For all the talk of carb cycling, refeeds, reverse dieting, and the hundreds of other advanced dieting techniques crawling around the internet, there’s only one that trumps them all:
Behaviour Change.
What you repeatedly do (i.e. what you spend time thinking about and the behaviours you consistently execute) ultimately forms the person you are, the things you believe, and the way you look.
Refining your day-to-day behaviours, and setting your life up along the path of least resistance, takes away the struggle of constantly worrying about food, the gym, or whether you’re fifty grams over your carbohydrate allowance for the day.
But, Here’s The Problem:
While ‘eat more protein’ and ‘lift weights’ and ‘sleep more’ is great advice, it’s all a bit vague.
We know we should be doing all those things, just like we know putting our hand into the biscuit tin again isn’t going to help us achieve the body we want.
For real, long-lasting behaviour change, however, we’re going to have to delve deeper.
We’re going to have to dive into the core of what habits and routines and rules will set us apart from the crowd; the specific and clear-cut behaviours that lead to a leaner physique.
So, here are eleven underrated and specific behaviours to help you shed a few pounds today:
1. Close The Kitchen
How many times do you find yourself rummaging through the fridge or cupboards in the evenings wondering how the hell your legs got you there in the first place?
You know you’re full after a hearty dinner yet somehow always end up with a few snacks in your mouth as you settle into another episode of your favourite TV show.
Here’s what you’re going to do:
As soon as you’ve finished dinner and cleared everything away, you’re now going to ‘close the kitchen’.
It’s off-limits. Not for a cup of tea, a quick peek in the fridge, a small tiny teensy-weensy biscuit, or a glass of water.
Feeding time at the zoo is over, kids.
By setting yourself a cut off time each day, where you’re simply banned from entering the kitchen, you won’t find yourself snacking or eating excess calories you didn’t intend on eating.
Bonus points awarded if you padlock your kitchen and give the key to your neighbour until the morning.
2. Delete Food Ordering Apps From Your Phone
Sometimes the last thing you want to be doing is cooking a healthy, protein-rich meal when you could just get a man on a bike to bring you a three-course dinner with a few swipes of your finger and the click of a button.
Ordering takeaways these days is easy.
Installing blockades that make this all-too-simple behaviour slightly more challenging, however, is often the way to go.
It’s time to delete all those tempting food-ordering apps from your phone so the pull of an easy, yet super-calorific and hyper-palatable, meal isn’t as powerful.
Hell, go one step further and remove all those take-away menus from your ‘take-away drawer’ and put a block on all those restaurant websites you find yourself scrolling through.
By again removing those temptations from your immediate sight, you’ll be less inclined to order meals or snacks that will hinder your chances of making progress.
3. Stock Up On Emergency Meals
Convenience and accessibility, or lack of, are two of the biggest reasons people fail to keep up with their desire to ‘stay on track’.
And, while you’ve deleted those food ordering apps from your phone, it doesn’t mean those immersive feelings of lethargy and fatigue have subsided.
By setting aside an afternoon every couple of weeks to stockpile a whole host of nutrient-rich, healthy meals in the freezer for times like these, therefore, is going to be a godsend.
If you’ve only got two or three measly hours to spend on trying to shed a few pounds, make sure meal prep is the task that takes up that time.
You’ll quickly thank yourself when you don’t have to think about what you’re having, how you’re going to make it, or when you’re going to eat it.
It’ll be there, ready and waiting, for you to heat up and eat with a nice big smug smile on your face.
4. BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch)
Someone always wants to ‘pop out’ for lunch or get some snacks for the office or go out for a smashed avocado and matcha latte brunch.
And while you really don’t want to, you’re somehow always tempted.
Until that is, you start bringing your own packed lunch and snacks with you – Tupperware and plastic fork included.
While this may seem like a tradition only elite bodybuilders engage in, the concept of ‘BYOL’ will save on calories, money, and inches around your waist.
That’s not to say you should never indulge in a fun meal-out with colleagues or friends, but the majority of your time should be spent consuming meals you’ve prepared, cooked, and portioned yourself.
Because while you may think you’ll choose the healthy option, nothing will beat eating and drinking food you’ve prepared at home.
5. Never Eat Someone Else’s Food
Seeing food go to waste can be a tough pill to swallow.
Or, you know, if you’re still feeling a bit peckish, mopping up the remains of someone else’s plate – whether it be your partner or kids – feels like the right thing to do.
