‘The self-care tips that helped us lose weight’

If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to look after the most important person in that journey: you.

Losing weight is hard. Exercising is hard. Sticking to healthy eating… it’s all hard. No one ever said it was going to be easy. That’s why it’s good to focus on the little things: the things that keep you feeling good, motivated, and ready to keep going. Self-care matters.

We spoke to some amazing women, who are all subscribers to The Body Coach app, to share their self-care tips that made a real difference to their journeys.

From celebrating small wins to ditching the guilt and going at their own pace, these tips will remind you to focus on yourself.

‘Treasure and celebrate every result’

Lubka Michalicova, 41

“I would say just love yourself. I didn’t love myself and the fact I was overweight, but I have learned to love myself for who I am on this journey. I’ve been working hard to love the outside and the look of myself, too.

“Make sure you treasure and celebrate every result. I have treasured every great result – and actually, the results pushed me to keep going and not give up.

“Just keep coming back and keep pressing play like Joe would say… that makes all the difference.”

‘Follow your food plan, but also allow yourself to enjoy some treats’

April Kaye, age

“Embrace positive affirmations and find time to prioritise yourself by dedicating just 30 minutes, whenever you can, to your exercise goals.

“Surround yourself with emotional support from loved ones or join the Body Coach App Facebook page for a sense of community. Find your own rhythm and remember, you don’t need to go all out; it's perfectly fine to take things at your own pace.

“Follow your food plan but also allow yourself to enjoy some treats. Make exercise fun and remember the wonderful feeling you get afterwards. Remind yourself that your body is a precious gift, keeping you alive, allowing you to be with the people you love. Take a moment to thank it for all it does for you daily, instead of picking it apart.”

‘Stop looking at what everyone else is achieving’

Hazel Allison, 31

“The Body Coach plan taught me to ‘run my own race and stick to my lane’ – to stop looking at what everyone else is achieving and focus on my own journey. No two people’s weight loss journey is the same!

“Trying to achieve everything at once doesn’t work. It’s a gradual process – one week focusing on water intake, getting more steps in during the day, mindful eating, etc. These steps have since become habits and feel normal in my everyday life.

“Recording body measurements has been a game changer for me, too. Joe has made me understand that the ‘sad step’ is exactly just that – but when you see the inches lost on the measuring tape, it puts so much into perspective and keeps you motivated.

“All the small things you are doing will get you to the bigger picture. Keep going!”

‘Do not beat yourself up if you miss a workout’

Sian Gough, 35

“Drinking lots of water, getting good sleep, and planning meals helped me a lot. Make a plan and stick to it – and don’t feel guilty about taking time for yourself to look after yourself.

“Also the biggest thing I learned: do not beat yourself up if you miss a workout or have an off plan meal or snack – just try and be as consistent as you can!”

‘Incorporate activities that you enjoy’

Rachel Hendry, 55

“Consistency is key – the more consistent you are, the better the result, whilst still remembering to maintain a balanced lifestyle. It’s also very important to celebrate little milestones along the way (NSV - non-scale victories) to boost your motivation and encourage consistency.

“Remember to incorporate enjoyable activities that you enjoy alone or with your family. Seek advice and support from those that are following the same journey, the encouragement and support I have received has been phenomenal from the Body Coach support group. Use the expertise on offer when things seem overwhelming and I promise it will help and guide you.

“One thing that has helped me more than anything on my journey was remembering; ‘You cannot control anyone or change certain events that happen in your life that challenge you, but you can change how you react to it.’ This, for me, was a game changer.”

‘Concentrate more on how you feel within yourself’

Nikki Wells, 40

“The biggest self-care advice I can give is drink the water! It made a huge difference for me and it's a habit I've stuck to throughout my weight loss and improvement journey. I also made the conscious decision to knock weekday alcohol and takeaways on the head completely, but at the weekends I never ever begrudged myself a treat or two if I wanted a drink or a takeaway.

“Stay off the sad step. It's called that for a reason. It doesn't make you feel good, the exercises and delicious food does. Concentrate more on how you feel within yourself and how your clothes fit, it's a much better feeling, much less stressful and upsetting.

“On the days you're not feeling it and struggling to press play, go for a walk or a swim - don't put pressure on yourself, it's not meant to be a chore. Once you start seeing the NSV shout them from the rooftops!! Then go and buy yourself something pretty as a reward, it really does give you a boost.”

'It’s all about balance’

Zoe Haskell, 34

“Go easy on yourself. It doesn’t matter if you don’t stay on plan, it’s about balance and making sure the plan fits into your life – otherwise it won’t work and you’ll become stressed and worry about everything that you put in your body.

“Self care doesn’t have to look like spa days or buying yourself something, it comes in the form of sitting down for 15 minutes and reading that book, taking yourself off for a walk, going for that coffee and cake with friends. Make sure you do things that make you feel good and are for you.”

This article was written by The Body Coach team.

For more information about The Body Coach app and how it works, head to thebodycoach.com. You can take advantage of our spring offer and get £20 off an annual subscription.