Balanced Family,
Do you know the difference between dieting and a lifestyle change? The biggest difference between the two is that dieting is a short term process and a lifestyle change is long term.
If you’ve ever tried a diet for whatever reason, you know that most diets have a few things in common. The goal is to lose weight quickly and often there’s a lot of calorie counting. There’re foods you should eat and foods you should never eat. The number on the scale determines whether you’re making progress or not. Is that about right?
If you look at the scale and it doesn’t say the right thing, then you didn’t achieve your goal. Now you’re feeling frustrated and disappointed. If you’re fortunate enough to reach your goal, you’re happy for a while, and then you can hardly wait to get back to eating the things you’ve been missing. Diets are short term.
What you needed is a lifestyle change. Changing your lifestyle is long term. You need behavior that you can stick to for a lifetime.
These are some of the good habits that go into making a good lifestyle change:
Exercising on a regular and consistent basis
Eating healthy, nutritious foods to nourish your body
Practicing moderation not restriction in eating
Listening to your body to tell you what it needs
Being mindful that losing weight should be at a safe and healthy pace, no more than 1 or 2 pounds a week
Remembering that progress should be measured by more than just a number on the scale
Making a lifestyle change is being kinder to your body. You’re less likely to experience mental stress, food deprivation and extreme hunger. You’ll be more in tune with listening to your body. Weight loss will be at a slower pace, but it’ll be permanent and healthier. You didn’t gain the weight overnight; don’t expect to lose it overnight.
When making a lifestyle change, you gradually make one small healthy choice after another and build on it until it becomes a habit. Keep it up, and before you know it, you’ll have made a lifestyle change. It’s so much better than dieting. You’ll be healthier and happier.
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