The only thing this is helping, however, is your likelihood of having to buy a larger pair of jeans.
So, set yourself the rule: I will never eat someone else’s food.
No matter the situation, how hungry I am, how much is left, or how much time and energy went into preparing that particular meal, I won’t consume anything that didn’t originally start on my plate.
Setting yourself these boundaries will provide you with clear guidelines as to what you will or won’t eat, and should you find yourself tempted, always revert back to this mentality.
If you really don’t want to see food go to waste, save it for lunch or as a snack for the following day.
But remember: you will never eat someone else’s food.
6. Drive
You’re driving? Oh, that means you can’t drink right? Good.
And if you’re not driving, you’ve at least got something very important on the following morning that you can’t be feeling like death for.
No seriously, you do.
Drinking alcohol – or consuming any calorific drink – is one of the easiest ways to overshoot on your calorie consumption for the day.
Driving or having a failsafe plan in place that means you can’t drink, however, is the best way around this all too common problem.
Yes, you’ll probably be called all the names under the sun, but if you’re serious about transforming your body, adopting the mindset of a non-drinker is one of the best ways to cut down on any excess calories you simply don’t need.
Hey.
Well done on getting this far through the article. *Round of applause*.
Just a quick note to say I’ve still got long-distance coaching slots available, where we’ll take you through a fat loss journey you can not only stick to but acquire kick-ass and jaw-dropping results.
You know, the ones you REALLY want… HERE
7. Pay By Card For Your Petrol
The petrol station is an absolute haven for shiny chocolate wrappers, crisp packets, and gleaming snack boxes.
Navigating those alluring temptations on your way to pay for petrol can be like attempting to traverse the temple of an Indiana Jones film, having to dodge and elude potential disasters left, right, and centre.
The majority of petrol stations these days, however, have the option to now pay for your fuel by the pump, instead of having to go inside to pay.
By simply adopting the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mindset, you’ll be less inclined to be attracted to any treats that take your fancy.
Change your environment and your environment will change you.
8. A Scoop A Day…
People will spend hours upon hours hunting for the easy solution, and when one is presented to them in a nice shiny protein shaker, they decide, for some reason, it’s not good enough and ignore it.
Whey protein is the ultimate cheat code when it comes to successful fat loss.
High in protein, satiating, easy to take around, simple to consume, and arriving with a plethora of muscle-building and ‘fat-loss’ benefits, there really is no better option than downing a quick scoop or two.
Make wolfing down a quick shake a staple part of your day – whether that be post-training or in that mid-afternoon lull – and you’ll automatically put yourself in a better position to achieve the physique you want.
Whey protein is the shortcut you’re looking for.
9. Sit When You Eat
How many times do you just grab something and ‘have it on the go’ or even consume your dinner in front of the TV?
Because while you should always be sitting down while you eat, eating should be the only thing you’re doing.
Mindless eating will always occur when you’re distracted – whether that’s watching TV, reading, or if you’re in the middle of a meeting.
And that mindless eating will always equate to extra calories.
Sitting down and concentrating on your meal, will not only allow you to fully focus on your hunger signals and your portion size but will also allow you 10-15 minutes of your day to relax, reflect, and take a moment from life’s hectic schedule.
Sit and focus.
10. Buy 5 Water Bottles
‘Drink more water’ is another one of those vague pieces of advice banded around when it comes to successful fat loss and, while not wrong, is often like telling someone to ‘not eat the chocolate’.
If only it was that easy.
So, instead, you’re going to buy five water bottles, fill them up, and leave them in five different places you’ll encounter throughout your day.
The bathroom. The car. Your work bag. Your desk. Your gym bag. The coffee table. Your bedside table.
Whatever they are, make sure you frequently visit them or will at least spend a large portion of time using them.
The aim is to finish all five water bottles by the end of the day.
By separating these, and putting them in places you use frequently, you’ll be best set to make your way through them as opposed to having one large bottle to not only finish but fill up again.
11. Have A ‘Highlight’
Do you ever get to the end of a busy day and wonder what he hell you actually did?
More to the point, you wonder how you went through the whole day without paying any attention to what you ate, why you didn’t exercise, and what you really should have focused on instead?
By using the ‘highlight method’ – taken from ‘Make Time’ by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky – you’ll decide what you want to make time for.
Every day, you’ll choose a single activity to prioritise and protect in your calendar. It happens. No matter what.
When you choose a highlight, you put yourself in a positive, proactive frame of mind.
