MasterFaster Rosie is sharing her top tips.
A Reminder of Rosie’s Story
5 tips for ramping up your results
Now, as MasterFasters, we have a tendency towards complacency. I’ve accepted this and you need to too. Often, boredom leads to complacency and sometimes it’s the simple fact that you’ve achieved your goals. I became a victim of complacency earlier this year, and I gained a few kilos. Since then, I decided to refocus and recommit to my health and fitness. These are the five things I did that helped me shed the last few kilos and really achieve the lean physique I’d been lusting after.
1. Fast a little longer
Back when we first interviewed Megan Ramos of IDM Program (Dr Jason Fung’s co-founder) for the MasterFaster program, she explained the health benefits of longer fasts and so I decided to try an extended fast. Once I did, I got a bit of a taste for them! She was the one who convinced me to give my first dinner-to-dinner fast a shot. And I was surprised how simple and straightforward it was, once I’d made the commitment. The first extended fast I did was 22:2, twenty-two fasted hours and a two hour eating window, which is perfect for dinner followed by a cup of tea, and totally curbed my after-dinner snacking habits. I now do two 22:2 days per week, and I love the results!
Rosie’s tip: if you’re new to extended fasting, watch the video with Dr Megan Ramos and read the blog which explains the different methods. To get started, I’d suggest trying a 16:8 or something similar, and then gradually extending your fasting window each time by half an hour to an hour.
2. Ditch the sugar
Sugar is delish, but it’s ohhhh so bad for you. It spikes your blood sugar levels and is as addictive as anything. On top of which, I’ve found that when I don’t have it, I don’t crave it. But when I do, I find myself reaching for those red frogs, chocolate or cookies more often. It’s a habit like anything, but basically the research shows that the more sugar you have, the more you want. Which is why I’ve started steering clear of it completely. I still have bread and pasta, but I’ve limited refined sugar. And it’s made a big difference to my results and to my overall mindset. I find I eat healthier now than I ever have before. My palate seems to have changed too, so I enjoy simple meals like tuna and salad a lot more than I used to. And the research agrees that reducing your sugar intake will help you lose weight. So if you’d like to ramp up, cutting down on the amount of refined sugar you have is one of my big tips.
Rosie’s tip: try reducing your sugar intake gradually by substituting stevia or Equal. I had half stevia half sugar in my coffee for a while, then gradually it became 3/4 stevia, 1/4 sugar and eventually no sweetener at all. You’ll be surprised what you’re capable of if you just give yourself a challenge.
3. Add weights
The biggest change for me came with adding some resistance training to my fitness regime. And I’m not talking big scary barbells or flexing at gym mirrors either. I invested in some simple 1kg, 2kg and 4kg wrist and ankle weights. They’re great because you don’t have to worry about dropping them, they’re attached to your wrists and ankles with velcro! (And if you’re uncoordinated like me, that’s a godsend!) All I did was strap them to my ankles when I was doing leg lifts or side lifts, or wear them around my wrists when I did bicep and tricep curls. I do three sets of twenty for each, plus three sets of twenty crunches, and just that little bit of weight training has made a huge difference to my weight loss, what size I wear and how lean I am.
Rosie’s tip: start with one set of ten shoulder raises and one set of ten leg curls and add a set of side leg lifts (you can be lying down) if you can. And make sure you do it every day, you won’t get as sore and your strength will increase a lot faster. I just pop the weights in straight after I finish my walk. I’m already kinda pumped from the walk, so it’s a simple add-on.
4. Set a new goal
I realised pretty quickly once I achieved my weight loss goal that I needed to set myself another goal. It’s too easy to become complacent when you don’t have anything to strive for. There’s a stack of research on how goal-setting affects our behaviours, but in simple terms, it pushes us to keep trying. My first goal after I lost the weight I wanted to lose was fitness related. And it was actually a pretty embarrassing goal: I wanted to be able to walk up the hill to the shops from my apartment block. It seems really silly looking back because I take that hill every day now without a second thought, but at the time, although I was slim, I wasn’t fit. Having that small goal encouraged me to walk every day and keep pursuing fitness and health, separately to weight loss. The goal after that was to get my blood pressure down 10 points. Then it was to be able to do three sets of situps. And now, my goal is to be able to run 5 kilometres without stopping.
Rosie’s tip: It doesn’t really matter what your goal is: fitness, health, weight loss… as long as you have one. It’ll encourage you to keep trying. If you need a refresher on how to set goals that encourage you to succeed, read this post.
5. Take more photos
Ok, so this is kind of a weird one, but it worked for me, so I’m going to share it. Take more photos! Photographs are tangible reminders. They’re somehow less subjective than the mirror. I don’t know why, but once I started blogging again and taking more photos for my Instagram, I found myself completely re-motivated to stay fit, healthy and slim. I guess it comes back to the topic of complacency. It’s difficult to be complacent if you know you’re going to have your photo taken regularly. And so doing that encourages you to keep trying and keep achieving. Even if your only achievement is to maintain your weight, somehow having those photos taken regularly keeps you motivated. Regular “after” photos encourage you to give yourself a pat on the back regularly and to acknowledge your own achievements. Take an “after” or “progress” photo every week or so, and you’ll find yourself doing a little “I rock” dance. And so you should!
Rosie’s tip: take your after photo at the same time each week, just after you weigh yourself. I guarantee you’ll feel great and it’ll continue to encourage you to ramp up those results.
What has helped you continue to achieve on your weight loss journey? We’d love to know. Share your best ramping up tips in the comments.