Welcome to the very first episode of The Way To Weight Loss Podcast with me, Dr Aishah Muhammad. I am a medical doctor, personal trainer and weight loss coach who has made it a mission to help busy women find healthy, sustainable and safe ways to lose weight. This podcast will give you science based, informative advice on steps you can take to overcome your mindset barriers and combat your eating habits to get to your goal weight. You can find the show notes for this episode here.

Episode 1: The Way To Weight Loss

What are the reasons to lose weight? What does overweight and obese mean? What health problems could cause weight gain? &nbsp;What does BMI mean? Episode 2 of The Way To Weight Loss podcast delves deep into who may need to consider weight loss and what conditions being overweight could put you at risk of.  I explore what the terms overweight and obese means and the accuracy of the body mass index.  &nbsp;  Conditions which have been shown to be associated with obesity are outlined. I explore the idea of losing weight to prevent diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. An important point made is that while research shows your weight could be a risk factor to certain conditions, this does not mean your weight will be the cause but rather could play a role in the development.  &nbsp;  I also explore how polycystic ovarian syndrome can cause weight gain as well as the role an underactive thyroid could play on weight gain.  &nbsp; Read the show notes:&nbsp;https://www.thewaytoweightloss.com/episode2 Blog post on polycystic ovarian syndrome:&nbsp;https://www.thewaytoweightloss.com/managing-pcos/ FREE 5 day weight loss coaching: https://www.thewaytoweightloss.com/5day&nbsp;

#2: Reasons to consider weight loss

Setting a goal for your weight loss is great. Having a goal is easy but how do you make a realistic action plan to reach it? I want to introduce a goal setting concept known as SMART. SMART acronym can be broken down into:  be specific in your goal setting;  Being specific is important. Instead of saying “I want to lose weight”, having a concrete figure in mind allows you to have an actual end point to shoot for.&nbsp;   have a goal that’s measurable/meaningful;  When the goal is specific, it makes it more meaningful and measurable. You can access if you are slowly losing the weight you had planned to lose.   attainable/achievable:  The goal you set has to be attainable and achievable. If you said you want to lose weight but are also planning to or already are pregnant, it’s not really going to be achievable in a safe way is it?   rewarding/realistic:  &nbsp;Your goal has to be something that you can attain with the resources available to you. It’s important to be realistic in your goal setting because if you’re not, and you don’t reach your goal, it’s demotivating and can literally throw you out of your game.   time bound:&nbsp;  This means you set a time frame for when you want to achieve that goal so you know you are aiming for something by a certain time.    &nbsp; Read the full show notes here Download your goal setting worksheet here

#4 Setting Weight Loss Goals

Today, I want to talk about something I think we all struggle with. We are busy bees. We juggle so many different hats and it can be hard. It can be so tough to find time to spend on just you. And I mean you. Not the mother of the kids, not the wife of the husband, not the teacher to the students – just you the person. &nbsp; We sideline ourselves to please and look after those we love. That’s an amazing characteristic to have – to be selfless and love others. But, I would argue we need to be balanced. We have to look after ourselves in order for us to be the best versions of us. We need to prioritise ourselves some of the time. &nbsp;  Learn why you need to prioritise your goals&nbsp; Think about where your time is going and how you could change your schedule to help you prioritise better Grab your free TIME AUDIT checklist&nbsp;  &nbsp; Read the full shownotes here.&nbsp; &nbsp;

#5 How To Prioritise Your Weight Loss Goals

Your diet plays a crucial part of your health journey. Whether you’re aiming to lose weight, put on some muscle or just become more health conscious, you’re bombarded with advice on work outs, meal planning and recipes. To sustain the changes you’re making, it is vital to understand nutrition and fitness, at a basic level at least. In this episode, I break down to you the key facts you need to know about carbohydrates, proteins and fats. You can read the full show notes that outlines everything talked about today over on my website here.

#6 The Food Rules You Need To Know

We are all scared to fail. Since we were little, we have been told that we should be winning. Failure is associated with being weak or not good enough. It’s quite sad how much it is ingrained in us that we need to be great at everything. It ignites a sense of jealously and desire when you look at those around you who have that thing that you wanted. &nbsp; I think we can all agree - when you don’t do well in an exam at school, you’re told you failed. That blanket statement doesn’t highlight the fact you might have done better in this exam than you ever had before or that you finally had figured out a revision strategy that works with you. No – the blanket statement is there to make you compare yourself with those who are passing. It’s made to seem like it’s a black and white clear cut thing. You either fail or win. &nbsp; When you’re on a quest to become healthier and you’ve decided to cut out junk food, what happens on that day when you eat a small cookie? You don’t think “wow, I only ate a small bit rather than the whole thing” you are more likely to think “wow, I’m such a failure I just ate this cookie, how could I possibly lose weight”. Am I right? &nbsp; I think failure is good:  It reminds us that we are not all amazing and brilliant. We are not perfect. There are a million areas we need to improve on and quite frankly we aren’t going be good at everything. We shouldn’t be so focused on the single action but everything that comes with it. When you slip on your weight loss journey, don’t see it as a failure that will kill you. See it as a blip you can learn from.  &nbsp; Read the full show notes here

#7 Redefining Failures

Today's episode delves deep into why diets are not sustainable. When I say diets, I am referring to any form of eating that calls for you to restrict food groups or confine yourself to a certain type of food only. These types of diet are not safe, healthy or a good way to lose weight. In this episode, we discuss:  What a diet is and explore which diets are in "fashion" at the moment, including the keto diet and the spinach &amp; kale diet. What the dangers are of following restrictive diets The research behind the long term side effects of the low-carb diet&nbsp;  &nbsp; Read the full shownotes here

#8 Why Diets Are Not Sustainable

In today's episode I talk about why being organised ahead of time could help you on your weight loss journey, or with any other goal you are trying to accomplish at the moment. Together in this episode, we explore:  Why meal planning can save you from poor meal choices. How cleaning your kitchen could be the way forward to prevent overeating. How to plan ahead with your workouts.  Previous episodes mentioned include:&nbsp; #5 How to prioritise your weight loss goals &nbsp; Read the full shownotes for this episode here

#9 How to get more organised

Ambition: a desire and determination to have success You can have ambition in so many ways. It all depends on what you determine to be a success. For some people, there ambition may be to succeed in their career or profession. For others it might be their abilities in a sport or activity. Maybe your ambition is to be a mom and raise a family. Sometimes, there are areas that we automatically have ambition in because its perhaps a big dream that we want to achieve. But what about having ambition for those things that you want to achieve but for some reason you can’t find the desire or determination to make them happen. Weight loss and fitness goals often call into this dilemma. I get messages all the time with people saying "I have no motivation to lose weight". So what can you do to find this ambition and drive? Find out the top tips I have to help you find ambition in this episode. &nbsp; Weight loss goal setting podcast episode can be found here. Read the full shownotes here Catch up with past episodes here&nbsp; Join my 5 day free weight loss coaching program here

#10 How To Have Health Ambition

Exercise. Exercise is a powerful tool and something we probably don’t realise has the power to transform our lives. I know, its nothing new. You’ve probably heard it before that exercise is good for your health. But, why is exercise good for you? This episode explores why exercise is important and how exercise affects the body. I cover:  The rates of depression, cardiovascular disease and stroke around the world. The effect exercise has on mental health.&nbsp; How exercise helps with stress management, preventing heart problems and improving academic performance. How you can get started with exercising regularly.  &nbsp; Read the full shownotes here &nbsp;