UNDERSTANDING WHY FOCUSING ON “FOOD” ALONE WILL NEVER ACHIEVE LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS

Who doesn’t believe the ANSWER to weight loss , is PRIMARILY found in FOOD. Although this seems to make common sense, in reality, it is a

MAJOR MISTAKE!

Let me prove this with a simple analogy.

If a person wanted to get an “A” in HISTORY or MATH (as a FINAL AVERAGE GRADE,) would:

1. abstaining from socializing with friends

2. abstaining from socializing with family members

3. abstaining from engaging in ALL social media

4. abstaining from personal leisure time to increase study time

BE A SUCCESSFUL PLAN OF ACTION TO ACHIEVE AN “A” FOR 1 EXAM?

The answer is probably YES!

Now let’s pretend this individual received an “A” on the exam and then reverted to his or her previous study and social lifestyle habits which produced “C” grades. Would the LONG TERM OBJECTIVE (receiving a final “A” average) be possible in this case?

NO!

What if we extended the time of deprivation for social engagement with friends, family, social media, etc… to TWO EXAMS instead of one exam? Would the final report card average achieve an “A?”

PRETTY UNLIKELY!

What if we gave up interacting with our friends, family and social media ENTIRELY and ONLY FOCUSED ON STUDYING for EVERY TEST? Would this approach improve the chances of attaining an “A” for the course?

ABSOLUTELY!

What are the chances, however, an individual would be willing to make this level of ongoing sacrifice?

In fact, this PLAN OF ACTION is typically the same type of “STRATEGY” dieter’s use when focusing on WEIGHT LOSS. They give up:

1. carbohydrates or

2. calories or

3. perform intermittent FASTING or

4.  DRINK their calories as meal replacement shakes or

5. have foods delivered to their door instead of preparing them themselves or

6. attend weight loss meetings and confess recurring failures

7. ETC…

These PLANS OF ACTION FAIL because they all have ONE THING in common; they’re ALL based on:

UNSUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE HABITS.

The key to successful weight loss (LONG TERM) includes LIFESTYLE CHANGES that require SMALL incremental reasonable sacrifices within an ACTION PLAN that addresses the COMPREHENSIVE CAUSES of weight gain. Focusing on the FOOD aspect ALONE and expecting LONG TERM SUCCESS is like focusing on ONE EXAM and expecting an “A” as a FINAL GRADE. 99.9% of the time it can’t be done.

Is it worth focusing all your effort proving you’re the 1/10 of 1% of the population that can somehow “make this happen” while draining every ounce of emotional energy from your body? Wouldn’t you rather design a REALISTIC approach ENHANCING your quality of life during the process of weight loss and (MOST IMPORTANTLY) weight MAINTENANCE?

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED YOUR CURRENT ATTITUDE AND ITS EFFECT ON LONG TERM SUCCESS?

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SUCCEED?

1. PATIENCE: If you are unwilling to be patient and lose weight SLOWLY, you will likely FAIL LONG TERM.

2. HONESTY: MAINTAINING QUALITY HEALTH is a LIFETIME project. When weight loss becomes an ELEMENT of this LIFETIME project rather than the END GOAL,  weight maintenance (without yo-yoing) becomes SUSTAINABLE. If you cannot honestly commit yourself to becoming HEALTHIER (instead of simply “lighter” in weight,) you will likely FAIL LONG TERM.

3. A WILLINGNESS TO CREATE AN ACTION PLAN ADDRESSING THE CAUSES OF WEIGHT GAIN: Food is merely the CHOSEN “TOOL” that RESULTS in weight gain; it is NOT the COMPREHENSIVE “CAUSE” of WEIGHT GAIN! If you insist on remaining focused on FOOD, instead of the various components that drive “weight gain behavior” you will likely FAIL LONG TERM.

4. A WILLINGNESS TO DO “THINGS” YOU DON’T LIKE AS WELL AS “THINGS” YOU DO LIKE: New habits are not easy to implement. The willingness to do “things” your body NEEDS to achieve a HEALTHIER outcome when your BRAIN insists it’s NOT ENJOYABLE is essential. When we were children, our parents “forced” “things” upon us because they were “good for us;” not because we necessarily enjoyed them. Since our parents no longer have this responsibility, their lessons must now be implemented using our own DISCIPLINE. Where does the motivation come from? The answer is rewarding oneself by doing something “LIKEABLE/ENJOYABLE” after successfully complying with UNLIKEABLE/UNENJOYABLE activities. It should be noted that the PRIMARY REWARD, however, should NOT INVOLVE FOOD! Until YOU become capable of finding enjoyment in life without RELYING SO HEAVILY ON FOOD, you will likely FAIL LONG TERM.

5. DISCOVERING PASSION AND PURPOSE IN LIFE: Food fills an emotional need (temporarily.) PASSION and PURPOSE fills an ongoing need which creates greater personal fulfillment as we age (LONG TERM INCENTIVE.) When PASSION and PURPOSE is discovered, each day provides an opportunity for greater awareness, meaning and joy. This replaces the emotional FEAR of work, school, family and financial stress so many people wake up to each and every day. Until emotional fears can be BALANCED with PASSION and PURPOSE, you will likely FAIL LONG TERM.

You now have an outline giving YOU the opportunity to fill in the details. SUCCESS is based on achieving your physical and emotional NEEDS while satisfying your physical and emotional WANTS. Learning to BALANCE these components RESULTS in a HEALTHIER (lighter) YOU

LONG TERM!

Now you know what it takes to achieve LONG TERM FAILURE and LONG TERM SUCCESS for better HEALTH and WEIGHT MANAGEMENT. The only remaining question is, “which path will you choose to follow with this NEW KNOWLEDGE?“

 

Tags: accountability, alternatives, Choices, diet, disease, food, health, lifestyle, weight loss