Most diet culture ideas become cheap knockoffs of what it takes to achieve your goal. This pill will reduce your hunger pangs. This soup is very low-calorie and hot, so your stomach will feel fuller longer. This herb will curb cravings. These are the “free” foods – have all you want.
In the late 70s, early 80s, we were recommended the low-fat diet. The message was that you could have basically all you wanted as long as it didn’t include fat. At least that’s how I heard it. How about you?
Other methods said calories no longer mattered. You could eat all the X you want, and you’d lose weight.
Gastric bypass gives you a smaller stomach, and the GLP-1 inhibitors reduce your hunger. You get all you want, but you don’t want as much.
We love the idea of the freedom to eat all we want AND still lose weight, but that’s usually only true for those with a high metabolic rate, a tapeworm, or an overactive thyroid. Anyone remember the product “Lard-B-Gone”? It was a pill with tapeworm eggs . . .
These are all knock-offs of what it takes to have food freedom. Real food freedom comes from making difficult choices amidst temptation.
How do we learn to do that? Learn some life lessons and choose to apply them to weight loss. I know. It’s not magic, it’s not sexy, it’s certainly not easy, but when we learn these 10 key lessons, it makes a huge difference.
First three lessons: Patience, Persistence, and Self-discipline.
In almost every other area of your life, you’ve learned these. Budgets and finance are built on these. Schooling and training run on these. Areas as disparate as relationships, holidays, and meal preparation run on these. We know how to do this.
Be Patient: How can you be more patient with yourself and the process of weight loss? Beating up on yourself for struggling with a new way of doing something is counter-productive. Be kind. Be patient.
Then —
Be Persistent: In what areas do you need to be more persistent in making good choices and changes? Practicing what you WANT to do is part of the process. Persistently better choices makes the change.
Self-Discipline – oh, if we could bottle that, right? We can’t, but we can grow it. Choose one element – maybe a food, maybe exercise, a habit, — something around which you will practice self-discipline this week.
One step at a time will change your life a lot more than those cheap knockoffs.
If you need some help to get started, let’s talk: [email protected]
