As a Weight Loss Coach and Counsellor, I have a lot of conversations with people who are looking into weight loss. And before they commit to a program, they want to know what they are getting. So the number one questions I get asked is: “How soon will I lose all the weight?”
As soon as I hear this question, I know that this person is an experience dieter, and my heart drops. I instantly know that this person is going to have a tough time keeping any weight they lose off. You see, they are focusing on the How Long, instead of the How. This is what makes weight loss programs like “Lose 30 lbs in 30 Days” so popular. People are just wanting a quick fix. Let’s just get the weight off as fast as possible, so I can be happy. The problem is these Lose 30 lbs in 30 day type programs are diet plans. Diet plans are fast and (what they don’t advertise is) they don’t last. They cater strictly to people’s desire to have the quick fix. Just take this pill and in 30 days, you’ll be slim and happy. Diet plans are in my opinion, the snake oil salesman. They are selling you something that is unsustainable and gives false hope. False hope is not helpful when it repeatedly fails a person. It is destructive to peoples’ self-esteem and self-worth. It makes people feel like a failure because they are not successful at these diet plans. It is important to know. That people don’t fail at diet plans. Diet plans fail people.
I often get people who inquire about working with me, ask me what sort of meal plan I will be giving them. They are quite shocked at the idea that I don’t provide meal plans. So they say, well for me to lose weight, I need a meal plan to follow. Please just tell me what to do to lose weight and I’ll do it. The problem is, it is not as simple as just telling people what to do. Just telling them what to do is just a diet plan, and as I mentioned before diet plans don’t last. The bottom line is what a person needs to do to lose weight is different for each person. Long term weight loss is without requires a ‘lifestyle’ change. Not everyone is ready to change their lifestyle, which is why they keep trying diet plans over and over. Diet plans don’t change your life style, they just give you a short term plan for quick weight loss, then you quickly gain all the weight back after the diet is done (or more likely when a person quits the diet).
Just following a diet ‘plan’ that you don’t need to think about it missing the key element is successful weight loss. You need to really think about and understand why you are currently eating the way you do and what you as an individual need to change to make weight loss happen. Your habits and triggers to what, when and how much you eat are different from others, so it is important to learn what those are.
It makes me so sad when I hear people struggling for years and trying diet after diet, with the thinking, “Maybe this is the diet that will work for me”. Time after time people are lured by the promise of quick weight loss, and are sucked in again and again. Don’t be fooled by the latest and greatest sounding diet again. Without learning, step by step how you need to lose weight, your success will likely be limited or short term. Generally adapting to a new lifestyle for weight loss takes some time. Some adapt quicker than others, but there is certainly no set amount of time. Some people can adapt to new lifestyle changes in a month… others take a year or more. The important thing to keep in mind is that long term weight loss is not a quick fix diet plan. It is a lifelong lifestyle change, and it starts within your inner thinking before it shows on your exterior.
By Adriana Ellis. Adriana is a Certified Life Coach, Certified Weight Loss Coach. Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach, Certified Food Addictions Coach, Law of Attraction Coach and has her Diploma (with distinction) in Counselling. Adriana teaches her clients how to change their thinking and habits to help them feel better and get the results that they want.
www.attunedwholistic.com
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