- The world is full of weight-loss messages suggesting getting healthy is hard
- Stop jerking your body around with diets
- Easy weight loss is real
I didn’t think easy weight loss was possible. We’re conditioned to think losing weight is hard. Now that I’ve been a healthy weight for 18 years I’m excited to say easy weight loss does exist.
Here’s the A, B and C of easy weight loss.
A. Keep doing what you’re already doing
If you eat chocolate for a snack, eat chocolate for a snack.
When I was trying to lose weight I thought I had to choose a diet and drum up the willpower to stick to it. Looking back, I was always on or off a diet. This pattern lead to more weight gain and complicated my relationship with food.
Society supports that message by offering rigid diets that tell you exactly what to eat. But diets are short term solutions.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, build on what you’re already doing.
Otherwise your choices will be a shock to your system and hard to keep up long term.
Diets are hard. Starting with your present habits is natural.
If you usually eat french fries with your hamburger, eat french fries with your hamburger. Or if you usually have no-fat cream cheese on your bagel, eat no-fat cream cheese on your bagel.
Easy weight loss is possible if you start with what you’re already doing.
B. Make small changes to what you’re already doing
Add some yogurt to make your snack more balanced.
When I was trying to lose weight I thought I had to change everything I was doing. These big changes were such a huge leap from what I normally did, they were like taking a stab in the dark. They put me out of touch with my body and made me feel hungry all the time.
Society supports that message by offering rigid diets that tell you exactly what to eat. But diets are short term solutions.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it’s important to phase out old habits by slowly introducing new healthy habits. Small changes build momentum. Taking extremes jerks your body around.
Otherwise your choices will be a shock to your system and hard to keep up long term.
Diets are hard. Adapting what you’re presently doing is natural.
If you usually have a large portion of french fries with your hamburger, try a medium portion. Or if you usually have no-fat cream cheese on your bagel, try eating low-fat cream cheese instead. Then it’s a more balanced meal. Balanced meals help you lose weight! Fat should be part of your meals.
Easy weight loss is possible if you make small changes to what you’re already doing.
C. Build on what works for you
Once you’re used to one small change, make another. Add blueberries to make your snack more balanced.
When I was trying to lose weight I thought I had to follow diet rules, tips and tricks. Every choice was unnatural and hard to do in real-life situations. Like chewing food 40 times or not eating after 6pm. I ended up feeling guilty all the time. I thought I lacked discipline.
Society supports that message by offering rigid diets that tell you exactly what to eat. But diets are short term solutions.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it’s important to feel good about your small changes. Then when they feel natural you can make another change. Or, if something’s not working you can try something else.
Otherwise your choices will be a shock to your system and hard to keep up long term.
Diets are hard. Building on what’s working is natural.
When you get used to eating a medium french fries with your hamburger, see what small change you can make to your hamburger. Like if it’s a bacon cheese burger, try ordering a cheese burger with your medium fries. Or, when you get used to eating low-fat cream cheese on your bagel, try eating regular-fat cream cheese. If that’s too big a step, just put regular-fat cream cheese on one half of your bagel and have low-fat cream cheese on the other half. Or if you’re finding morning workouts tough, try exercising at another time of day. Is there a tv show you like at night? Try watching it while you’re on the treadmill.
Easy weight loss is possible if you build on what’s working.
The hardest part of easy weight loss
Once I understood that real change comes from tweaking present habits, trying to lose weight wasn’t a chore. I felt good about each small improvement and had a chance to get used to it. Then the change was second nature.
Little adjustments also allow you to be flexible. Then you can try new things. For example, I realized I could eat french fries. To my surprise I didn’t have to cut them out completely like diets often suggest.
If you want to experience easy weight loss, stop dieting. Find your new normal by:
A: Keep doing what you’re already doing
B: Make small changes to what you’re already doing
C: Build on what’s working
Perhaps the hardest part of losing weight is letting go of the idea that it’s hard to do. Follow the A, B and C of easy weight loss and enjoy some easy satisfaction!
Easy Satisfaction by Guilty About Girls
These kinds of meals and snacks unlocked my HAPPY weight 21+ years ago (I lost 30 pounds without dieting!)
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These kinds of meals and snacks unlocked my HAPPY weight 21+ years ago (I lost 30 pounds without dieting!)
You'll also be subscribed to my newsletter. Don’t like it? Unsubscribe in one click
Sharing what I learned makes the 10 years I STRUGGLED worth it
What weight-loss messages have you come across that suggest easy weight loss isn’t possible?
This is a great article. Thanks Kelly.
Thanks Fahad! I hope you’ll try making small changes to what you’re already doing vs. dramatic change. 🙂 Kelly