What is the secret to not only losing fat but keeping it off?
No secrets, only perspective. What makes the difference is whether you are trying to change your lifestyle or whether you are just on a diet.
The two are worlds apart.
Understanding the Difference Between Diet and Lifestyle
By its very nature, a diet is temporary.
Usually, people view diets as short term with a conceivable end in sight. The whole nature of “diet” is to persevere to the end—to hold out just a little longer until it is finally over and you can get back to your normal life.
This teeth-gritting exercise, however, makes the diet feel like a punishment. It’s uncomfortable. It’s unpleasant and in many cases really not that healthy. It does not set you up for success. In some cases a diet may be a helpful jumpstart to changing your body composition but it is not a sustainable approach.
A lifestyle is more permanent.
When you decide to lose weight and use food to improve your health by changing your lifestyle, you start the process of creating new habits and understanding the difference between real food and foods you are instructed to eat on your diet. New healthy habits have to be formed and ingrained over time. Quick fixes= long term failure. Consistency, Commitment, Accountability= Change
The result is that you begin truly adapting your life and behaviors to match your new lifestyle. Instead of toughing it out, you learn about food quality and find healthier alternatives. Rather than being unpleasant, your day-to-day life becomes comfortable and you feel good about yourself and the choice you make
What about You?
Think about how you view your personal fat loss efforts. Are you trying to tough it out so that you can finally get back to your normal patterns of eating? Or are you designing a lifestyle that makes you proud of who you are and the decisions you make?
