We don’t need to be forever on a diet, and in fact weight loss will be much more successful if we’re not. We need to be spending more of our time eating enough, and not in a calorie deficit, and setting ourselves up so that when we are truly ready to focus on fat loss, it is successful, we do it properly and we exit.
When we’re on a diet or in a calorie deficit, our bodies aren’t functioning at our best because all of our energy goes towards the most vital functions. This is a form of stress on our bodies , therefore we produce more of the stress hormone cortisol to deal with this, and it’s just not healthy to stay in this phase for a prolonged period. We also don’t sleep as well, have less energy and aren’t able to perform at our best. 
Our metabolisms slow down when we are in a calorie deficit so if we continue trying to lose fat for too long, we have to drop our food intake lower and lower in order to continue getting results. If we prepare properly prior to a fat loss phase and spend some time ensuring we are eating at a decent maintenance level, we then don’t need to drop calories as low to achieve weight loss. Weight loss will also be much more successful as our bodies will respond to a fat loss phase a lot better as they have spent time in homeostasis – or the ideal healthy state where we thrive. Wouldn’t you much rather lose weight eating 1700 calories rather than 1200? 
Diets or fat loss phases are completely okay, but they need to be planned for, you need to be ready to absolutely commit so that you can do it properly so that you get results and get it done with, and you need to have a planned exit strategy.
What does ‘commit’ really mean? It means to be ready and disciplined to meal plan, meal prep, track your intake (whatever this looks like), be precise and accept that there will be foods off limits. This isn’t the time to try fancy recipes; keep it simple, stick to your plan accurately and one hugely important tip – keep your weekends on track by planning ahead! 
It is so common for people to want to be flexible during a fat loss phase, have their treats and still expect to lose weight. You are far better off committing and going the hard yards for a short time, so that you actually get results and make your effort worth it, otherwise you are going to go through a lot of physical and mental stress all for nothing!
Focus on exiting properly, and THEN you can include some other foods, be more flexible and experiment in the kitchen while you are living at maintenance. 
𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗧𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗦 𝗣𝗛𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧!:
Plan, shop and prepare your meals. Set aside time each week to meal prep.
Include snacks in your meal plan, and eat what you’ve planned. This removes so much of the thinking, stress and other influences around what to eat as the decision has already been made.
Keep meals simple, now is not the time to practice for Master Chef. Mix and match quality protein, slow releasing carbs and lots of veg. Add flavour and zing with fresh or ground herbs and spices, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard and good old salt and pepper.
Plan out your weekend and don’t attend a heap of social events during this time so that you can stay on track! If you’re not on point over the weekend, this can undo all of your progress during the week!
#fatloss #diet #caloriedeficit #haveaplan #mealplan #mealprep #weightloss #results #nutrition #healthyfood
