Why The Weight Loss Resolution Typically Fails
It’s that time of year again. Time to eat, drink, be merry, and then tell ourselves that it’s okay to have that extra slice of pie because your New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. Millions of Americans partake in this tradition every year, and losing weight is one of the top goals people aim to achieve. However, it is also one of the top resolutions that fail. It’s not that having a goal to lose weight is wrong, but the mentality that you can eat whatever you want and then simply exercise to burn off the calories can lead to failed goals.
Exercise should not be considered a punishment or something that we have to do because we cheated on our diet. Conjointly, you also should not cut certain foods, like sweets or salty snacks, out of your diet entirely just because they are considered “bad” foods. Labeling a particular type of food as forbidden only works to heighten your desire for that food even more, which typically results in the ever-familiar “falling off the wagon” scenario. Once this happens, it can lead to negative feelings and self-criticism, which furthers the desire to binge or punish yourself with exercise. It’s a vicious cycle, and it has to stop.
Weight loss should be less about the number on the scale and more about creating healthy habits. Thankfully, Dr. Kells, DC, has a proven and trusted weight loss program in Salt Lake City, Utah, that is less about losing weight and more about a whole-body health transformation.
The New Year’s Resolution Done Right
Before jumping into the specifics of how to achieve your New Year’s resolution, it helps first to think about why it is that you want to lose weight. Shedding pounds just for the sake of shedding pounds is not very motivational.
Weight Loss: It’s Not About “The How,” It’s About “The Why”
The thing that people tend to forget when setting goals is that it’s not always about the end result and how you get there, but why you want to achieve that goal in the first place. Setting a New Year’s resolution without reason, just because it’s what everyone does this time of year, is a sure-fire way to end up disappointed. The first thing you should do before you get to work on achieving your weight loss goals is to think about why you’re setting them.
Meeting an objective is most successful when the end goal is less about a numerical result and more about a change in habit or attitude. Working towards an emotional goal as opposed to working towards a number that doesn’t have any feeling attached to it will help you to feel more inspired and connected to that goal. So, for example, if you want to lose x amount of pounds because you don’t like the way you look or how you feel, you could instead change the goal to, “I want to have more energy and feel more confident.” Once you change your habits and your way of thinking, the numbers tend to follow suit.
Eating Balanced Meals
When thinking about how best to achieve your New Year’s goal or any weight loss goal, the keyword to think about is “balance.” It’s not about the number on the scale once you reach the end, but the journey and the habits formed to get there. Most people think changing eating habits to achieve weight loss means cutting out certain foods altogether, but as stated above, that usually doesn’t end well. Eating balanced meals isn’t so much about what you eat, but how much of it you are eating.
With all of the fad diets out there these days, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and a bit lost. Especially when one minute they are telling you to cut something out of your diet, and the next they are telling you to put it back in again. When it comes to any diet, it is usually best to get your information from nutrition experts and scientific journals.
According to a recent study by the Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome, consuming a diet with a balanced nutrient intake is not only best for successfully achieving your weight loss goals, but it is also necessary for preventing and managing chronic disease.
What Is a Balanced Diet?
A balanced diet involves consuming foods from all five food groups to give your body the nutrients it needs to maintain good health and prevent disease. While the food pyramid was the original method used to instruct Americans on how to eat healthily, the USDA has since changed thier recommendations to make sure you are instead building a balanced plate from all five food groups. Those five groups are:
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Grains
- Protein
- Dairy
Though things like sweets and fats are not listed, it does not mean you need to deprive yourself of such foods. Again, the idea with all of this is to create a balance. Depriving yourself of something is only going to make you want it more. The goal isn’t to live a life devoid of simple pleasures, like a slice of pie, but instead to teach you how to enjoy your life and to simply consume certain things in moderation.
Putting It All Together to Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals
Set your intentions and live a balanced life. It might sound too easy when you put it this way, but simplifying your goals is the best way to achieve them. When you give yourself a tough challenge and aim for a numerical result, like losing 20 pounds, it can make the task at hand seem much more difficult than it needs to be.
The simple truth is that when you aim to change your habits and eat balanced meals instead of depriving yourself or punishing yourself to make the weight disappear, the journey and the process of reaching your weight loss goal will be much more enjoyable. Contact Dr. Kells, DC, in Salt Lake City, Utah today to find out how our whole body health transformation can help you finally achieve that New Year’s resolution and stick with it for a happier and healthier you.