Regular poster on here Cyril has asked some very important questions this week, and i think everyone needs to know the answers.
He asks “how much should i lose in the programmes posted here”?
The answer would be that the best way to think about it is in times of inches and body fat. We all have become slaves to the scales over the years, judging our success by a few pounds lost here and there, and when we put a few on, we shoot ourselves in the foot by “stress eating” again. It’s always better to look at your weight maybe once a week, or even once a month.
Once a month i measure clients and if you’re doing this at home, measure key things like your waist, or even better get someone to do it for you. Measure your waist and here’s a good test. If your waist is less than half your height in inches, then you are fit and healthy and likely to avoid serious disease, or at least improve your chances significantly!
For example, if Cyril was 5 ft 10 inches, that would be 70 inches. If his waist was 40 inches, he clearly needs to bring that down under 35 inches to really be close to his better health. If you were 5ft 4 inches, that would be 64 inches, so you would need to be 32 inch waist or below to be really healthy.
This is a simple guide to being healthy and takes all of 2 minutes, if that! Try this test and let me know how you get on. Waist to height ratio has a direct relationship to heart health so this is pretty important you check on this regular.
Plus this won’t play games with your mind! As long as your waist is coming down to the healthy range, then you are making good progress. Chances are too that your weight will eventually come down in relative terms! And you will feel MUCH, MUCH better!
The other question i was asked was about lack of motivation this time of year. The days are short, we are having an unbelievable amount of rain, wind and cold and it’s not even proper winter yet!!!
I would go back to one of my first posts under motivation. The DRIVING FORCE post was pretty powerful i think, and it will remind you of what you really want in life, what makes you do things and i will tell you one big thing i tell all my clients, this time of year IS THE TRUE SECRET of getting in shape. While others are giving up and saying “what’s the point”, here’s the time to absolutely put 200% effort in and really raise your standards!!
Another plus is that you won’t have the post christmas blues of ill health and being so overweight, you will have had a great run in to christmas and really be proud of yourself that for the first time in a long time, you managed to stick to something really worthwhile and you will reap the benefits before and after christmas, TRUST ME!!
Another SECRET for you, motivation doesn’t last!!! Strong structures do and that’s what i am encouraging. Nobody gets out of bed every day feeling amazing, but if you eat healthily, cut out the rubbish, don’t drink alcohol in the week, get to bed early, workout 4-5 times per week, the chances of you feeling amazing are SIGNIFICANTLY better!!
So in summing up, don’t see this time of year as a barrier, see it as another challenge that when you overcome it, YOU WILL GET HUGE AMOUNTS OF SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-CONFIDENCE!! Please, please, please, try it out and let me know every day, every week until Christmas (5 weeks friday) how you get on, are you ready for this challenge and ready to change your life for good?!!!!
KERI
Hi Keri,
This article has really rung bells for me!
As you know I have always been very reluctant to get on the scales.
I know from bitter experience the destructive low I hit if I don’t lose
that pound! All resolutions hit the fan, and I hit the Cadbury’s!!
From now on I will weigh once a fortnight and feel the waistband loosen.
Your guide to waist measurement (half your height) makes such good sense.
Problem is with my current waist measurement , I should be 6’8″ !!
I can only improve.
Thank you for a really interesting article.
Debx
if Cyril was 5 ft 10 inches, that would be 70 inches. If his waist was 40 inches, he clearly needs to bring that down under 35 inches to really be close to his better health.Spot on by there Ker thing is i was 42in but after doing your test i’m 40in,so i’ve lost 2 in’s in say just over a mth.Only another 7 to go then or less……lol.
debs
From personal experience, i know your results have been fantastic in the past, and you did most of that by not letting the scales play mind games with you. The waist/height ratio can work very well for you, and if you are exercising and eating well, your waist is guaranteed to come down to acceptable levels, and you will find that everything else does tyoo, so keep consistent and it will come!
Cyril
Two inches off already is very good, so it won’t be that long before you get in the medically acceptable range, you will feel great when you’re there, and you will be able to look your doctor straight in the eye and tell him you’ve passed a very important medical guide to general health. Plus telling him about the journey you will have taken to get there, this always inspires others!
scales can b very demoralising, can speak from experience. But it is not easy to “Give it up”. I have a scale in every room in the house and in our caravan. Have done the tape thing be4, and yes, it does work without the constant fretting, about putting on a lb or 2 in the same day( weight less in the morning). Did not know about the height thing, will try it. Suppose the moral of this story is GET RID OF THE SCALES. AHH IF ONLY
Great point jean and you are a true expert of every experience there is in weights loss and weight gain. The scales do become addictive, but personally i find the waist thing to be more valuable and less demoralising as you say. The height/waist thing will make a huge difference to you, and will set you an instant target straight away, the same amount of work has to go in to be in shape, and you will soon become very careful on what you eat and drink, as you won’t want your waist to go up again!
good luck and keep it going!
ok Ke, I’m 60 ins TALL, so I should b 30 ins or less waist. Here goes! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK will give it a go, have nothing 2 lose. Have put all the scales on top of the wardrobe. And started on the Slimming World Plan 2 day, so should not get hungry now. Been waking up with hunger pangs. Wont bother u now 4 a month or so, c how things go. In hospital 1st Dec, but will stick to the diet if not the exercise.
Thanx
The constant pressure of scales don’t work too well do they? The waist height ratio will work well for you. Don’t starve eat little and often and put some good stuff into that body of yours!
Good luck!
really bad week last week!!!!! the bloody weight kept creaping up around the 18.6/18.8.but i wasn’t exercising cos of my daughter and my eating was rubbish,cos i could/wouldn’t eat in front of her.But been better eating/exercising and i’m hovering around the 18.2st again so with a bit of luck and hard work i may, NO I WANT to be under it by Christmas day,so fingers crossed ;-)…..
this shows how your body has adjusted cyril, although you went up 4-6 pounds again, it shows that in no time at all, your body reacted by losing it in a blink of an eye. Your mind will play all kinds of tricks with you and want you at times to go back to your old ways of eating and exercising. You’re in a transition stage right at the hardest time of year, ;et’s keep changing and don’t let your mind games from your brain derail your good progress so far.
Let’s keep pushing it right up to christmas!
thats why i’m glad i started this way before now, so at least i’ll have a good head start in the new yr.So look out beach this yr and i’ll be in the photo’s too this year instead of taking them 😉
you are starting to see your mistakes now cyril and you are also importantly getting back on track too straight away, these habits you are developing will become very empowering for you and enable a magnificent start to 2010!!
still hovering around the 18.2 mark so with a bit of luck/hard work this week i may be down to or even under the 18st mark.Cant wait to find out……