The secret to long-term weight loss is doing the same healthy things over and over again.
Have you noticed that some people who have a personal trainer and consistently workout do not look any look different?
That’s because it’s what we do between exercise that really makes the difference. That being said 70% of weight loss comes from changes in diet.
There are three "ingredients" to weight loss.
1. Eating right (or Diet)
2. Exercising
3. Consistency
The third ingredient: Consistency is easily the most important, and the most difficult to accomplish. It takes accountability and a measured pace.
There’s a huge difference between knowing what to do, and actually doing it.
Diet:
The right diet will can help anyone lose weight for a few weeks. The problem with most diets is that they a) become boring b) are seen as temporary c) don’t actually change your habits and behaviors. We view a diet as something we will do until we reach our goal—and then quit, and go back to “old ways”. Most people never stick to their diets.
Instead of talking about your "diet", start talking about it as a way of life. The best “diets” are the ones you can truly stick with. It has to be a way of life, otherwise, you’re going to revert back to your old ways, and regain the weight.
Ultimately, the key to this is changing your relationship with food. If the only thing we’re changing is the food we’re eating from one “diet” to the next, we’re not going to change for the long term. If you have trouble sticking to a diet and/or exercise plan, it may because of an unknown fear related to losing weight—people are often as afraid of success as they are of failure.
Exercise:
One of the biggest problems with exercise is "binging and purging." (Note: This has nothing to do with food, bulimia, or anorexia.) As an example, "John" will decide he needs to lose 15 pounds before his wedding. He buys a gym membership and starts working out every day for 2 hours (binging).
By the end of the first week, he is completely exhausted. He decides to take a day off to recuperate and that day turns into a week (purging). When John feels sufficiently guilty, he will goes back to the gym and repeats the process. Again, like your diet, it has to be sustainable. But keep in mind: no one gains weight from not exercising. People gain weight from overeating.
Why do so many people struggle with their weight?
Consistency:
People aren’t staying consistent with their diet and/or exercise.
It’s all about consistency. It's easy to start a diet, but it’s very hard to stick with it. Same for exercise.
The real key to losing weight is not a magic diet, pill or exercise contraption. Rather, the key is finding ways to be consistent with diet and exercise.
Remember, there's a huge difference between knowing what to do, and actually doing it.