A ‘New You’ for ’22 January is famous for New Year’s resolutions. There’s something so motivating about pressing the ‘reset’ button and starting a new year with a fresh set of goals. A brand-new year for a brand-new you. And this year that feeling’s likely to be stronger than ever, as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic. For many of us, becoming slimmer, fitter and healthier will be at the very top of the list of our New Year’s resolutions for 2022. Spending so much time indoors, often coupled with more indulgent food choices and disrupted routines, saw many healthy habits fall by the wayside during the pandemic – and then Christmas rounded it off! Let’s not forget that getting into great shape is the very best thing that we can do for our long-term health. So if you’re ready to make 2022 the year that you take control, lose weight, get fitter and gain confidence then read on. Here are seven secrets of success – all backed up by the latest research into weight loss and behaviour change, from the newest member of your local Slimming World team, Bex Howard. 1 Don’t go hungry To lose weight you have to eat less, right? Well, no! What you’re eating is much more important than how much. Swapping high calorie, unsatisfying foods (think chocolate, alcohol, pastries) for foods that are lower in calories and more bulky, so they fill you up for longer, is key to losing weight in a way that’s easy to live with. Research shows that by basing your diet on low energy dense foods, like fruit and veg, and foods that are most filling – or satiating – like lean meat, fish, eggs, pasta and potatoes, you can actually eat a larger amount of food and feel more satisfied while losing weight. Bex loved tucking into hearty meals like cheeseburger macaroni and chicken fajita pasta on her weightloss journey. “We might think we need to be overly strict with ourselves when we’re losing weight – counting and measuring all our food and reducing portion sizes right down – but this type of 10
restrictive approach ultimately leaves us feeling more hungry and deprived,” says Dr Jacquie Lavin, Slimming World’s Head of Research. Some quick and easy changes include using less fat when you cook, so you boil or dry fry instead of frying in oil, swapping full fat dairy products for low fat or fat free, ditching sugary drinks in favour of low calorie drinks and adding more fruit and veg to your daily meals. ‘My members find that by making simple changes to their shopping and cooking, which we talk about in our group every week, they lose weight without feeling hungry,’ says Slimming World Consultant Bex Howard. 2 It’s OK to walk before you run! If it’s your goal to get fitter, remember you don’t have to become a professional athlete to get active - just making a commitment to moving more all adds up. Many people make the mistake of joining a gym, overdoing it in week one and quickly giving up, thinking ‘exercise isn’t for me’. Finding an enjoyable, achievable, and sustainable way of building new active habits into your routine is key – anything that gets you moving more, from heavy gardening or vigorous housework to brisk walking, dancing, cycling, or playing frisbee in the park, counts. What’s most important is making it a regular habit – as natural to your day as brushing your teeth. Bex says: ‘In our local group we encourage each other to get more active, and we’ve got a new set of 50 online videos for members so they can easily get started at home.’ 3 Be kind to yourself We all start January with great intentions, but it’s all too easy to go off track. It’s what you do next that matters most – and the most important thing is not to beat yourself up about it. A Slimming World survey of 1,700 slimmers showed that when they did have a slip up, being self critical was more likely to lead to comfort eating and giving up completely, whereas when they were kinder to be kind to themselves (imagine how you’d talk to a friend who’s had a
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