Lose A Stone Before Summer?

The sun is out, it’s the final bank holiday in May and from my experience as a nutritionist & weight loss coach this tends to be a time of year that people dive into the pursuit of weight loss.

First things first… I cannot stress enough that I don’t think anyone should feel pressured to look a certain way when going on holiday or to events throughout the summer and you absolutely shouldn’t pin your enjoyment on how you look. One thing I do agree with though, is that everyone wants to look and feel their best at this time of year and there is a wonderful level of self confidence and body confidence that comes from proactively looking after yourself. So instead of googling the latest quick fix, why not from today, commit to some nutrition and exercise habits that are going to make you feel great.

A lot of people reading this WILL embark on diets and weight loss attempts right now so let’s try and make summer 2023 the year we do weight loss in a healthy way.

Time Check

29 days until Official British Summer time starts (21st June)
62 days until UK school holidays start (24th July)

Everyone's time lines will be different but we in theory have between 29 & 62 days to “get in shape for summer”

If you were to aim for a healthy weight loss of 1 - 1.5lbs per week then this would mean you would achieve between 4 & 6lbs in 29 days and between 9 & 13.5lbs by the time schools break up. That's going to feel a lot different and won’t require any dramatic food restrictions.

Interested? Here's how I’d do it

Start now! Not tomorrow, not next week, not after the bank holiday. NOW!

Keep a food diary and audit your food intake. Be critical and be honest, do you graze all day and over consume snacks? Do you have dessert every evening? Are weekend calories being doubled or tripled by alcohol consumption and the food that often comes with this? Identify your problem and you’re halfway there.

Plan your week (or a few days at a time). A lot of people fall down after busy days when food isn’t planned and there's not much choice in the house, don’t be the person who does 6 laps of the kitchen snacking on what’s in the cupboards whilst wondering what to eat.

Think about what’s on your plate. If you can aim for around 50% is veg, 25 - 30% protein & 25 -30% high fibre carbs then you aren’t going far wrong.

Prioritise hydration. Aim for 2 litres of fluids per day (water is best but herbal teas, diet soft drinks and sparkling water also count).

Plan your exercise, make it a non-negotiable and plan times and frequencies that work best for you. If you can sneak 1 extra workout in during a fat loss phase, awesome, but this isn’t essential.

Most importantly too, ask for help. You don’t have to do this on your own and even though weight loss habits can often be simple it doesn’t mean they’re easy. Reach out and let's work together to get you feeling your absolute best this Summer!

Hannah