My daily work is studying and talking about how to lose weight in the most efficient and effective way possible.
And one thing I have learned is that most diets fail.
They may look shiny and appealing, especially since most diet gurus will repackage basic strategies into what looks like the new system that will finally help us lose weight easily.
But the truth remains that most people (anywhere from 65-95%) will regain the weight they lost within a year.
That sounds pretty dismal, doesn’t it?
And when I speak to women I often hear that they have tried all kinds of things over the years and they often are completely disillusioned in the weight loss process.
What I have realized is that most diets fail because they work against our nature.
Most diet gurus create an illusion that their approach is the newest, hottest, latest, easiest method. All you have to do is follow their rules and regulations.
But that gets us into trouble. We don’t want to be bound by someone else’s rules. We don’t want to suffer and feel deprived. We are constantly being distracted and tempted by the world around us.
And yet we try!
Because we want it so badly!
And often we end up falling into traps. Some of the traps I have seen include:
- The deprivation trap
- The perfect eater trap
- The willpower trap
In other words, you feel that you have to continue to deprive yourself in order to keep the weight off.
And you have to follow the diet perfectly but you find yourself slipping and then you feel guilty.
But you don’t feel guilty enough to stop eating.
If only you had more willpower!
And so goes the vicious cycle: deprivation and weight loss, slipping up, feeling guilty, eventual weight gain and more feeling guilty…..until you meet the “next best diet”
What it comes down to is that you are fighting your body, your brain, and your heart! How will you ever win?
As my one client put it, “I don’t ever want to go back there, oh god, please don’t make me go back there”. She was referring to when she was at her heaviest.
And yet, she kept eating.
So, how do you deal with this?
The answer is NOT yet another fad diet!
The answer IS working WITH your Body, Mind, and Heart. The answer is to understand human nature and your own unique nature and to WORK WITH IT, not against it.
If you are trying to lose weight you have to first find out about yourself. What is your nature? What is it about human nature that we can use and work with?
What is it about human nature that can limit us and sabotage our progress? How can we avoid that?
I always recommend starting by just observing what you are doing and how it affects you. What are you eating and drinking? Are you being physically active? Are you sleeping enough? What is your lifestyle like?
And at the same time, what are you doing that’s working? What isn’t working? How does your current lifestyle and food make you feel? Are you tired all the time? Are you having difficulty maintaining or losing weight?
Observing your habits and how they affect your body is certainly the first step toward truly lasting and enjoyable weight loss.
If you would like to dig deeper into how this process works and how you can find the most efficient and effective weight loss strategies for YOU, I invite you to get on a strategy call with me. Just click the link below.
PS:
I have decided to change the name of my business to “Work with Your Nature Weight Loss”. The shortened version is “WYN Weight Loss” (pronounced WIN).
For those of you that have been following me for a while, you will see a new look, new names, new colors, and new words.
So that is going to be fun!
