Guest Post by Malisa Celeste

I’m not sure exactly when it came about, but there was a moment in time where I just thought ‘ah-ha’ I’ve got it; everything around me had just fallen into place.

I’m surrounded by great friends and a fantastic housemate, I spend my days drinking good coffee, reading nutrition articles and chatting to people about what they can do to look and feel good.  It feels effortless for me to find the time to train at the gym 5 times a week and preparing my meals is a breeze.

Like I said, it’s all just fallen in to place and I love it!

What makes it even better though, is the more I seem to focus on how good my life is, the more weight just seems to come off, effortlessly.

Perhaps fat loss isn’t all about the food you eat?

To be honest with you, it never used to be like this.  For years I was counting calories, sitting at dinners out sooking about how I had to eat the salad whilst everyone else was enjoying their feast of pizza and pasta.  I felt hard done by, I was constantly trying some sort of new diet and I would let anyone and everyone know about what I was missing out on!  Believe me, that’s no way to live.

Dieting comes from a negative place.  Wanting what you don’t have, focusing on the negative.

Think about this for a minute.  When have you been on a ‘diet’ and felt 100% satisfied with everything?  Never, right?  It’s because when you diet, you’re following a set of rules or guidelines, meaning there are things you can’t do or have; you focus on those things.  It’s a negative place to be.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase before; ‘it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change!’ but have you ever really stopped to think about what that means to YOU? What are you looking for out of life, what lifestyle do you actually want?

DIET is often associated with a limited period of time, as in you will follow a particular way of eating for a few weeks or until you get to a desired weight, but then what?

What happens when you lose those kgs?  You can sabotage yourself until you actually find the answer!

Maybe you’ve been there yourself, or I’m sure you know someone that is struggling to lose those last 5kgs.  Yep, those pesky ones, the ones that seem almost impossible to lose!

Guess what?  Until you know what you want beyond that, you’re not going to get there!  Harsh isn’t it?  Unfortunately though, it’s true.

I’m sure if you’ve ever tried to lose weight you know what I’m talking about; you’re on a roll, your unstoppable, unbreakable… and then you go out, maybe for dinner or maybe just to the supermarket.  You eat from the breadbasket, you have desert or maybe you polish off that block of chocolate that’s been sitting in the pantry cupboard for weeks.  You tell yourself it’s ok, that it’s your cheat meal and that you will just pick yourself up and start again tomorrow; a week later and tomorrow still hasn’t come yet.

Argh!  Where is that willpower that got you such good results in the past?  It won’t be there until you’re ready.  Until you look beyond your goal and focus on the next thing, only then will you let go of the fear of finally reaching your destination.

What do you need in life to be happy and fulfilled?

We get so focused on losing the weight or changing our body composition that we lose sight of the bigger picture.

Perhaps your reason for wanting to change was so you could run around in the park with your kids?  Maybe it was so you could feel amazing in that little black dress or maybe you didn’t really know what it was when you first started, you just knew that you wanted to change.

The truth is, now is the time for you to really focus on that.  Regardless of where you are in your journey, it’s going to be so much easier, effortless in fact if you start focusing on the things that make you happy.  After all, your life is unfolding around you, can you really afford to put it on hold until you get to where you want to be?

What steps can you take to move towards your goals?

Here’s what I’ve found has really worked for me over the last few years:

Focus on strengths not weaknesses

What’s the point on dwelling over something you can’t do when you’re great at something else?  I used to go into the gym and spend upwards of 30 mins slogging it out on the treadmill.  I would sweat and puff and pant, I would hate myself the whole time I was doing it.  One day I was honest to myself; I like lifting weight, I’m good at it.  From that day on, I’ve never stepped on a treadmill again.  Guess what, it’s no longer a struggle to get to the gym.  I go, I do what I like doing, what I want to do.

Focus on what you can have, not what you can’t!

Yes, there will still be things you shouldn’t eat, but you don’t have to be miserable about it!  I don’t know about you, but for me a yummy home made gluten free pizza, with amazing fresh toppings, is so much more appealing than a Mc Donald’s cheeseburger.

Seriously, there is so much amazing fresh, whole real food out there and with a little bit of creativity you can whip up some truly delicious and healthy meals!

Challenge negative thought, is it actually true? 

We are our own worst critique, seriously!  Whenever you find yourself thinking negatively, stop and ask yourself if it’s really true!  Challenge the thought, question it!  Is it even really relevant to the bigger picture?  Are you going to get this one tiny thought get in the way of everything you want to achieve.. I didn’t think so!

Build your confidence by focusing on your wins

This might sound really vain, but I actually like looking at old pictures of myself.  They remind me of how far I’ve come.  For you it could be something else, you may have managed to get yourself to the gym 3 times this week, or you may have managed to organize yourself to take all of your lunch meals to work.  Give yourself a pat on the back, you’re doing great and you deserve it!

Be Grateful!  

The first time I was introduced to this, I brushed it off like a grain of sand.  Looking back now, I find it’s not only one of the most important tools that I use, but it’s something that I actually look forward to doing each day.  Stop for a minute, when was the last time you stopped and took the time to be grateful for something?  Do it now!  I’ll even do it with you

Today I’m grateful for:

• Waking up without having to set the alarm (I was still up at 6.30am!!)
• There was no one in the squat rack when I got to the gym 🙂
• Skyping with my friend in the USA.

I’d love you to share what you’re working towards or what you’re grateful for today, share it with me in the box below!

Malisa Celeste is an Online Business Manager, Nutrition Student, BioSignature Practitioner & Writer. With a passion for good health and nourishing nutrition, Malisa enjoys imparting knowledge on her friends, family, clients & basically anyone that will listen; to help them achieve their health goals.

Malisa can be contacted via her email malisa.celeste@gmail.com