And whether that’s making your lunch in the morning, having a quick 20-minute workout at home, or buying a piece of fruit on the way to work, by spotlighting just one, super important task you need to complete tomorrow, you’ll ensure you’re already better off than if you were head into the day trying to wing it.
12. Delay Your First Meal
Nothing harms a fat loss journey more than that 3-5pm period where you want nothing more than a nap and a nice big sugar, salt, and fat-packed treat to keep you going until you have to leave work.
Trying to avoid those temptations throughout the day is sometimes nigh on impossible.
Instead of trying to battle that hunger via willpower, however, you’re now going to beat it by delaying your first meal.
It’s far easier to say no to food in the morning than it is later on in the day.
So, by pushing breakfast to 11am/12pm, lunch to 3/4pm, and dinner to 7/8pm, you’ll feel satiated enough that when those cravings hit, you’re not tempted to raid the biscuit tin or chocolate cupboard.
Your favourite fitness influencer may call this ‘intermittent fasting’; we just like to call it being sensible.
Avoid food during the easy times, so when those tough times hit, you’re in the best position to avoid falling into that hunger pitfall.
This Article Was Too Long And I Didn’t Read It – Can You Summarise It Please
What you repeatedly do (i.e. what you spend time thinking about and the behaviours you consistently execute) ultimately forms the person you are, the things you believe, and the way you look.
While ‘eat more protein’ and ‘lift weights’ and ‘sleep more’ is great advice, it’s all a bit vague. For real, long-lasting behaviour change, however, we’re going to have to dive into the core of what habits and routines and rules will set us apart from the crowd; the specific and clear-cut behaviours that lead to a leaner physique.
1. Close The Kitchen – By setting yourself a cut off time each day, where you’re simply banned from entering the kitchen, you won’t find yourself snacking or eating excess calories you didn’t intend on eating.
2. Delete Food Ordering Apps From Your Phone – It’s time to delete all those tempting food-ordering apps from your phone so the pull of an easy, yet super-calorific and hyper-palatable, meal isn’t as powerful.
3. Stock Up On Emergency Meals – If you’ve only got two or three measly hours to spend on trying to shed a few pounds, make sure meal prep is at the top of that list.
4. BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) – While you should never indulge a fun meal-out with colleagues or friends, the majority of your time should be spent consuming meals you’ve prepared, cooked, and portioned yourself.
5. Never Eat Someone Else’s Food – Tell yourself: ‘No matter the situation, how hungry I am, how much is left, or how much time and energy went into preparing that particular meal, I won’t consume anything that didn’t originally start on my plate’.
6. Drive – Driving or having a failsafe plan in place that means you can’t drink, however, is the best way around having to drink unnecessarily.
7. Pay By Card For Your Petrol – By simply adopting the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mindset, you’ll be less inclined to be attracted to any treats that take your fancy at the petrol station.
8. A Scoop A Day… – High in protein, satiating, easy to take around, simple to consume, and arriving with a plethora of muscle-building and ‘fat-burning’ benefits, there really is no better option than downing a quick scoop or two.
9. Sit When You Eat – Sitting down and concentrating on your meal, will not only allow you to fully focus on your hunger signals and your portion size but will also allow you 10-15 minutes of your day to relax, reflect, and take a moment from life’s hectic schedule.
10. Buy 5 Water Bottles – By separating these, and putting them in places you use frequently, you’ll be best set to make your way through them as opposed to having one large bottle to not only finish but fill up again.
11. Have A ‘Highlight’ – Every day, you’ll choose a single activity to prioritise and protect in your calendar. It happens. No matter what.
12. Delay Your First Meal – Pushing breakfast to 11am/12pm, lunch to 3/4pm, and dinner to 7/8pm, you’ll feel satiated enough that when those cravings hit, you’re not tempted to raid the biscuit tin or chocolate cupboard.
How To Win At Fat Loss
Download my FREE eBook on How To Win At Fat Loss and you’ll learn…
- Why everyone usually fails when it comes to trying to shed body fat
- Why you should be lifting weights
- Why calories are so important
- Why weighing yourself is a no-no
- Why mastering nutritional habits are the key to success
All so you can…
- Finally stop failing and start winning at fat loss
- Finally shed inches, drop dress sizes, and actually see a change for once
- Finally transform your body and mind so you’re not constantly battling those dieting demons
- Finally figure out how to lose the fat, keep it off, and flaunt the figure you’ve always dreamt of displaying