Pursuing long term weight loss can be challenging and almost seem impossible, especially if you’re excluding your foods!
Often, trying a new diet or trend is the answer when we see others posting their success online and want quick results.
However, following diets that others may have had some success with is typically not the answer for long term success.
You must ask yourself, is the goal long or short term?
I remember trying all and any diet as long as I’d lose weight. I would seek advice from anyone who called themselves a nutritionist as long as they looked healthy. But I failed to learn the importance of changing my habits and reviewing people’s credentials!
My hope today is to prevent this from happening to you!
So, let’s review how changing habits and avoiding diets can be the answer to your weight management goals!
Why do diets fail us?
Too often I hear my clients tell me how they’ve failed and are unhappy about their progress. However, I see a different story. I see a motivated person who has not given up and continues to pursue their goals!
Although many may rely on a visual appeal to determine success, it’s vital that we remember, health is so much more than looks. It’s more than what’s outside, we need to open the book and dig in!
Now, let’s talk a little about diets.
Diets fail us because they’re limiting. They typically remove foods and even food groups that we enjoy during special occasions with people we love.
Think about a time you started a diet and you couldn’t eat something or had to stop eating at a certain time. Think about how that affected your ability to enjoy quality time with friends and loved ones.
Perhaps you were able to continue with a diet for a few weeks or months but then comes a time that it all falls apart and the mentality of “all or nothing” comes to play. Then comes that donut or hamburger with delicious salty and crispy (my favorite lol) fries.
You then have that “forbidden” food or eat after/before a certain time, feel bad, become sad, start a diet over and the diet cycle continues.
That’s what diets do, they encourage the mentality that either, you’re all in or you’re not. No flexibility.
Diets don’t teach.
It’s really that simple, they just tell you what to do and not WHY and HOW.
Why build healthy habits?
Let me ask you, how long did it take to build most of the habits you have today?
Was it a day? Weeks? Months? Years?
Let’s be honest, it took time!
Where we find ourselves today, took time, years even.
Therefore, when working on weight management goals, it’s vital that you take that into account.
Creating healthy habits takes time and that’s why I always teach my amazing clients to work on one (two, max) goals at a time.
As you work on one goal and become comfortable and becomes a natural thing to do on a daily basis, then the second goal can be approached.
Taking time to build on a STRONG foundation for long term success is a must. Most individuals miss the importance of building a solid foundation and continue with massive and unsustainable goals.
And I get it, I was there before!
I remember feeling so desperate and lost that I would try anything! Can you relate?
Honesty is important. It helps us see that we are not alone and how we can help others avoid situations we’ve been in. And that is a massive benefit I provide for my clients, I’ve done the dirty work so they don’t have to!
And you know what?
I wish I had someone like that when I needed it. However, I never found that and decided to become her.
It took time, but was 100% worth it!
Simply, building healthy habits helps build a strong foundation for long term success.
I mean, what’re your goals?
To lose weight today and hope it doesn’t return or to lose weight and not see it again?
Why try a different approach to weight management?
Building healthy habits is the foundation for long term success with weight management. If you’ve tried diets and find yourself trying similar patterns to lose weight with no success, it may be time to get out and try something different.
As I always tell my clients, my individualized nutrition program is not necessarily better than others, but it’s very different. And I can tell you, most if not all are surprised that my main focus with them is not weight loss. At least not at first.
I’ve been in the weight loss game for too long. I’ve practiced and failed, then decided to become a registered dietitian and focus on weight management to not only teach myself but also others who need the same guidance.
Creating a different nutrition program to help individuals build healthy habits while working on weight management has always been my goal. I’ve added a few things such as gut health, but it’s all tied together!
Therefore, I challenge you to try a different nutrition program today! A program that will TEACH you and not simply TELL you what to do.
The goal should be to fly outside the nest and be able to manage your weight on your own. You wouldn’t want to be dependent on someone else for an extended period of time, right?
You should be able to sign onto a nutrition program and feel comfortable and confident it will be the LAST nutrition program you try. Wouldn’t you agree?
If you’re ready for something different and get outside your comfort zone, contact me today!
