Ilse aka Miss Healthy &Happy has lost more than 15 kilos since the beginning of this year. She shares some of her wise lessons with Santé.
Who is Miss Healthy &Happy?
January 2, 2015, the day the switch was turned for Ilse aka Miss Healthy &Happy. Just in her thirties, a busy owner, Brabant Burgundian, crazy about cats, creative, travel addict and oh yes, she is overweight. Her mission:to lose 33 kilos to reach a healthy weight again. She has now lost more than 15 kilos and with her blog she informs, inspires and motivates countless other women (and a few men!) during their own battle against the kilos and healthy lifestyle.
The right mindset
Ilse : This week I want to talk about mindset. And especially about how it has changed in recent months. I notice more and more that I have really made great strides. Really… Losing weight is really a journey in which you get to know yourself and see yourself change both inside and out.
A healthy lifestyle
I can truly say that I have now taught myself a healthy lifestyle. And no, that does not mean that I will never eat sweets again and only eat greens and drink smoothies. I estimate that 80% is really healthy and 20% not so healthy. But let me tell you a big secret; in my opinion this is really the only way to lose weight successfully; tackle your lifestyle! With this I mean; teach yourself a healthy diet (which can be maintained forever) and get moving.
The button to
I've actually done just about every diet in the world, but I've never felt as successful as I do now. And I'm not talking about a few kilos in a certain time frame or something, but being successful now has to do with a switch that is turned on, really a (lifestyle) change that you make. I'm not saying that all diets are bad, really. Some are even interesting in my opinion, but I am now talking about the mindset aspect when people want to lose weight, because in my opinion that is really very important.
Be kind to your body
If you are overweight, you have a problem… an eating problem (of course there can also be other reasons such as illness, but I can't talk about that right now). With some people that problem is a bit bigger than with others, but the bottom line is that you don't have a good balance in your eating pattern. And especially not a good relationship with food. At least, let me relate it to myself because I don't want to shave everyone with the same brush. In my opinion, to lose weight successfully, you have to work on your mindset. It must be such that you really want to take good care of yourself. Not by going hungry, not by forever counting every calorie you put in your mouth, not by going on a crash diet, not by going on a certain diet that you follow for a while and then when that period is over, you just go back. revert to your old bad diet. We don't want that, because that just caused those excess kilos. That is why I would like to give you some tips to lose weight successfully. Hope I can help you turn that button too.
1. Set realistic goals
It's fine to set a target weight, but if it's still a long way off – like me – then cut your goals into chunks. You simply cannot climb a mountain of 3 km high in 1 step. Oh yes, and reward yourself with 'awards' and give yourself a nice gift for every 5 kg (or other amount of course). For example, when I had lost almost 5 kg, I saw a beautiful bag that I immediately bought and awarded it as 'my first 5 kg weight loss bag'. When I lost 5kg I was allowed to use it and every time it reminds me of my first weight loss. My awards are always tangible things so that they always remain (a nice manicure is gone after a few weeks, very nice moment of pampering of course but not permanent, unless you give yourself an annual subscription with the beautician.)
2. Give yourself and your body the time to lose weight in a healthy way and thus achieve your goals
Losing weight is not an exact science, so just do your best but don't give up if your weighing result is disappointing despite your efforts. I know, this is hard, but it also gets better and better the further you go. But I admit:this is still difficult for me. What is important is that you learn to eat healthy, you teach yourself a new behavior and take good care of yourself.
In case of disappointing results, check with yourself whether there is room for improvement, what your pitfalls were in the past week, what did not go so well, and - here it comes -:how you can do this better next time. You may end up crashing into the same pit ten more times, but the trick is to just climb back out and stay out as long as you can. It is also possible that your weighing results are disappointing because you 'just' retain moisture, making it seem like you didn't do your best. So there isn't always something you can do. Then remember that you have taken good care of your body for at least another week with healthy food and exercise. That's worth something, isn't it? Will the scales be okay.
3. Be strict with yourself, but don't punish yourself if things go wrong
See your mistakes as learning points that will help you do better next time. This way you get closer and closer to your goal step by step. These can be all kinds of (interim) goals, large or small. If you are too hard on yourself, this (at least it was with me) results in a relapse, because you eventually "can't take it anymore". One bad evening turns into a whole weekend when you give up, a whole weekend turns into a bad week. A bad week turns into a month. Before you know it, the year is over and you've gained weight again (something with a negative spiral). I know dear readers, BEEN THERE DONE THAT. Story of my life! (But not anymore!) So stop that quickly and teach yourself a healthy lifestyle that you can keep forever!
4. Never feel sorry for yourself
In the beginning, it's really hard to "ban" yourself certain foods. Although that is not necessary per se, but some things I do not eat on purpose. I just want to kick some things off a bit, so that I can fully enjoy it once I get closer to my healthy weight. Don't feel pathetic because of that. You are not pathetic. You used to have too much of 'that', so you are now in the situation you don't want to be in. Pity so, suck it up princess &keep going. You should see it as 'I better not eat this now because it doesn't take good care of my body', and 'I want to take good care of my body so I'll stay away from it for a while'! Think positively instead of negatively! That thought often helps me when I feel like something unhealthy, then I think about how unhealthy it is and that is not very nice for your body of course. And, being nice =nice, also for yourself anyway! Keep that in mind.
5. PLAN! A goal without a plan is just a wish
Plan your exercise moments, plan your eating moments and use your agenda for this. For example, do you have to go to the next appointment fairly quickly after work? Make sure you already have something ready at home that you can eat quickly. Do you have dinner? Then make sure you don't go there hungry and eat a healthy cup of homemade vegetable soup at home before you leave. Long day? Make it easy on yourself and plan ahead and do some preparations at a quieter time. For example, cooking soup on Sunday afternoon, preparing food that can go in the freezer, so that you only have to defrost and warm it up at busy times. Are you going to move a lot? Then don't eat a bowl of spaghetti beforehand. You suffer from this during exercise and you can no longer get the most out of your workout. You get the point right?
I hope my tips can help and inspire you. Do you have questions? Then reassure them, I like it when I can help you make that switch to a healthy lifestyle. Will you follow me on my journey to a healthy weight? I still have a little more than half of my mission to go so all support is welcome.
Love,
Miss Healthy &Happy
www.misshealthyandhappy.com | Facebook | Instagram
ps. Did you know that I also have (healthy, easy and very tasty!) recipes on my website? I love being in the kitchen to make my recipes. I like to share my most popular recipe with you; a healthy brownie.'
