subject: Why Short Term Goals Are Bad For Dieting [print this page] Why Short Term Goals Are Bad For Dieting Why Short Term Goals Are Bad For Dieting
Say you're overweight. You used to look good in college, tall and dark and handsome, but somewhere around your mid-30's you started to pack on a few pounds. You got a desk job, you stopped playing sports, you began to eat more and watch more TV. Then you wake up one morning and realize that you've put on thirty more pounds than you used to weigh in college, and man, it's all in your gut. So what do you decide to do? Simple. Diet. You decide to lose 30 lbs in three months, and then you're off the races. Is this approach the correct approach? I'm going to argue that not, it isn't, and ultimately it's only going to make things worse. Read on to discover why.
First of all, you're looking at your diet as a short term fix. Three months and the fat is gone, and then you're finished, back to business as usual. You can imagine suffering for three months, being tough and holding out on cake and cookies, but that's about as long as you're willing to go. Once you look good, then it's time to enjoy life again. And what does that mean in reality? That you will revert to your old habits and almost immediately begin to pack on the pounds again.
Because here's the horrible truth: the only way to keep the weight off is to change the way you live long term. The only way to become truly healthy is to live a healthy lifestyle. If you eat whatever you want and go back to the couch, your body will change to reflect that. If you fail to understand the connection between how you live in general with your health, than no 3 month diet will ever change you. In the long run you are destined to be fat, unhealthy, and doomed to endless cycles of dieting.
So what's the solution? Think long term. Make small changes you can live with forever. Cut soda from your diet. Walk ten minutes every day. Do small things you can live with, small changes that you can adopt into your lifestyle without suffering horribly and looking forward the relief when your diet' is over. Sure you can try to lose weight quickly in the beginning by more extreme methods, but ultimately you have to adopt a long term view of your health, or you will be doomed to failure.
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