There are quick ways to drop pounds, there are crazy ways to cut weight, but with all the many methods out there, all of them are actually only using ONE way... CHANGE!! Don’t get scared and stop reading now!! I promise this WILL work and you CAN do it!!
This article is for people who think they have tried “everything”, those who have lost weight only to gain more back, those who have given up, thinking you’re doomed to stay the way you are forever. This is for people who have lost hope.
I can guarantee that you will reach your goal if you follow just a few easy guidelines...
First the 3 DON’Ts:
#1 - DON'T plan a life changing vigorous workout program that will get you dropping lbs in no time!! Although it sounds good in theory, psychologically it causes anxiety, stress and pressure which in turn causes your body to produce cortisol which will then cause weight GAIN! Not to mention, when you can’t keep up with it, there’s the downward spiral of guilt, depression and failure.
#2 - DON’T start a workout plan on a certain day or occasion like a New Years resolution or “I’m going to start on Monday” In fact, I’d advice to never start anything on Monday!! Poor Monday gets everything shoved off on it and it comes with enough of it’s own problems just being the first workday of the week!! When you have that start date looming out there, it’s just way to easy to self-sabotage and get too busy to do it.
#3 - DON’T severely restrict your diet, vowing to never eat cake again or to eat an extremely low number of calories a day. Do NOT starve yourself! If you feel deprived, you will not be happy and will not succeed!
Now that those are out of the way, you’re probably thinking, ok, guru, what’s the secret? Well, the secret is, there is NO SECRET!! It’s just scientific proof!
As I stated in the first paragraph, what does work is change. Obviously, if we keep doing what we’ve always done we’ll continue to look and feel the same as always. We know we have to make changes, but how we go about making changes can vastly differ. My 100% guaranteed way to do this is in very small increments and for some, it can be almost imperceptible. WAIT!!!...
Before you stop reading because now you’re thinking, that’s going to take FOREVER!! Think again!! How long have you been in your current state? How long are you going to continue to remain in that state if you do nothing or spend all of your time searching for that “magic cure”? How long have you been trying “everything” else? Trust me this WILL work and it may be slow to start but it will have a snowball effect and you’ll look back in awe. Think about how quickly Christmas comes around each year, what if this year you were 2 sizes smaller than last year?
Speaking of change let’s think of it literally....
If you put just one penny in a jar every day...
and kept doing that, over time, eventually you’d have about 5 pounds of pennies! (Ha! you thought it was going to be a dollar amount) Even if you missed a day or two, eventually you’d still have 5lbs of pennies if you just keep plinking them in there.
Or, how ‘bout this one... Let’s say a guy is painting a street line on a highway...
and he makes a directional change of a fraction of an inch, it may not seem like much at first, but in a few miles he’s going to be going in a radically different direction, probably off the road entirely and probably out of a job!
So, now that we have a good picture (or two) of how that works, let’s put it into practice!!
Now the 3 DO’s:
#1 DO Decide how much change you can deal with and stick to. Change one eating habit per _______ (week, bi-weekly, every 21 days, month, etc) Example: give up snack crackers this week, then next week start eating a new veggie; compounding the changing process.
Then, add one physical activity per _______ Exaples: 10 sit-ups per day, walk to the end of your street every 2 days, etc.
Just to be clear; once you make an eating change, that change is made forever until one day, you are eating a clean, healthy diet. The exercise changes should be consistent and ramp up gradually and comfortably, until you’re able to run that 5K or get through a Zumba class with ease or hike up Mt Whitney or whatever your goal may be.
#2 DO start NOW, yep right now!! Whatever change you decided on in #1 do it from this point on. For that matter, whenever you think to yourself, I need to exercise, don’t wait until whenever, show yourself you are serious and do something, anything, right there and then!! Stand up and do a couple of squats, a jumping jack or two, go for a walk, anything to alleviate the dread of a start date/time. Show yourself it’s not that bad and it doesn’t have to cause pain and agony. Show yourself you can do it!! It doesn't matter when or where you do it, just that you get it done.
#3 DO commit to a direction not a plan. This is a LIFETIME change!! If it’s not, you will go back to what you’re doing now and return to how you feel now. How long did it take you to get into your current condition? Did you wake up one morning suddenly in this body? No. Changing direction gradually, one baby step at a time, will give you the ability to stay with it because you won’t feel deprived or beaten to a pulp. But those little incremental changes will become permanent and will add up to BIG results!!
Do your homework!! Research healthy living! The more you know about it, the easier it will be to make changes. Make it a hobby! Start by reading my previous posts here :D
Most people know what they need to do, they just can’t get the wheels in motion or they bite off more than they can chew and quit. No matter what, stay the course. There are no set backs this way, no injuries, no starving, no pain, because it’s gradual, it’s done in your own time and in a way that you can handle it, you set the boundaries so there is no failure. Forgive yourself if you slip up, and just keep moving forward, one baby step at a time.
I’ve heard so many people say, “I don’t know how I got here, one thing lead to another and before I knew it I was ____ lbs” EXACTLY!!! You can make that same thing happen in REVERSE!! Over time you will look in the mirror and say “Wow, how did I do that?”
I look forward to seeing your success stories!!! START NOW!!!
