With Autumn officially upon us, most of us are looking to tone, trim and shed those last few unwanted pounds from some not-so-great summer eating.
If you are a busy mom, the idea of a diet might sound appealing. Perhaps your bestie lost twenty pounds on the ketogenic diet. Or your neighbor looks amazing after eliminating all carbs from her diet. Or maybe your sister swears by Weight Watchers because of its simple to use point system. OR perhaps you are considering a cleanse or detox for more of a quick fix to your expanding midsection.
Americans are spending big bucks on diets, to the tune of $60+ billion per year, with as many as 50% of us on some type of diet at any given time. And the results of our efforts are in and depressing …..nearly 90-95% of all dieters gain their weight back within as little as one year.
Most people are serial dieters ~ meaning, they are on and off diets most of their adult life.
So they are on a constant weight loss roller coaster, and they often end of right back where they started. It’s a pretty miserable way to live, which is why I want to share a different approach with you……
Stop dieting, and make slow changes over time.
I refer to these changes as #tinyedits.
Diets are about deprivation, quick fixes, and short-term results.
Physiologically it’s true that eating fewer calories, decreasing “junk food” and increasing exercise, will result in weight loss for the majority of people, but diets, detoxes, cleanses and over-exercising and are not sustainable. To boot, most “dieters” go into dieting with the all or nothing mentality, so as soon as they “cheat”, they make a determination that they have failed, and they throw in the towel.
Sound familiar?
In addition, dieting doesn’t address the root causes of weight gain, so dieting alone will never result in long-term weight loss or maintenance of your ideal weight.
So, how do you make slow and steady changes over time?
It’s simple.
1. Pick one small change and stick to it, no matter how long it takes
My recommendation is to start with the lowest hanging fruit………the simplest and easiest step on your path to health. For you, it may be the simple act of drinking more water. You know that you should be drinking somewhere around eight glasses, or about 64 ounces of water per day.
So, if you are drinking just eight ounces of water per day, then try to increase your water intake to 16 ounces, then 24 ounces, and so forth. If it takes you six months to reach your goal, that’s okay. Remember, it takes an average person 66 days to make a sustainable change. The key is to stick with one simple change until it becomes second nature.
2. Don’t give up if you have a bad day or a bad week
Everyone has a bad day, or two. And sometimes that day or two turns into a bad week or month. Don’t be hard on yourself if you fail to meet your goal; just reset the clock and try again.
3. Plan ahead if you want to be successful
If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.
All that means is that you need to set yourself up for success. Most of us wouldn’t leave our house without our smartphone …that would be a sure-fire recipe for a disastrous day! Going back to the example of drinking more water, you will need to make sure that you carry some type of water bottle.
Do you like bottle or tap water, plastic or glass, straw or spout, room temperature or with ice? Do you like fruit infused water, an oversized water bottle, a particular brand of water? It may seem silly, but thinking ahead….planning ahead will set you up for success. I find that my 18-ounce mason jar with a glass straw is a no-fail way to get more water.
4. Find an accountability partner
Finding an accountability partner is crucial to your success. Accountability partners are one of the most important factors when helping us stick to our goals, and keeping us honest during the process. In fact, having an accountability partner can increase your chances of success by 50%!
Choose an accountability partner (or two) who can best offer support, be there to keep you on track, and challenge you without condemning you. It may be a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, or a health coach. The important thing is to choose someone that motivates you and can offer positive reinforcement for a job well done. At some point along the way, you will lose your motivation, and having that support is often the determining factor for whether you give up or choose to keep going.
5. DO NOT move on to the next change until you have mastered the last
While some people may have the bandwidth to conquer multiple changes at once, most people are already spread pretty thin between work and family commitments. Adding multiple changes at once may bring faster results, but ultimately it’s the slow changes that will ensure long-term success.
Consider this: If you made one change every six months, and each change improved your health by 10%, in 5 years, you will have improved your health by 100%. You will never have to diet or deprive yourself again because the changes you make will become second nature. Remember this ~ Small changes done consistently add up to BIG changes over time.
