How Did I Get Here?
If we’re going to fix this ‘belly problem’, then perhaps the best place to start is by asking how it got this way in the first place. What series of events led to you gaining the weight and letting yourself go? Perhaps with that knowledge, we can then reverse the process and get back on track. I’m speculating here, but I’m going to take a stab at how you found yourself with this unwanted flab.
Because for most of us, we weren’t always that way. Most of us were fairly toned
and fit when we were in our younger years but then things changed. We got older
and then we started to get tired.
Hormones don’t help – hormones make our metabolisms slow down as we get past 25 and suddenly it becomes much harder to keep the belly fat off.
Not only that, but we start spending more and more time at work in the office and
pouring more and more energy into that work. Then we get married, get a mortgage,
have kids…
Suddenly, the amount of free time we have to ourselves dwindles down to almost
nothing. If we aren’t changing nappies, answering angry phone calls out of hours,
coming home late or doing the dishes, we’re crashed out on the sofa exhausted.
And stress is another thing that can contribute to weight gain. Stress increases
cortisol, cortisol makes us hungry and it stimulates ‘lipogenesis’ or fat storage.
Gradually our gym regime takes a back seat and soon after that, our diet takes a back
seat too. We start eating what is convenient and affordable and slowly life chips
away at our fitness.
And it doesn’t seem like a big deal either. But as we’ve seen it really is, because it
starts to have a knock-on effect in every single other aspect of your life. If you can
take back control of your gut, you can take back control of your life!
So how are you going to get it back?
The Problem is Energy, Not Time
Let’s take a closer look at this issue and see what it really boils down to. Now a lot of people will tell you it comes down to time. They aren’t in shape because they don’t have time to be in shape.
Is this accurate though?
I would argue not. Because if you are like most people, then you have somehow still managed to watch an awful lot of TV
series. Maybe you recently completed the latest season of Game of Thrones. And
then there’s the simple fact that you could wake up earlier.
And there’s the fact that – if we are being completely honest here – eating healthily
doesn’t take that long. In fact it’s very quick and easy to eat a salad, or to eat
whatever you were going to eat tonight sans chips.
The problem isn’t that you don’t have time to work out, it’s that you don’t have the
energy or the inclination. And it’s not that you don’t have time to cook, it’s that you
don’t have energy. Furthermore, you feel like you need a pick-me-up. Something that
can help you to get yourself up and running again – and fish just doesn’t cut it.
Fish after a long day at work just doesn’t cut it.
This is straightforward calorie tracking. We’ll see why this can work and why it’s really just very simple math.
But I want you to keep this chapter in the back of your mind because we’re going to
be coming back to it. You’re going to see later on that your lifestyle makes it hard to
cut calories and that you need to have a rethink if you’re going to win this war on
your belly!
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