"5 Tips" to Help You Stay on Top of Your Weight

It's now 7 weeks into self-isolation for me, and as much as I'm mentally loving this (no stress over rushing from one client to the next and forgetting programs or equipment), physically I'm noticing I'm suffering. 

I'm still exercising my usual 6x a week like before, cooking meals for myself almost daily, and socializing online with friends and clients. But it's just not the same as when I actually need to go outside for work or even social events. Now I can go a weeks without leaving my house (other than sitting on my balcony) and won't even notice it, and on top of it, I mostly only ever wear gym clothes. I can't remember the last time I wore a real bra! (OK, truthfully I'm wearing one right now but it's the third time since I started isolation.)

That being said, last time I wrote about the "5 Habits" to Help you Lose Weight, so this time I figured I'd follow on a similar theme and give you "5 Tips" to Help you Stay on Top of Your Weight. 

Since isolation started, I've had weeks where I follow these “5 Tips”, and weeks that I don't. The weeks that I do, my weight decreases, I notice I'm happier, have more energy, and generally feel better about myself and my surroundings. The weeks that I don't follow the tips, well, those are a shit show. This weekend for example, was a prime example of that. (I found icing I can sort of eat, and I ate two containers with a bunch of homemade walnut brownies. Sometimes you just need to indulge, but trust me, I'm now suffering the consequences of gaining 4lbs in 2 days and feeling heavy, sluggish, and having sudden sugar cravings and crashes.)

So, if you are actively trying to change your body, here are 5 simple tips that I find help motivate me. If you are not currently dieting, exercising, etc. these steps might discourage you, so be careful.

1. Weigh yourself every morning and log it down

This one is pretty controversial but I find it to be necessary. Every morning when you wake up, after going to the bathroom and before showering, eating or drinking, step on the scale, naked. Log your weight down in the same spot daily so you can see it and stay on top of it.

I use a program called OneNote, it's where I make notes for literally every aspect of my life, including this blog. Alternatively, you can write it on a post-it note in your bathroom, or in an actual notebook that you leave there.

The whole point of this exercise is that if you wake up one morning and see your weight is up, you know there is absolutely no cheating that day. If perhaps you weren't feeling motivated to do those extra 15 minutes of cardio after your strength routine, now hopefully you will be. Keep in mind that your weight will vary daily, but give yourself a range to work with.

My weight, for example, regularly varies between 117-121lbs. I feel my best when I'm 117lbs or lower but it's a lot of work to get it there, and even more to keep it. If it happens, it's only ever on Fridays, after a full week of following being mindful of what I'm doing. My weight maintenance strategy is to enjoy myself on the weekends (while still following these "5 Tips"), and then lose everything I've gained during the week (by following these tips and the "5 Habits").

2. Put on body lotion after your bath/shower

This one has several positive benefits: 1) You're moisturizing your skin whereas otherwise you might not, 2) It allows you to have 5-minutes of peaceful/mindful quiet time to yourself, and 3) By simply touching your body all over, it makes you more aware of it. (Maybe a little TMI, but this doesn't only refer to your weight. You might find new spots or hairs that you would want to be aware of.)

It's a normal part of human nature to rationalize things, your weight is just another example of this. How often do you get on the scale and notice you gained a bit of weight, and you come up with some excuse like, "oh it's water weight", or "I must be getting my period"?

By physically touching yourself all over every day, you notice how your body feels. You'll be much more aware if you did put on weight in a certain area. Or maybe you actually just gained some muscle and now your body is a bit firmer. You never know what new things you're learn about your body and yourself until you do it.

3. Look at yourself naked in the mirror every morning and evening 

We, as humans like to avoid reality in a multitude of ways, ranging from playing video games, to browsing our FB feed, to not looking at ourselves naked in the mirror. When I say looking in he mirror, I don't just mean a casual glance, I'm talking about really looking at yourself. Look at all the different parts of you and take it in. Whatever wrinkles, folds, marks, lines, muscles, etc. Don't be judgy, just observe. If you're not going to love yourself, how is somebody else ever going to?

First off, you need a body length mirror, it's going to help you be real with yourself. Next, I suggest you take 4 pictures of yourself - front, back, left and right - and put it next to or on your mirror. You could be in your bra and undies if it makes you feel more comfortable. By putting the picture by your mirror, you will see it every day when you do this activity and can therefore  compare. Write your weight on the picture too. (If you're up for it, you can even take some of your measurements and write them down as well. The key ones are your biceps, hips, waist, bust, thighs, and legs. These can be compared every 2-4 weeks.) 

4. Get dressed, and do your hair and makeup 

This one is probably the hardest for me. I live in exercise clothes, and when I'm not in my Lulus, I'm usually in sweatpants and a tank top. Especially now after being in isolation for 7 weeks, it's getting ridiculous. I briefly mentioned the whole bra situation before, but it's not a joke. I'm totally wearing a regular one right now because I'm consciously trying to follow my own advice. I'm very big on practicing what I preach because let's be real, if I'm not going to follow my own advice, why would somebody else?

So, even if you're not going outside or seeing people, pretend like you are. You don't have to get all dolled up, but put on normal clothes, and do your hair and makeup as if you were going outside at least. Just because the world isn't seeing you, doesn't mean you have to dress like it. You'll feel better about yourself too as soon as you do.

These days, whenever I put on mascara, straighten my hair, and wear perfume, I feel like a million bucks. A couple weeks back I went so far as to put on jeans and a new pair of heels I purchased on Boxing Day that I had yet to wear just to go to the vet. I felt like a whole other person and so sexy! It was short lived by both my husband's and my car being dead, but it was a great effort and I regret nothing.

5. Plan your meals and snacks for the day the night before

Whether we're stuck at home or out and about, for many of us, our days are long, busy and stressful. Who has time during the day to plan out meals and then actually make them? Often enough, when we leave it like that, we end up grabbing something prepackaged and processed as it's faster. Not only is this unhealthy, but it's usually more addicting (as it comes with tons of added sugar) and not as filling as the healthy, unprocessed foods. As a consequence, we end up grabbing more of these foods, causing us to eat more than we need and inevitably gain weight. This is why I suggest planning all of your meals and snacks for the following day, the night before.

When pre-planning your meals and snacks, you have two basic options depending on how much time you have during the day and your willpower: 1) You can write out each meal and snack and hang it on the fridge so it's in front of your face for when you're hungry, or 2) Prep everything and separate it in the fridge so you can easily take it out as needed. Either way, if you find you're too hungry/full, readjust at the end of the day for the following one.

I like to do a combination of both but I suggesting picking one style over the other to keep it simple. I cook a few dishes every couple days and plan which ones I'm going to have the next day. I use OneNote for this as well, and in fact use the same log to mark down my weight every morning. This way I can see the date, my weight and what I ate that day. Whenever I go back on my records, I can see what I ate that caused me to gain/lose weight so I can try to repeat it.

So here you have it, my "5 Tips" for staying on top of your weight. These “5 Tips” apply even when not in isolation, I just find they are much more needed now compared to before. If you have any questions, or are curious about more details on any one of these tips, please don't hesitate to reach out.