Every year about 45 million Americans go on a diet, spending $33 billion on weight loss products. People sign up for many different reasons from wanting to improve their health to body image. Unfortunately, many businesses advertise their weight loss solutions as "easy" or "fast", making it seem as though it were simple to drop 10 pounds in one week. If that weren't misleading enough for consumers, fad diets are springing up on every social media feed. The truth is, there is no one-size fits all. There is no "magical" diet that will help you lose weight fast and MAINTAIN it. It's time to shift the focus from dieting to lifestyle changes.
So, what's the difference?
Diet Versus Lifestyle Changes
A diet is a temporary change in eating habits to achieve a certain outcome. As you can see, this definition only focuses on what you eat with an all-or-nothing approach. According to the CDC, “such diets limit your nutritional intake, can be unhealthy, and tend to fail in the long run.” People who lose weight almost always gain it back once the diet is over. The reason being that most of these diets are not sustainable.
Lifestyle changes involve adopting healthy habits that promote weight-control and health. This involves physical, mental, and emotional strategies, focusing on healthy eating, regular physical activity, and balancing the number of calories your body uses with the number of calories you consume. In numerous studies, people who have been able to maintain their weight loss had one thing in common: They made changes to their everyday behaviors.
Where to Begin
Try the following tips to form healthier habits to help you on your wellness journey.
Include a vegetable with every meal or snack.
Eat away from electronic distractions, taking the time to relax and enjoy your meal.
Take 10 minutes breaks throughout the day to go on a walk, bike ride, yoga, or some other form of physical activity. Not only will this increase your daily step count, but it also serves as a nice mental break.
Self-monitor: Are you on track for or maintaining your goal? What are ways you could challenge yourself? Don't take for granted the time and effort you are putting into this. Be grateful to yourself for showing up for yourself.
Don't let setbacks defeat you. Say I ate potato chips while binge watching TV last night. Instead of talking down to myself and saying "I'm terrible. That wasted my workout. I'll never be able to stick to healthy eating.", I turn it into a learning opportunity. :Why did I eat potato chips? Did I eat enough for dinner? Was I hungry? Stressed? Bored?" Now instead of being a setback, I learned more about myself.
I'm here for you if you need more support along the way!
References
The thoughts and information set forth on this website are not intended to provide medical advice and are not intended to treat, diagnose, or prevent any disease or ailment. The material provided on this website is for informational purposes only and should never be used in lieu of formal medical diagnoses or treatment with a qualified physician. All individuals should undertake a complete physical before commencing any diet, exercise or health program.
Comments