Lifestyle Changes Are Necessary for Lasting Weight Loss
Have you been the victim of fad diets that make big promises but deliver only short-term results? Many people fall into these traps. That’s why the weight loss industry is so successful, but the health of Americans shouldn’t be considered an industry to exploit for profits. And when you look at the science behind weight loss, it is clear that the industry is only hurting Americans.
What is all this talk about lifestyle changes?
When you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to make changes to your lifestyle that will remain in place even after you reach your goal weight. Making changes only temporarily means that the weight loss will be temporary as well. If you want to keep the weight off forever, you’re going to have to make some hard choices.
What kind of lifestyle changes will help me lose and maintain weight?
There are a lot of changes you can make to help you get healthier. When you focus on getting healthy rather than solely on weight loss, you will be much more successful. Some examples of lifestyle changes that our patients often make include:
- Decreased consumption of alcohol
- Learning and practicing portion control
- Eliminating soda, energy drinks, and other sugary beverages
- Significantly decreasing sugary and processed snacks
- Starting or increasing an exercise regimen
The key here is to make goals to change your lifestyle in a way that will support weight loss and healthy weight maintenance. The things that you need to change are likely going to be different than your friend would change.
Another very important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t try to change everything about your lifestyle at once. It is vital that you are gentle with yourself and not beat yourself up over cheats and backslides. Changing too many things at once can make it even more difficult. It can take up to 30 days to break a habit, and you shouldn’t take on too many bad eating habits at once.
If you are ready to take the plunge and really work on yourself and your life choices, contact us today to schedule your weight loss appointment.