Focus on the skill it will take to lose weight and keep it off, before trying to lose weight.
When we want to lose weight, we usually expect weight loss right away. We may decide to start drinking more water or adding more vegetables to their diet. What we usually do is try it for a week and get upset if we didn’t lose any weight. This is not bad or wrong, but it may discourage staying motivated. Perhaps, think of the big picture. Focus, instead, on learning the skill that will lead to weight loss and you will also learn the skill of maintaining the weight loss when it comes.
Here are some skills that are very common with weight loss:
- Learning to eat the right portion
- Waiting 20 minutes after eating until deciding to eat more
- Drinking more water consistently
- Quitting soda
- Quitting sugary drinks
- Learning to have food without added sugar in everything
- Not eating junk food
- Not snacking between meals
- Not eating a second dinner
- Not eating while watching tv
- Reading labels and choosing something more nutritious
- Eating balanced meals
- Planning meals
- Eating with intention
- Eating breakfast
- Packing a healthy lunch
- Adding vegetables to dinner, every day
- How to not drink one’s calories in alcohol, coffee, or soda
Think about it. It takes 3500 calorie deficit to lose a pound. So, learning to add vegetables at dinner every day can add up over time. If it saves you only 100 calories a day, you are about a month away from a pound, assuming you don’t make up for those calories. After a month you have lost a pound AND created a habit of eating vegetables at dinner. That is the real key and you have also created momentum. Bravo!
Focus on learning the skill that will lead to weight loss and you will also learn the skill of maintaining the weight loss when it comes.
Do you see that the habit is more important than the pound lost? We can lose a pound but it will come back on if we have not made the change part of our routine. Compare this skill of eating vegetables at dinner every day to going on a diet for a week and randomly cutting one’s calories enough to lose weight. You could do either and be successful but the habit of changing a part of your nutrition can last longer. Habits encourage learning how to incorporate the change. Using skill, with careful consideration in personalizing our approach, can help us be successful.
See: https://thedowellbewell.com/the-last-vegetable-recipe-you-will-need/(opens in a new tab)