An Introduction to Health, Fitness, and Weight Loss
“I just can’t do this anymore.” “This diet is too hard.” “I’ll never look like that.” “I feel like such a loser.” Have thoughts like this consumed you before? Have you come to a place in your life where you want to lose weight, get in shape, and feel healthier but you’re not sure how to start? Maybe the challenge seems too daunting? Or perhaps you have struggled to find success with one of the many, many diet plans on the market today. If you relate to any of this, the blogs that I’ll be posting in the next few weeks are written for you.
Recognizing the incredible difficulty of getting fit by adopting a strict diet plan or a rigorous workout regimen, I’ll be presenting a fresh, new idea built on this foundational concept: your success in achieving long-term, sustainable fitness, weight loss, and health may very likely be best achieved by making moderate, consistent adjustments in your lifestyle, not by following a stringent, often unreasonable, diet program.
There are hundreds of potentially effective diets being touted by their creators and supporters as the best method to lose weight and get in shape. Countless frustrated dieters purchase books and DVDs with titles that include words such as vegan, Paleo, Atkins, Nutrisystem, and NSNG. Many of these plans are based on educated science and years of research. Each one has proven to be a pathway to better health for many. There is no question that counting calories can be effective and that understanding how your body reacts to certain food groups can guide you to great nutritional success. But each of these diet plans has also disappointed many and resulted in great discouragement, defeat, and frustration. If you are one of the many brave individuals who has hit a roadblock in your search for long-term dietary success and you simply want to find an effective, realistic path to a healthy lifestyle, I would like to offer you an alternative to the diet rollercoaster on which I see so many riding.
Millions of would-be dieters embark on a search for the perfect plan. They hear about a great program on TV or Facebook or in the news. They are excited to dive in. Maybe this describes your journey. You begin the program and all goes well for a few weeks—the plan is carefully followed and the pounds drop off. The scale affirms your success and life is exciting and good. But then the holidays hit. Or perhaps the busyness of life derails the plan. Or the strict discipline required begins to feel overwhelming and one day of cheating leads to another and another until there are more cheating days than plan days. The fall from the wagon happens gradually for many and what so often occurs next is tragic: feelings of defeat and guilt creep into their lives, leading to another attempt at the same plan or maybe a decision to try a different regimen. But once again, life happens. A significant event such as a wedding or a new job hits the calendar. It becomes tiresome to be around friends who eat whatever they want. The structured lifestyle becomes overwhelming again and the plan is abandoned.
After a few rounds of this cycle, a “Why-Bother” frame of mind often sets in. This may be accompanied again by a sense of failure: “I should be more disciplined.” For all of you who wrestle with these experiences and feelings, I have great news for you. You are not a failure. In fact, the courage you show in being willing to tackle the challenge of getting healthier is impressive. And in that spirit, I would like to introduce you to a completely different approach to help you achieve success in your quest.
We’ll jump into the specifics of this approach in tomorrow’s post.