It's getting duller, it's wetter, it's darker. You know, it's one of those things where the last thing on my mind was exercise.
My name is Daniel Welstead Vegan, a personal trainer in Sevenoaks. I want to talk about expectations and being realistic. This time of year can be really tough. We've got Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. There are a lot of distractions around.
Many people will leave losing weight until January. However, what I recommend to my clients is you must start now. If you can start at this time of year with all of these major distractions around, it's going to set you up for January really well. I want to break this video down into three different aspects. Number one is being realistic.
If you start your vegan weight loss journey now, the likelihood is you're going to lose weight incredibly slowly. So you must understand that very early on, you must understand that 1 lb a week, maybe even half a pound a week, is incredibly acceptable at this stage. If you can do more and you can withstand all of the craziness that the next few months give us, then all is good for you. But I know the majority of people out there won't be able to do that. So you've got to understand mentally, be a little bit kinder to yourself.
If this journey and the beginning of this journey is going slower than what you think, there are certain times of the year with me where I will be able to lose weight so quickly, but I'll also be able to gain weight incredibly quickly. And this time of year is the latter. And it's one of those things was back in the day when I was unhealthy when I was overweight, I didn't exercise and all sorts of animal products. I was just comfortable. This time of year, it's getting duller, it's wetter, it's darker.
It's one of those things where the last thing on my mind was exercise. And to be fair, these days, the last thing on my mind is exercise. But I do it because it's a lesser of two evils. However, if you can have someone like me working with you, I'm able to push you through and be able to give you the advice that you need to get you through these months. One, by limiting the damage and hopefully by progressing during this time as well.
During this time of year, it is incredibly, incredibly important not to just look at calories, but also look at nutrients as well. Calories in versus calories out. That's the basics behind weight loss. If you're eating fewer calories than you need to maintain your own current body weight, then you're going to lose weight. The same with exercise.
And if you're going to be burning X amount of calories, which takes you into a calorie deficit, you're going to lose weight. However, this time of year is incredibly hard. Like I've just mentioned, there are lots of bad foods around you like sweets, like chocolates, like big heavy dinners that are dense in calories, but quite often quite lacking in nutrients. And this is where one of the issues lies. If you've got a big appetite like me, and trust me, my appetite is absolutely huge, then you're going to have to strategically go through these times of the year, certainly when it comes to parties and time out and times with the kids, where you sit down to a plate of food and you look at it and you think, okay, where are my nutrients going to come from?
And when I say nutrients is pretty simple. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, lentils, and beans. If they're on your plate, eat them first. Then whatever's left over on the plate, whether it be some extra starchy carbs or something that's been deeply fried, maybe some onion rings or something like that, save that to last. Once you've finished all the nutritional foods and you feel full, don't worry about eating the onion rings or whether it be the hash browns or something like that.
Leave it. If you feel full, why are you eating anymore? Stop. When you're full, it's quite simple. You've got to be really mindful of that.
And that's what I teach my clients to do, is be a mindful eater. Don't just scoff the food down. Like my cat is currently right now eating her food. She's sick far too much after eating because she scoffs it down far too much. I even had to buy her this sort of bowl with all these noggins and got delivered yesterday.
She eats far too quickly. So you've got greedy cats as well. So that's one little strategy that you can use when you're eating your dinners because you know this time is going to be incredibly, incredibly dense with calories. The next thing is, does your lifestyle give you the ability to train five, six, maybe seven times a week? If it doesn't, then don't expect incredible results.
Expect okay, just slow results, but at least they're going to result in all the same. You're not going to be going backwards. Look, my lifestyle gives me the ability to train a lot. So if your lifestyle only gives you the ability to train two, or 3 hours a week, accept that. Except you're not going to look like Jennifer Aniston overnight.
So understand that if your lifestyle gives you the ability to train lots, you're going to get quicker results. But if it doesn't, you've got to accept that the journey is going to be a lot slower. And personally, the slower the journey, the longer you're on it the better the results will be mentally up here because it's going to be harder. It's going to be harder to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and not see that many changes, but still keep going. Consistency, consistency, discipline.
That's what it's about. I hope you like this video. Give it a thumbs up. If you do. If you're looking for some help getting yourself fitter, leaner and stronger on a plant-based diet, then give us a comment below.
Send us a message, and send me an email. Whatever platform you're watching this on, just get in touch and I'll give you a free phone consultation. And if you live in Seven Oaks, then I'll also give you a free one-on-one consultation on top of the phone consultation as well. It's a no-sales pitch. I am fully booked all year round, so I'm not desperate for clients.
However, I do like to give back to the community and it's one of those things that if you're struggling and I know that you need help and you're willing to help yourself, then I'm willing to give up a bit of my time for you. Anyway, guys, see you soon.
Daniel Welstead - Plant-Based Vegan Personal Trainer in Sevenoaks