4 Fundamental Traits for Successful Fat Loss

The dieting world is notorious for fads and quick fixes, a dramatic attempt to convince you to drop ‘X’ amount of kg’s in ‘X’ amount of weeks.

Except quick fixes rarely go to plan and generally result with you in a worse position than when you started.

There are multiple challenges that come with undertaking a fat loss phase, which is why maintenance of results can be hard to come by.

Have you ever told a friend you’re committing to a diet only to hear…
‘Oh no, but you’re fine just the way you are!’
‘Come on, one slice wont hurt’
‘Just live a little!’

Convincing, right?

I’ve taken multiple clients through successful dieting phases, and in my opinion there are two underlying factors that contribute to the success of one’s results.

The first being the coach’s responsibility in developing a well structured plan.
The second, is the onus on the client and relies on their ability to persevere through the physical and psychological challenges that come with the process.

So what are the attributes you need for a successful fat loss phase?

Resilience

Life can be a shit show at times and there will inevitably be moments that have the potential to derail your progress.

Cue ‘fuck it’ moment.

Without resilience, we find ourselves taking one step forward and two steps back each time something takes a turn for the worst.
Catastrophizing and wallowing in self pity never did anyone any favours and it sure won’t help you out here.

The resilient dieter sets up structures and routines that can support their goal, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
They are then able to comply with these action points on a daily basis, even in the context of a less than ideal environment.

Adopting a resilient approach, means that despite your external circumstances, you are able to return to a baseline level of fundamental habits and behaviours that are in alignment with your goal and keep you progressing further.

Solution Focused

Have you heard the saying ‘when it rains it pours?’
We can apply the same concept to the compounding impact of our mindset when it comes to troubleshooting various challenges in our fat loss journey.

You get what you focus on, and the people who are able to have long term success are those who focus on their solutions opposed to their problems.

It can be easy to slip into a vicious cycle of complaining about what’s going wrong and what can’t be done.
Realistically, that only keeps us heading in one direction.

Adopting this approach requires a conscious shift in our internal dialogue and is dependent on our ability to flick the switch and choose another thought.
In order to shift this perspective, we need to call ourselves out of the self talk that no longer serves us.

Each time you catch yourself using the following phrases, swap for the latter.
‘I can’ for ‘I can’t’
‘I will’ for ‘I won’t’
‘I could’ for ‘I should’

Make the conscious decision to focus on the possibilities and solutions of each potential hurdle you face. Not only will this put you in prime position to move through them with less resistance but feel empowered in the process.

Process Driven

I get it.
Your results are important and the outcome is the gold medal.

However, all too often, romanticising the outcome can be the very thing that deflects from the process.
We can get so caught up in where we want to be, that we seemingly forget about the simple, mundane daily tasks that will get us there.

Neglecting the daily habits we need to achieve our outcome often means employing irrational methods in pursuit of the long term goal.

The end goal is sexy. It’s exciting and it lights us up.
Hitting your step goal and sleeping 8 hours each night? Not so exciting.

Although the emotional investment in the outcome is high, becoming attached to the result without prioritising the steps to get there is a one way ticket to burn out central.

Use your energy to prioritise the daily tasks that will get you there and let the process work it’s magic.

Ability to Reflect

Self reflection can be tough.
We need to put our ego aside and be critical of our choices and behaviours which can be uncomfortable, however, vital to long term success.

Reflecting on behaviours requires us to take ownership of the process and our results.

Drawing conclusions and reflection are two different processes.
‘I didn’t get my steps up because it was raining’ is a conclusion.

‘It was raining, which made it challenging to get my steps up but I can check the weather and scheduled my time better’ is a reflection.

By doing this we can release those behaviours that no longer serve us and invite us to choose differently in the future.
Successful dieters are the ones who can identify when their behaviours don’t align with the outcome and take ownership for those choices.

Like any achievement worth having, the choice to diet comes with many obstacles.

Embodying these traits will enable you to navigate the process rationally, make choices that align with your outcome and influence the perspective shifts required to make strides with your physique and get that gold medal.