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We are about to kick off our upskill challenge and are totally pumped with lessons and resources we have planned.
When a lot of people hear ‘challenge’ and ‘nutrition’ in the same sentence they automatically think of rigid, prescriptive meal plans, grocery lists and complicated and hard-to-follow complicated steps. Now, don’t get me wrong, our fitness challenge includes layers of accountability and support to help the individual get results, but they are NOT prescriptive.
We empower our members to build essential skills that power change. In the instance of our upskill challenge, we will be embracing small, yet simple behavioural changes around food that feels ‘too easy’ not to do. And that is because long-term chance requires consistency not perfection.
Nutrition and the way we eat is rooted in psychology. But if you have ever tried to ‘out-train’ a poor diet, you know you are wasting your time. The biggest changes to body composition are achieved through nutritional adherence.
Evidence suggests that lasting change happens when you start small and stack good habits and practices on top of one another over time. We find that once you can do the little things well, you build more and more confidence to make other things (that you only once dreamed possible) suddenly feel so mush more in reach. Remember that the tallest of building started from laying one brick…
Over the challenge we will be tackling some critical nutritional areas that will have our challengers building essential skills over time. As you read through this list, you might like to make a note of how you would rank yourself out of 5.
Planning your nutrition does not need to be done with every gram/calorie being accounted for. Nor should it look like 50 portions of chicken and broccoli. It is about looking at your week at a glace, having a direction, being aware of obstacles and a solution around them.
The diet industry would have many women intermittent fasting, slashing carbs or going ‘keto’. In reality, for most people, well balanced, well portioned meal will lead to weight loss. Too often we find ourselves eating when we are not actually hungry, or not stopping eating when we are full. Which bring me to my next point…
Tuning into the eating process is important. In doing so you will have enough time to actually enjoy the food you are eating and give your body a chance to tell you that it has had enough. Removing yourself from distractions, chewing your food more slowly or putting down your fork between bites are all simple tricks that work.
This includes enjoying social situations too. It is important not to lump ‘diet’ with throughs around restriction too. In doing so, you are more likely to obsess about foods, developing an unhealthy relationship with their place in your diet. Changing your mindset to be focused on what you can add (rather than take away) makes the journey more powerful and your results more enjoyable and sustainable too.
If you like the sounds of anything mentioned in this article, now is the time to join our challenge. Enrolments will be closing over the coming days so do not hesitate to reach out if you would like to work with us.
Ange Drake is an personal trainer, women’s empowerment coach and fitness blogger in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. She is the director of one of the few womens’ only strength training gyms in Melbourne, 23W. Ange helps women to learn how to use strength based training, nutritional strategies and a positive mindset to transform their bodies, relationship with food and mind.
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