our Get Started page!
