Your first priority has to be you – by Coach Gina

On any weight loss program, your first priority has to be you.

A common theme throughout each phase of the Ideal Protein program is that you must keep yourself as a priority for the diet to work most effectively. The first priority has to be you! In Phase 1, this rears it’s head when you realize that shopping, preparing and eating the required foods takes intention and time. Many of our dieters come to Vital Body accustomed to being very “busy”. Before the diet, this may have manifested in lifestyle behaviours like: skipping meals, not eating healthy foods and having no time for themselves.This becomes a normal way of operating.

On the diet.

Phase 1 (the first part of our program) does force one to slow down. It just has to happen. The learning that can occur during this period is enlightening for many. In the same way that we suggest you keep all the good eating habits that are learned while losing weight on our program, we also want to see you keeping the slower pace of your life by taking time for self care. Change like this is simple but not easy. It may not even be a desire you have right now and that’s okay too. However, we have seen that once our dieters reach their weight loss goal, the importance of keeping yourself as a priority reflects on their body in maintenance on the Lifestyle Program. Bottom line: if you return to skipping meals, getting too hungry and grabbing the unhealthier choices, you will gain back weight.

Other ways to make prioritize yourself.

I’ve addressed the weight aspect but the mental and spiritual health goes hand in hand with remaining committed to yourself. The branches of this spread to your home and work life. When you are feeling centered and keeping promises to yourself, everyone benefits: the boss, the employees, the kids and the partner.

Here are a few things to start with:
Mark down in your calendar the days that you will exercise: what you will do, where and when. Do it!
Continue to take the time to have your home stocked with healthy food.
Make a list of meals that you can make throughout the week so that you don’t have to wonder and are prepared.
Nurture your connections with the people in your life. Sometimes we lose sight of how much better we feel when we connect face to face or voice to voice.

Putting yourself as the priority, so that you can show up for your life and your relationships, can be something you resist at first. The thoughts that arise will likely sound something like, “I can’t be that selfish, people are counting on me to put them as the priority”, “there are not enough hours in the day” or “it won’t change anything”. Remember, this is a big deal for most of us and it takes practice and compassion. There is no doubt that you won’t get it right all the time. This is where the self compassion is just so important! Know that it is all good. Right where you are is all good. As long as you have willingness, the change will come and that will result in every part of your life feeling more ease-full.

Stay tuned for more ways that we at Vital Body are going to be supporting you through the deeper levels of weight loss and weight maintenance. Beyond Phase 1!

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