Got some weight to lose? What’s the first thing that many people say when they need to lose weight? “I need to go on a diet…” right? But, is that really the best way to lose weight? If it was would you be reading this article? I’m guessing that you’re reading this article because you’ve gone on diets before. Did you notice the “s”? You’ve probably tried a few diets, have you not? But, then, the weight comes back, does it not? So, then the question becomes “Why?”. Why does the weight keep coming back? Let’s take a look at a couple of the biggest reasons why the weight keeps coming back as well as a few tips to avoid the yo-yo.
A Diet is Unsustainable
- All or nothing mentality
Do or die?… There’s a time and a place. For sure. But, there’s also a time and a place for increments. A time and a place for baby steps. Do we need to push ourselves? Yeah, sure. That’s how we grow. But, there are many times when do or die leads to… die… And, that’s not always a good way to make actual progress. An occasional “die”, in the metaphorical sense, is fine. (Please don’t actually hurt yourself!) It’s a part of growth and, again a time and a place. But, sustainable progress happens with baby steps and regular habits. Sometimes pushing ourselves may mean being consistent and disciplined in small habits. Maybe pushing yourself means continuing in those baby steps when you don’t want to, when you get bored, or when you don’t see progress yet. A diet doesn’t really allow for this kind of growth.
A Diet Can Lead to Crashing and Burning
- Then no progress is made
The problem with huge changes all at once is that they can be crushing. It can all come tumbling down and all progress that was being made comes to a screeching halt. Think slamming on the breaks and rubber marks on the asphalt… Small and consistent habits, on the other hand, are like the trickle of water that wears away the bolder. With consistency, it doesn’t take a flood to make a difference. In fact, if that same amount of water flooded the bolder all at once, it wouldn’t make near the impact that the slow, steady trickle does. That flash flood uses all the resources in one go and there’s nothing left to continue making changes with. It all just… stops. A diet is more like the flash flood, small changes are the steady trickle.
A Diet Creates Stress
- The unneeded stress isn’t worth it
Constantly worrying about what you’re eating creates a lot of stress. A lot of UNNECESSARY stress. Life already has so much stress. Then, if you’re working out and training, that’s stress on your body as well. Do you really need the stress of feeling like one chip or cracker is going to ruin your perfect little diet? Do you really need the stress of feeling like you have to prepare yourself a completely different meal because you can’t eat what your family is eating? It would almost be like sweeping and then throwing dirt on the floor. Why are you even sweeping? Not to mention there comes a point when the negative effects of stress may very well outweigh the negative effects of a small snack.
- We want to REDUCE stress…
We want to, overall, reduce the amount of stress in our lives. Not add to it. Like the sweeping; we want less dirt on the floor not more, right? Just like it seems counterproductive to throw dirt on a clean floor, it seems counterproductive to try to build a healthy life and throw on a bunch of imbalance and stress. The truth is that things WILL go wrong. A diet WILL get cheated on from time to time. And stressing out over that doesn’t help attain the healthy lifestyle that you want.
Heightens Cravings
- If you say you can’t have it, it becomes exactly what you crave…
Many times when we deprive ourselves of a certain thing, that becomes all we can think about. Which makes it all that much harder to withstand those cravings. For example; don’t think about a chocolate cupcake… See what happens. It’s the repetition of constantly telling yourself that you can’t have it that keeps bringing it to the forefront of your mind and awareness. Then that repetition begins to chip away at our willpower. Which can make other decisions and resolves harder to follow through on as well. Now, imagine enjoying a simple, delicious apple… You just need to give yourself something positive to have or do. Removing a negative thought or habit leaves a vacuum. We need to fill that vacuum with a positive thought or habit. Like replacing the chocolate cupcake with an apple. Otherwise, the negative thought or habit is going to come back and the cupcake will be all we can think about.
And some tips…
- Tip #1: Strive for balance over perfection
- Perfection is overrated and perfection will never be achieved. It’s pointless to strive for perfection because you will never get there. So, a better mentality to have is to strive for balance. Balance over perfection is a more productive mindset. Allow yourself wiggle room and space to get messy allows you to stay more consistent in the long run. What did Ms. Frizzle say on Magic School Bus? “Let’s take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!” Right?… With this mindset, you spend less time trying to get things perfect and more time actually getting things done.
- Tip #2: Hit your macros
- Rather than focusing on all the things at once, take it one step at a time. And, a great first step to start with is to make sure you’re getting your macros dialed in. It is important to make sure that we get the proper balance of Carbs, Fats, and Protein. And, yes you need ALL of those… At least in some proportion. No, Carbs are not inherently bad and neither are Fats. Fad diets that cut out macros or certain foods completely are like the tide that comes and goes. What you need is an anchor that you can hold on to through the waves. You don’t need to overdo it, however. Balance is key. And they need to be quality Carbs and quality Fats. Your Protein needs to be quality too.
- Tip #3: Focus on small changes
- How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, right? It’s the consistent small actions that help complete big tasks and accomplish big changes. One bite at a time does get the elephant eaten. If you are renovating your home, you don’t have to do it all at once. Lay a new floor there, paint a wall here, hang a new chandelier over there. Before you know it you have a completely new home. Each task adds to completing the overall goal of a new home. It’s the same with lifestyle changes. A little here and a little there and before you know it you’ll have a completely new life!
- Tip #4: Focus on habits
- These small changes that you make eventually become automatic. Once they become automatic they become habits. Habits are what get you through your day. Habits are the glue that holds the fabric of your life together. It is also important to remember that habits do not tie us down if used correctly. Habits give structure. That structure allows us to be flexible and adaptable in life because we know that the important things are getting taken care of in the ebbs and flows and occasional tsunamis of life. To be flexible and make changes and adaptations you have to have a reference to start from. Habits provide that reference. Honey flows easily over the comb. But, without the structure of the comb, the honey would have nowhere to go.
A “diet” is only a temporary fix. Once it’s over or done behaviors go back to where they were before. If behaviors go back to where they were before your weight goes back to where it was before. Real change requires consistency. The only way to get long-term consistency is to take manageable steps. You have to remember that it’s a journey and not a destination. That means you have to keep going. The only way to get off the yo-yo diet is to quit yo-yoing your efforts…