4 Beliefs That Are Preventing You From Losing Fat

Earlier this week I touched on beliefs, more specifically beliefs that are holding you back from your goals.

I have many conversations weekly with successful professionals just like you, who have false beliefs that are preventing them from taking action.

The most common one I hear is time and the beliefs around not having enough time. I get it, many of my clients had the exact same beliefs before we started working together.

The internet can often make you feel that you NEED to go to the gym, 4-5 times a week, for 1.5-2 hours at a time, and you need to eat just protein and salads, six times a day.

So, I don't blame you for thinking you don't have time. It's quite easy to fall into the trap of confirming these beliefs too, and we will get into that shortly.

Now, for the four most common beliefs around time that I come across.

Belief #1: You Have no time for yourself.

When you look at your schedule, it's overwhelming. Meeting after meeting...you barely have time to think.

Your career has left you with no real time for self-care, other than getting your regular hair cuts or beard trims. You have had thoughts about prioritising your health, but you're not doing too badly, you're still alive, you don't feel bad. So, you brush off the idea of focusing on your health and narrow it down to the fact that you simply don't ''have the time''.

The reality is, you can make time, even if it's 10-15 minutes every other day, to build the habit and focus on progressing that over time. When you truly feel like you have no time, you need to set aside the time, schedule it in like a meeting and focus on progress.

Belief #2: Quick Fixes Are The Way Forward.

I see the attraction. That diet promising ''20-30lbs of weight loss in 6 weeks''. You have seen people do it, crash diet and get great results. Surely you can do it too?!

An intense, but, short transformation plan that gets you losing a load of weight before a wedding, family event or holiday. Now that's appealing! Rapid results, even if it's unsustainable, you don't really mind. You just need that ''momentum'' or, maybe you're okay with the cycle of crash dieting?!

Unlikely when it means you'll be dieting forever..

Quick fixes are usually short-lived. ''There are no shortcuts'', is not just a cheesy quote you hear Arnold Schawrtznegger shout in a motivational video. It holds true to almost any situation. Multiple studies have shown that when someone loses a lot of weight, in a short space of time, they are extremely likely to put it all back on.

While quick fixes may look like quick fixes, they are usually the longest way to lose fat. They keep you dieting and believing in a plan that does not work because it gets short-term results. Do you want to keep dieting, or do you want to finally end this cycle? Focus on small habits that compound over time: walking more, eating more meals at home, eating more fruit and vegetables, eating more protein, removing snacks, 15-minute workouts every other day etc.

Belief #3: You Want to Wait Until You Can Fully Focus On It.

I hate to break it to you, but that mindset is why you're sitting here twiddling your thumbs, reading this article and thinking that I've been spying on you. I have been in the exact same place you are right now, wanting to wait for that perfect time when you can ''give it your all, go all in''...

....it will never come. There will always be something that comes up or gets in the way. It's easy to convince yourself that 15 minutes every other day won't be enough. Or, spending 3 hours instead of 6 hours in the gym every week will be ''worse'' for your results.

The reality is, all of our journeys are different, but every single one of you reading this has the time to do better, the time to progress. If, and when, you make the time for the small things, you will soon realise it doesn't take nearly as much as you think to transform your life. Small habits stack and compound faster than you think.

Belief #4: It Seems Like A Big Sacrifice.

Time away from your working day when you could be doing deals, setting meetings or following up with prospects. That might not be a sacrifice you want to make, seeing as your career is heading in the direction you want it to. You've had a lot of success over the last few years, and you don't want to, erm, ''ruin it.''

But, the thing is, what if I told you that by losing body fat and building some more muscle, you could: enhance your brain function, memory, attention, spatial awareness, improve your mood and increase your energy. Don't you think that, maybe, that could propel you even further in your career?

The reality is, you don't have to have one or the other, you can have it all. Your career, social life, family life and a fit & healthy body. At this stage, it's more about you shifting that belief through doing. Taking those first steps, the steps that are easiest for you to take right now.

What do these steps look like for you? What are the two things you could add to your routine?

Yes, you can ignore this advice and go after those intense unsustainable workouts and starvation diets, that will just confirm your beliefs and keep you from ever really hitting your goals.

I am certain that is not what you want, though. Don't be the average person that tries 126 fad diets in their lifetime. Instead, focus on being that person who decides it's time to take the first steps towards ending this cycle for good.

That's all from me today, have the best day ever and we'll talk soon.

Adam