As human beings, we are naturally creatures of habit. Everything about our life and the way we live it is based on either habits we learned in our formative years, or through new habits that were introduced to us as we grew older. The way we diet is amongst these learned habits.
Below are the three ways your dieting history and habits may be failing you, and how to pump the breaks and steer yourself in the right direction toward success.
You’re a serial dieter – No matter what the trend; low carb, keto, vegetarian, paleo, cleansing – you’ve tried them all and failed. Perhaps you did keto for three weeks and then fell of the wagon at a party. Maybe vegetarian was rocking your world until your significant other surprised you with an expensive steak dinner. Perhaps cleansing made you feel light until that light feeling turned into dizziness and you nearly passed out. Whatever your story is with serial dieting, my best advice is to stop. This doesn’t mean you should fill your plate with junk and give up on the idea of weight loss. What it does mean is that there could be something in your brain that has a negative association with the word “diet” and every time you do it, you feel too deprived to continue. Instead of “dieting,” try just eating healthy. Don’t delete an entire food group from your diet or say you’ll never eat chocolate again. Decide to make the majority of your meals healthy and allow yourself permission for small indulgences that will keep your eating habits in line. This is why flexible dieting has had such a positive outcome and worked for me.
Obesity runs in your family so you’ve given up hope – This one is arguably tough for anyone. We all look to our genes as a guideline for what’s possible in the world of physical improvement. However, what you see in your family isn’t always what YOU have to get. Obesity is typically a lifestyle issue more than a medical one. If you will yourself to eat better, to exercise more and to break other unhealthy habits that you see in your family, your body and your mind will be changed. Sure, if you come from a family of super curvy women who average 5’2” you will probably never look like an ultra-thin, 6’ tall super model – but you can still shape the best YOU possible. You are in charge you’re your physical health, and while you may have some minor limitations on what change is possible, you are not destined for failure unless you choose to be.
Slow progress = no progress in your eyes – If you’re this type of person, you probably go crazy hard in the beginning of your weight loss journey. You track every bite, you plan every meal, and you absolutely kill it every day at the gym. Then at the end of the week you weigh in and if that scale does not reflect the number you had in your head you start to give up. DON’T! The road to permanent weight loss is a long one and one that will be filled with good and bad weeks. Instead of walking away discouraged, tweak your plan a bit. If you’ve been killing yourself with cardio for weeks, back off and add in some weight training. Try increasing or decreasing your calories just a bit and see how your body reacts. And don’t forget to change your mindset as well. As long as you’re pushing forward, eating healthy and being active, there is no way you are not making progress! The scale may not always be on your side, but if you take your measurements, note of how differently your clothes are fitting, or take progress pictures, you’d see what the scale isn’t telling you and doesn’t take in to consideration.
Consider joining Sloane’s Squad so that you can have the ability to workout any day that is convenient for you schedule, no matter where you are with my video guided workouts. With healthy recipes at your fingertips, and a community for you to join on your journey, you really can’t go wrong!
