Dirty 4 Letter Word: Diet!

Whether you realize it or not, the word “diet” could be hindering your weight loss progress. “Why?” you ask. Because diets simply don’t work! You may see results in the short term but they won’t last long. The studies and statistics are there! If you want long lasting weight loss success then you need to change your vocabulary. No longer will you say “I’m dieting” or “I’m on a diet”, but “I’ve changed my lifestyle.” Because that’s exactly what you need to do.

Change your lifestyle.

How do you change your lifestyle? Well, it’s not going to be easy, it is a life time commitment to yourself. A commitment to change your lifestyle for the better, so you will look, feel, and be healthy for the rest of your life time.

You are going to have to change your relationships with food, your body image, and exercise. Most people don’t realize that we all think about, see, and feel differently about food consumption. Some of us realize that food is fuel and if we fuel our bodies properly, then we will be able to function (performing daily tasks, exercise, and even sleep) easily. It’s important to know how to read food labels, and understand that if you don’t know what’s in your food then you shouldn’t eat it. Knowing how to prepare food in a way that is tasty, filling, and healthy is also important, along with knowing how much protein, fat, (and yes) carbs. you should consume during each meal. I will be blogging more on this in the future because nutrition is not a simple subject. I will also be continuing with changing relationships with food because some people do tend to go too far with their “dieting”.

Your body image. Everyone hates something about their body, and some of us even hate our bodies period (trust me; I know….I have been there). And if you don’t come to terms with yourself and your body then nothing is going to work for you. You have to accept yourself for the beautiful person you were bore to be. Once you fully love and accept yourself, others will follow suit, and you will be able to drop pounds, be confident and stay at a healthy weight for the rest of your life. (This will also be discussed further in future posts, so stay tuned!)

Exercise. It’s hard. It hurts. And you are going to either want to or you actually will give up at least once. It’s necessary though. Exercise won’t only strengthen your body but also your mind. You will build endurance, muscle strength, and learn that you can do anything you really want to do!!! (Obviously, this is a fitness blog so there will definitely be a lot more on this!)

One good way to get things going is to create a mantra to help get you going when you feel like you don’t want to or you simply can’t. It can be anything you want….mine is:

I am strong
I am fit
I am focused
I will succeed!!

Good luck on your weight loss journey, and keep checking back for more tips, tricks, information and advice.