In the US today every state shows at least 30% of its population falls into the obese category. This is not the individual’s fault. It is a combination of faulty advice years ago about the danger of fat, leading manufacturers to remove fat and replace with sugar and other additives, and the absence of public health education and funding to make healthy food more affordable for everyone. Add to that the stressful times we live in, and we have a recipe for obesity.
We can look at cash diets, and many have. But those who have report the lack of success in maintaining permanent weight loss.
What I’d like to talk about is a specific method you can activate if you want to lose weight and keep it off. I call it the secret sauce for permanent weight loss. If that’s something you strive for, here are the three ingredients that are critical to making lasting changes:
Small steps
Small steps is the critical first ingredient in the secret sauce. Gosh, when we know we want to change something, isn’t it natural to want it to happen quickly? Expecting change to happen quickly is a fatal flaw that lies in most of us - whether the change we want is less weight, more consistent exercise, more friends, longer meditations or a cleaner house. Change doesn’t happen overnight.
Yes we can make a drastic change in any of the areas I’ve listed, but will it stick? Chances are it won’t. We can go helter skelter cleaning every inch of our house over a weekend. But if we don’t do the day to day cleanups and tidying, it will soon fall back into its old messy place.
The same is true with weight loss. If you’ve done one crash diet after another, you know what I mean. Weight comes off (while your mind is always on your next portion) diet ends, weight comes back on, and then some. This is not your fault. It is a method that is marketed in a different name but results in disappointment and frustration.
With small steps, you change one thing at a time. If you are a night eater in front of the TV, a first small step might be to change your snack from processed foods like crackers, chips or cookies to a piece of fruit, a small bowl of walnuts and raisins just a couple of times a week. As you grow more comfortable with that, you might decide to have only a cup of tea or glass of sparkling water one or two nights a week. Slow and steady wins the race.
Take the focus off the scale
Weighing yourself too frequently can influence your progress in negative ways. You need to remember weight gain is a slow and steady process when your food isn’t nourishing and balancing. Weight loss likewise is a slow and steady process if you want it to be permanent. So keep your eye on your goals and the successive small steps you want to take to achieve that slow but steady weight loss.
Reward Yourself
The third ingredient is the fun part. Figure out in advance of your plan how you want to reward yourself. Do you remember getting a sticker when you did something well in school as a child? I still like stickers and check marks, so when I accomplish a goal, I put a check mark beside it. You might decide to buy yourself something after setting a goal of 1 or 2 weeks of successful change. Figure out your best reward and make that part of the process.
This approach works. It is slow and steady. When I work with people seeking weight loss, we look at the areas that first need attention. It may be breakfast. Initially, changing breakfast from a muffin to something nourishing and satisfying may only be successful a couple of days a week. But people find when doing that, they feel better on the nourishing breakfast days, and gradually shift toward more nourishing breakfasts.
Right now I am offering a special $100 discount on my 6 Weeks to Diet Freedom. You can find out more by following this link.
My long time client and friend Joan said “This is the first time I have never said ‘I need to lose 30 lbs’ or set unrealistic goals. I am being mindful. Baby steps. I feel no pressure of dieting. Nothing seems to have a negative connotation with all the resources that have been given to me during my time working with you during this 6 wk program.”
Small steps - slow and steady - wins the race.