It’s not dieting, it’s changing your lifestyle that matters.

What I’m about to say is not brand-new information but I feel inclined to touch on it because around this time of year is when folks are most susceptible to fall for diet marketing gimmicks also known as “quick fixes” when it comes to pursuing personal weight loss and physical fitness goals.

You know the kind. They usually end with the word “diet” and begin with the name of a city or a fruit, or something designed to pull you in and convince you of some sort of magical ingredient or power sure to be the end to all your woes and nightmare battles with the scale. How many of these can you name? South Beach Diet, Grapefruit Diet, Cabbage Diet, Green Smoothie Diet, Cayenne Pepper & Lemon Cleanse, Atkins Diet, Keto Diet, Vegan Diet…. the list goes on. Am I saying these diets are bogus? No not at all. They have been celebrated because they produce quick short-term results when followed, but if they are all you are relying on you are setting yourself up for frustration and failure.

They can also lead to a sense of confusion and misdirection about what really works when it comes to successfully losing weight and understanding your body -it’s needs and science.

If you want to lose fat and keep it off, if you want to feel good year-round, you have to make a lifestyle change and that means looking at behaviors, patterns, mind sets, and even the emotions sometimes surrounding your fitness and/or nutrition practices.

What does a lifestyle change look or feel like? How do you know you’ve made a change? Do you get some sort of magical wisdom when you “make the change”? Does that mean you will start craving broccoli and not chocolate?

These are good questions. And here is the answer and the secret to succeeding with this at the same time: The difference between a diet mentality and a lifestyle mentality is a matter of perspective. Ta-da!!!! How about that for some reality.  It all starts in your head and with your attitudes.[1]

So how do you change your attitudes? Well you’ll be happy to know I can answer that with two simple words.  GET MOVING! Moving your body physically impacts your mood, your state-of-mind and most importantly your perspective. Over time getting moving ultimately makes you feel better. Going back to the broccoli, you won’t find that it tastes better because you are in the right frame of mind, but you might have a better attitude about eating it, and that can make a difference when it comes to keeping your goals in mind in the long term.

Indulge me while I take a slight detour here: You don’t have to make things overwhelming. If you have trouble motivating yourself for long workouts, chop it down into manageable size pieces to get started and let the momentum carry you as you build over time.

For example, walking for 15 minutes, four times a day burns as many calories as walking steadily for an hour. There may be benefits to combining them into one long walk, but you need to weigh that against what you enjoy doing and what fits into your schedule.[2] Perhaps you build up to something longer as you become more clear about what works for your body and your schedule. That will only happen if you KEEP SHOWING UP though -without applying the movement rule consistently, you cheat yourself of the opportunity to learn and adjust for long term sustainability. [3]

Okay, now back to the subject at hand: If you want to make the change from a diet mentality to a lifestyle mentality you have to believe that you can do it.  As you are making your resolutions this year and deciding where to make changes and how, here are two central themes to keep in mind that might make the difference between success and failure for you this year:

Diets are all about numbers while lifestyle changes are about #YOU
Diets are all about numbers -the numbers on the scale, the number of calories you eat, the number of calories you burn. These numbers, and how well you STICK to these numbers define your success on a diet.  Lifestyle changes are about YOU -its about making your eating and physical activity on a daily basis, match up to your overall goals and desires. Your success is defined by how you learn to make these changes consistently and how those changes make you feel internally as well as externally.  Your success with applying these changes will come sometimes quickly, and other times more slowly, but the changes and improvements will be apparent to you so long as you put in the work and keep showing up for yourself.

Diets are temporary. Lifestyle changes are FOR LIFE (with room for growth and change)

Diets can only change your appearance, they can’t change what is inside of you. If your mindset and emotions, your old ideas, remain the same, you will eventually return to old behaviors. The more you repeat this short-term pattern, the worse it gets.

Lifestyle changes involve both an internal and an external change. It involves changing your relationship with food, nutrition and exercise. The problem isn’t just what you eat or how much of it you eat, but HOW and WHY you eat the foods you do. What really needs to change is the pattern of eating mindlessly and impulsively and in some cases using food to manage stress, emotions or to distract yourself from your own thoughts.

That doesn’t mean you don’t need to think about eating sensible options and portions, that is very important. But it is not as important as your ability to get to a happy and satisfied place inside yourself. Learning to be happy with and accept the body you have is how you get yourself closer to the body you are ultimately working for and how you keep it. Diets don’t teach you that.

Moving the body matters.

Time to bring things full circle: The easiest adaptation to your daily schedule that you can make is to not find, but MAKE the time to do yourself a favor and get your body moving. Negative emotions like depression and anxiety are allergic to things like sunlight, fresh air and most importantly physical activity and movement. Don’t psych yourself out. Take on little bits at a time.

For ideas on how or what to move….Follow me on Instagram @SahmraStevensonEsq or @OfficeWithoutWalls

Or tune in for video content at….YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2XcEIoaCJ-3VoaXNnT0pwQ

[1] That’s another reason why fad diets can be so damaging in the long run, because their results don’t last, and the message that sends to the average consumer is that long term weight loss success is not an option. Not to mention these quick fixes are designed to be extreme, the purpose being to shock your body and get results in a matter of days or weeks. But most times they shock your mind too because the focus is on deprivation or nutrient avoidance. Message sent? To eat healthy I have to get and remain miserable. Wrong.

[2] The American Heart Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control say in their exercise guideline for healthy adults that you should get 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise, such as brisk walking, five days a week, or a total of 150 minutes spread out over the week.

[3] The short-term discomfort is worth it stick with it!