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“New Year, New Me” is the same thing you hear thing over and over again at the beginning of January. But for me this year, I really wanted to change something. I wanted to change my relationship with food and my body. Why?
My relationship with food is not terrible, but not great either. I have always had the mindset of “oh I can have one more” or “a little bit more of that won’t hurt”. I soon realised this was happening more often, and my self control was out of the window.
My relationship with my body is a not-so confident one. I’ve always been considered at a ‘healthy’ weight but up until the age of 18, I have never liked the way I’ve looked. From my figure, to my skin, to my general self-confidence. I wanted to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone, get meeting new people and slowly start to build up my confidence.
I have been on the WW (previously called Weight Watchers) programme for around 2 months now and in full swing with it. So, here are my 5 top tips that I’ve learnt so far.
Tip #1 – WW is not just about losing weight
I didn’t realise this until I headed off to my first class, which has now been renamed as a wellness workshop. The idea of it is to make you think more about just losing weight. They help with setting goals and helping you understand your ‘why’, which I personally really like. I knew that for me, it was more than losing weight.
WW have also introduced a collaboration with Headspace too which I think is great. It’s clear that for WW, it’s more than about losing weight, it’s about the relationship you have with it an improving it. This is something I’ve never considered thinking about when thinking about joining WW, but its a great addition to the plan.
Tip #2 – It’s a long, but worthwhile process
Granted, I have only been on WW for two months, but the changes you see are a slow and steady one, and all for good reason. What drew me to WW in the first place is that they talk about changing your mindset a lot, and that’s what I needed. I could have done a strict diet and training programme for 6 weeks and would see drastic changes, but as soon as that would be over, I know I would be back to my old ways with my eating and lifestyle habits. WW is focus around making long term behaviour changes and being able to enjoy food. That for me was something I would never take away from myself!
Tip #3 – Tracking is vital
It helps with seeing realtime results. There are so many things that you can track:
- Food – The WW app has been amazing for this, and has been a big part of my journey so far. As I’ve said previously, it helps so much with taking hold of and being accountable with what you eat. It definitely helps with kicking the “I’ll have one more” habit.
- Activity – I have the cheapest FitBit there is on the market and it helps with getting to know my daily activity and helps push me do those few more steps to reach my daily goal. It’s also great with tracking sleep.
- Picture Progress – Something I really wasn’t fussed on doing, but something my mum encouraged me to do. These are kept in a secret folder on my phone and I have no intention of posting the pictures anywhere, but they are a simple reminder for me as to how far I have come and the progress I have made. These are really good especially when you are having a bad day or are lacking motivation.
It’s important to remember, that if you’re not honest about what you actually done, the only person you are not honest to is yourself. We all have our bad days. I found it hard to hold my hands up and admit I’d gone off plan or not done any exercise – but the more I track, the more I take accountable of what I am dong.
Tip #4 – Celebrate the good days and the bad days
I am a natural reflector, so for me, I always look back on what I’ve done good and how I could have done something better. I feel like I have been pretty good when it comes to celebrating those mini wins and milestones. I’ll even sometime treat myself to a good ole’ chunk of chocolate bar or a few scoops of ice cream. Either way, I have been good with rewarding myself for the work I’ve done.
When it comes to the bad days I’ve had, they have not been so good. As I said previously, I found it difficult to admit I’d gone off track. I would feel so guilty with myself when I went a few points over my allowance, used my points all up on one meal or even not tracking correctly or at all. But, I soon realised that we are humans… and it is okay to not always be on plan. So, instead of dwelling on it, I decide to treat it as how I would celebrate a mini win, by reflecting.
Tip #5 – Use the resources as much as you can
There is so much great content available as a WW member. Whether that be on the app, at the wellness workshop or on their website. I’ve also bought some of the WW cookbooks which have been great with being more creative with my food (it’s also taught me a bit more around the kitchen too which is a bonus!)
The Connect part of the App is something I really enjoy and use on a regular basis. It’s a great place to not only see what others are up to, but to share thoughts and ideas to one another which helps with keeping motivation high, enjoy celebrating your successes with on another and getting advise when you need it most!
Have you been on WW or thinking about signing up? Let me know what you think!
