Try This for Your Diet!...

We are only a few days into the New Year and many people have set their goals on a number - 20lbs lost by March or 3 sizes down before Summer. The first thing that comes to mind to achieving these goals are inevitably, diets and exercise.

As a former manager for a major fitness facility, I know the behavior and trends that come with this time of year. Overcrowded fitness facilities, 20 minute waits to use treadmills, maxed out aerobics classes are all part of the weight loss pandemonium.

Strikingly enough many individuals have turned their attention to the using one word repeatedly throughout the day - "diet!" I've said it numerous times and will say it again, "diets don't work." Even doctors at the Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Towson agree(located in Maryland in case you don't want to Google it).

So what is it I'm suggesting you try for your diet? Absolutely nothing! Don't go on a "diet!" In fact, every time you hear the word diet you should get upset and encourage the person who said it to rethink what they said. Dieting is hard because people have not learned the difference between willpower and commitment to long-term behavior change.

Diets rely on willpower to keep you on track. When there is desperation and change is wanted, willpower is generally at it's highest peak. The danger with this is when we feel we have made some progress with our "diet," we tend to become less inclined to restrict ourselves from fattening or high carb foods.

A diet will only work as long as you are on it and many people get bored fast so they go on and off frequently. This causes a sense of failure and becomes a slippery slope for many people because then they will eat anything they want telling themselves "it's ok, I'll start again tomorrow." What happens next is they go from diet to diet hoping one will end their failed attempts. Unfortunately, there isn't a such diet and many people end up larger each time they try.

There are many things we want out of this life. Often times a better body or healthier lifestyle is among the top of the list. However, due to what's socially acceptable, we go about achieving these two the wrong way. Permanent weight loss isn't achieved by temporary measures. For long-term success with weight management, many things will have to change - you're nutritional habits being a major one!

As I close this post, I quote Cynthia Finley, a dietitian at John Hopkins Weight Management Center, "many people do not realize it takes two to five years to fully change eating habits."