Working smarter not harder is the key to losing weight this year

Does the process of losing weight feel like being in a boxing match? You are winning some rounds and being knocked down during others, and every time you get back up, your resilience gets lower and the next round seems tougher. Pretty soon you find your motivation, energy and desire gone leaving you burnt out and reverting back to unhealthy habits.

How to work smarter not harder to lose weight

The majority of people on their weight loss journeys experience this at some point; it’s a widely occurring phenomenon called ‘upregulation’. Upregulation is the rallying of resources to give your goal/task your best, which requires a lot of energy in order to increase low levels of arousal or motivation.

Due to the resources being used in large amounts, upregulation increases exhaustion, which increases stress, which increases the likelihood of making unhealthy lifestyle choices. Sound familiar?

In order to fix this, neuroscientist’s looked at homeostasis- the ability to maintain equilibrium between brain and body and your environment. Thus they created the term ‘homeostatic value’ to describe the value that actions have on creating and maintaining this equilibrium. When this balance is out of whack, it can create burnout that has a ripple effect on other problems.

If you want to rebuild this equilibrium in order to work smarter this year, you can! It’s about working hard, then stopping to recover and then trying again!

So you smashed your goals so far into the new year but you’re running out of stream! Instead of forcing yourself to continue trying to stop and practice actions with a high homeostatic value such as:

• Using the 3, 5 or 10 minute MIND.BODY.BREATH sessions in our app for guided meditation sessions
• Using a gratitude journal to reflect on what you are thankful for
• Taking time to picture who you were and where you want to be and how failure along the way may look
• Going for a walk, run or swim with the intention to unwind and relax, not burn calories.

The key to recovery is to take short sessions of breaks where you can divert your attention from the task at hand, then start again.

You may find yourself back at square one or you may not, you may take a few goes at finding your equilibrium or it may be a revelation and you find your perfect balance. There are lots of uncertainties. What is sure though, is that this is not an easy journey and that you are supported by The Healthy Mummy to make the best choice possible for your body and mind.

Read 6 tips to get and stay motivated.

Read how to silence that negative voice in your head and succeed.

Kick-start your weight loss journey with the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

If you are interested in kickstarting your weight loss and want to improve your energy – not to mention – improve your overall health and wellbeing – our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is an awesome program to check out. 

Our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge includes:

• 28 days of at home exercise routines (no gym needed) – with video instruction
• Customisable and breastfeeding friendly meal plans (including a 7 day cleanse)
• Challenge combines Pilates exercises with interval and circuit training (HIIT)
• Suitable for basic to advanced fitness levels
• Home to thousands of EASY-TO-MAKE recipes!

To learn more about our 28 DAY WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE CLICK HERE