Grab your cheat sheet |
Weight loss is a journey with many ups and downs. It’s personal to everyone—including you—and sometimes, the struggles are real.
If your journey got off to a flying start but you’ve lost your way recently, don’t worry. It’s common, it’s normal—and there are plenty of practical ways to get back on track. And the best thing to do is…start now.
Putting it off until Monday won’t get you where you need to be. So, it’s time to get out there and start making those healthy lifestyle changes today. We’re with you every step of the way.
Let’s kick things off with a quick word on how you can approach your diet.
The 80:20 diet ‘rule’ explained
Here at PhenQ, we use the word ‘rule’ with a slight pinch of salt. So, perhaps we’ll term this the ‘80 20 eating guide’.
Here’s the general idea…
The concept here is to eat healthily 80% of the time and allow yourself more freedom or indulgence for the remaining 20%. This balanced approach to eating will help you maintain a good relationship with food while smashing your weight loss goals.
In practice, following the 80:20 diet might involve focusing on nutrient-dense whole foods like fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains for most of your meals while allowing for occasional tasty treats in moderation.
Following the 80:20 even loosely will help you stave off feelings of restriction that can lead to binge eating or giving up on healthy eating habits altogether. The key here is to find a sustainable balance that works for you and your personal weight loss needs. You’ve got this.
Get back on track: Practical weight loss tips to get you where you want to be
Overeaten at the weekend?
Fallen off the wagon a while back, and struggling to get back on it?
Not to worry, there are some simple steps that you can take to find your way. And, now you know that taking a balanced approach to your weight loss eating habits is the best way to get back on track (and stay there), let’s look at some practical tips to inspire your efforts.
1. Forget the fad diets
Focusing on creating healthy lifestyle habits is essential when you're trying to maintain weight loss. No ifs, no buts—no compromises.
So, before we dig any deeper, we need to make this clear…
Fleeting fads or obscure diets will not keep you on the weight-loss wagon. They’re not healthy, they’re not sustainable—and indulging in these dead ends will not help you form the healthy habits you need to succeed.
To get back on track and form the new habits that will get you where you deserve to be, it’s important to create a healthy eating plan that’s healthy, realistic, and you can keep up.
Read: Manifesting Weight Loss: Tips and Tricks To Help You On Your Journey
2. Lean on the foods you love
It’s obvious that you should adopt a healthy diet if you want to lose weight consistently—but how do you make healthy choices that you actually enjoy? We’ll tell you.
By following the 80:20 concept (you can tweak this food-munching ratio to your preferences. For example, 85:15 or 70:30), you’ll be able to enjoy weekly indulgences or treats while plating up healthy meals that make you feel good.
Now, when it comes to the healthy part of the eating pie, you should aim for variety, leaning firmly on the whole foods you love (or at least like).
So, if you like brown pasta, whizz up a tasty sauce in the blender, add a bunch of veggies you like, and lightly sprinkle with your favourite cheese for added lip-smacking flavour. If you’re a fan of chicken, go for lean skinless cuts and marinade it with herbs or spice that make your tummy sing. You get the picture.
Make a list of the whole foods you love, find recipes that combine them—and almost everything you eat will be a joy.
Information station…
Here’s a rough breakdown of the key nutrients (a.k.a. macronutrients) you need to keep your daily diet balanced…
- Healthy carbs: 40%
- Healthy fats: 25%
- Lean proteins: 35%
Read: Our healthy snack guide for losing weight and feeling good for extra inspiration on leaning into the foods you love.
3. Prep. Prep. Prep.
One of the best ways to get on track with your weight loss efforts and stay there is to track calories. We’re not saying that you have to obsessively count every single calorie that goes into your system—but loosely crunching the numbers will help.
You can use a free online calorie counter to help you stay within your dietary goals. Once you’re in the habit of counting calories and you’re in the groove with your healthy foods, preparation will be key to staying on course.
By prepping a good portion of your main meals, you’ll hit all of those major food groups while eating well, even when you’re juggling more plates than a clown at a birthday party.
To help you prep your meals with confidence and get the whole family on board, here are some handy guides we put together…
- For quickfire evening meals: Easy 30-minute family dinner recipes
- For grown-up lunch prep: 11 delicious and nutritious lunch prep ideas
- For healthy kid’s lunch prep: Genius kids’ lunch prep ideas
4. Move to make you happy
Did you know? Regular movement is good for your mental health.
We understand that exercise can actually be a big mental barrier when you’re getting back on track with your weight and wellness goals. So, let’s flip the script—for good.
Rather than worrying about taking on sweat-inducing spin classes or huge HIIT training workouts (for now, at least), think about the type of movement that makes you feel good.
Without a doubt, walking is one of the best and most accessible ways to enjoy regular physical activity that will help you shed pounds in a way that suits your schedule.
Then there’s dancing, light jogging, yoga, pilates, jump rope, swimming, rollerblading, cycling, orienteering…the list goes on.
The point here is that motivation is key when it comes to getting back on track with weight loss. Rather than dread exercise, you should look forward to it. And here’s a basic equation to help you with your efforts…
Eating a few fewer calories + moving a little more = a healthy way to lose weight
So, find sneaky ways of burning extra calories by moving in a way that makes you happy, and you’ll get to where you want to be faster than you think.
Read: Low-intensity workouts: Essential tips, ideas & benefits
5. Give yourself a break
Last but definitely not least, when you’re hopping back onto the weight loss wagon, you really should give yourself a break.
Despite your best intentions, sometimes you might slip up with your diet or miss the odd exercise opportunity. But, that’s okay—we’re all human and the odd ‘off day’ here and there really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
To stay on track with weight loss, you have to love yourself. Be compassionate, be patient—and have the confidence to know that as long as you make the right lifestyle tweaks—you’ll reach your destination.
Allow yourself down days, rest when you need to, enjoy the things you love—and you’ll actually enjoy the journey. And when you’re enjoying your journey, great things will happen.
Top tip: Rather than skipping meals if you’re strapped for time, try a meal shake to fill in any nutritional gaps and keep you fueled up.
Community counts…
If you’re worried about gaining weight and walking the weight loss tightrope alone, community counts.
Here at PhenQ, we want to empower amazing people like you to make the right choices and enjoy the success they deserve. Our community is growing—and we want you to join us.
Join us on social media to connect with like-minded weight loss warriors just like you. We’re with you every step of the way.
