According to a new study done this year, 49% of Americans want to lose weight (1). When you think about the fact that there are over 320 million people living in the United States, 49% is a ton of people who think they’d look better if they shed a few pounds.
The unfortunate thing about weight loss is it’s difficult. Not in the sense that it can’t be achieved. It just requires a lot of work and discipline.
As a fitness coach, over the last 6+ years, the one thing I’ve realized is most people don’t really understand how weight loss works. And I’m not talking about the science behind it. I’m referring to the ebbs and flows of weight loss.
You see, the majority of people expect weight loss will look like this.
This perfect linear trend downward. But the reality is, this isn’t the case.
But no one likes to talk about that, because it’s not sexy or exciting. The fact that someone may have to try for months or years to lose weight isn’t something you want to hear when you take on a weight loss goal.
That’s why programs advertising drastic weight loss in a short amount of time are so popular. People want quick results and don’t want to wait for them.
However, if you want to lose weight, the truth is you will go through periods of weight loss, weight gain, and weight maintenance on your journey. That’s just the way things work.
I want to give you an example of this. The graph below tracks one of my clients, Randall. He began working with me in October of 2016. What you see below is his weight loss over the last 9 months.
As you can clearly see, he had decreases, increases, and maintenance periods in this entire 9 month cycle. But what I want you to pay attention to is his starting point in October 2016 and where he’s currently at as of July 2017.
If you were to graph only those two points, the trend would be perfectly downward. And that is what’s advertised in these quick weight loss programs and products.
What’s not advertised is how often these people gain all the weight back after they complete the program. Just look at the Biggest Loser as evidence of this.
The key to maintaining your results is slow and steady change. That’s why I’ve mentioned time and time again why diets suck. They’re restrictive and force you to give up all of your favorite foods.
This isn’t sustainable long-term and you’ll eventually go back to your old habits of eating. And that’s where all results are lost.
If you want to create lasting change, using a habit-based approach will work best. This is the slow and steady approach that Randall has used and it’s benefitted him greatly. Have a look for yourself.
He’s lost a total of 24 pounds, dropped 9% body fat, and lost 6 inches off his waist.
Now, some may look all that he’s accomplished over these 9 months and think that they could do better. I mean why spend 9 months to lose 24 pounds when you can purchase that infomercial product guaranteed to help you lose 20 pounds in 1 month?
Again, it all comes back to can you maintain your results? I know Randall can. I wouldn’t bet on the infomercial.
And when you take this slower approach there will be times when weight loss stalls. You may find some weeks it creeps back up. You might even find motivation hard to come by. This is the beast that you’ll face time and time again.
The cool thing about this entire process though is that you learn a lot about yourself. Things like how much sleep you need every night, what triggers cause you to binge eat, and how to set up healthy meals so you aren’t tempted to hit the drive through on the way home. It’s these things that ultimately give you everything you need to maintain your results.
But the key to accomplishing anything you want is consistency. That’s why Randall has gone on to have so much success and why he will continue to down the road. He’s busted his butt in the gym these past 9 months and he’s had to overcome a lot of difficulties with food.
Like I mentioned earlier, this isn’t sexy or exciting. But, if you want lose weight, you will have go through this. In the end though, you’ll find a sustainable approach that you can use to not only lose weight but help you keep it off the rest of your life.
So anytime you see a quick weight loss product, don’t give it a second thought. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t expect it to happen overnight. Be diligent, be persistent, be consistent. If you do this, you will get to where you want to be.
Reference:
1. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2017/03/08/fewer-heavy-americans-are-trying-to-lose-weight-study-finds.html
