ZiaFitness

Following on from yesterdays post, a few people have asked me why I’m stopping my cut a couple of weeks before my holiday, especially when the holiday was the main reason I started cutting in the first place.

Digestion.

When you’ve been dieting for a little while, your body gets used to a certain food volume, calorie intake, and routine. If I go from eating in a significant deficit straight into holiday mode overnight, I’ll 100% spend the first few days feeling bloated, uncomfortable, and looking completely different to how I felt before I got on the plane🤷🏽‍♀️

A lot of people finish a diet on Friday and then double their calories on Saturday. The scale shoots up, digestion goes to pot, and that’s when you think you’ve ruined everything.

In reality, most of that is just increased food volume, water retention and your digestive system trying to catch up with the extra 3000 calories🤣

So instead, I’m giving myself a few weeks to gradually increase food before I go away just to let my digestion adapt. I did this last year and I noticed the biggest difference when I went away. The bloating from travel is real anyway but if you’re someone who struggles with their digestion like me then I highly recommend doing it.

Weirdly stopping my cut early will help me feel leaner and more comfortable on holiday rather than trying to squeeze out another 2 weeks of dieting.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be in a slight deficit as I’ll be increasing the calories slowly (not just whacking an extra 500/600 per day on), so there’s a chance I could still lose more fat anyways.

Reverse diet begins properly when I’m back☺️

I’ve got one week left of my cut and honestly, I couldn’t tell you exactly how much ‘weight’ I’ve lost.

Recently I started CrossFit and running so trust me my body has been so sore compared to normal🤣 but this means scale weight is going to be telling an even less accurate story than usual.

Sure I could have weighed myself everyday to see the fluctuations, but realistically this was only going to put me in a bad mindset. I never had a set weight goal in mind because my body could completely change without the scales barely moving.

I would rather focus on improved fitness, showing up when I didn’t feel like it, feeling stronger, and sticking to my nutrition.

The scales can be useful but they’re definitely not the only measure of progress🤍

Birthday month done and dusted🥳

May was very kind to me. The taste of summer is just what I needed🥰

Now let’s pray for more sun ☀️

Ice coffee, wine and picky bits is how my whole bank holiday went🍷

Ate or drank a bit too much this bank holiday?

If so then I’m in the same boat, I’m glad we enjoyed the sun that we rarely have. Now it’s straight back to routine. Don’t let it drag on into the week just because it’s staying warm.

A day or two off plan won’t affect your goals but extending the unplanned food & drink into the week is where you will start to undo progress.

I hope everyone enjoyed the sun as much as I did🥰

What a lovely taste of summer we’re having x

If you think you’re the only one having these thoughts… you’re not.

I have them too. In every fat loss phase I do.

The difference now compared to a couple of years ago is that I don’t act on every thought.

Discipline is what actually gets results.

More cardio might seem like the right thing to do if you’re not noticing any physical changes in your body.

The reality is it’s probably the last thing you need to do!

Overdoing cardio won’t get you that body you’ve been striving for🤷🏽‍♀️

Read the post and make changes to your routine where possible. I promise the changes will start becoming more visible and your confidence will start to increase🤍

Stop trying to be perfect during the week because It’s usually the exact reason your weekends feel out of control.

Fat loss doesn’t come from 4 “good” days, it comes from consistency across the whole week.

If your routine can’t handle a Friday night or a weekend plan,
it’s not a good routine, it’s just a short term attempt at trying to reach your goals.

You can absolutely still reach your goals and enjoy your weekends. You just need to change the plan🤍

A good plan hallelujah

Stop copying influencers’ diets.

What works for them won’t automatically work for you.

Why?

They have different bodies, goals, routines, food preferences and often a completely different lifestyle behind the scenes. They probably have a hell of a lot more time than your typical 9-5 office worker. They’ve probably been building their physique for years but selling it as a ‘12 week shred’, promising similar results.

What you’re seeing is just a highlight of what they WANT to show you, not the full picture.

Copying someone else’s diet can leave you under eating, over restricting, or just feeling frustrated when it doesn’t “work”. Spoiler alert, it’s not going to.

Instead, focus on building your diet around..
• foods you actually enjoy
• a routine you can stick to
• enough fuel to support your daily life and activities

The best diet isn’t the most aesthetic one (apart from my yoghurt bowls, obvs) but it’s the one you can be consistent with to create lasting results.

The dread of summer coming round each year because you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin? Honestly, I’ve been there.

Trying anything before your holiday to drop a few lbs before your holiday so you feel more comfortable.

For it not to work or for you to just go back to your old ways afterwards and repeat the whole process every year.

A sustainable diet doesn’t mean tracking your food and staying in a deficit for the whole year. It means making healthy lifestyle changes that become a part of your routine. Once you get used to the healthy lifestyle, you often won’t want to go back to your old ways.

I have clients that have come to me in the past, they think it’s impossible for them to live a healthy lifestyle and make better choices permanently. Shock, it wasn’t and they did it. Now they are happier, healthier, fitter and more confident.

A change of mindset is key 🔐

If I can do it then so can you.