Stop yo-yo dieting by using the www method

Yo-yo dieting is one of the biggest issues that I see when talking with potential clients. It has been something that has plagued them for years... In this article, I am going to explain how to get off of the diet roller coaster by using a very specific approach that has helped 100's of my clients.

THE FAT LOSS MINDSET

Over the years, I have seen thousands of clients and non-clients go through the same repetitive cycle. One of two things will happen. They hop on the diet, do a total overhaul of their life, and they tell the world that they are going to stick to the plan. For the first couple of weeks, they brag about how easy the plan is and how amazing it is. In a couple more weeks, they go silent… Sadly, they have fallen off track, again.

The second person gets on a plan and actually sticks to it long enough to see real results. After about three to four months, they start to get cravings and it starts to get harder to stick to the plan. This is where they need to adjust, but they get greedy. They want more so they keep pushing. They keep pushing until they finally fall off track 100%. Now they are exactly where person A is.

The goal of this book is to totally avoid this situation. I want you to become in tune with your body so that you always know when to adjust and how much to adjust your nutrition and exercise plan. See, the two people above fell into the same trap. They didn’t listen to their body, they weren’t aware of their situation, and they didn’t think it through.

So, before starting any diet or plan, there are three principles that are crucial to your success. If you don’t figure these out, you will continue to fail.

Where are you now

First, you need to take a close look at your life right now. How much do you weigh? Are you motivated? How many hours per week do you work? How often do you go out to eat? Are you a parent? These are just a few questions that I ask my clients when doing a consultation. 

See, the busier you are the harder it is to take on new tasks. If you are working 60 hours per week, it is going to be hard to workout 5 days per week consistently. Instead, you might have to set a minimum of 3 times per week. If you eat out often due to work, you might have to have a more flexible approach.

If you are stressed out, there is also less room for new habits. So, focusing on easier changes initially is going to make more sense. As you will learn later, habits take motivation, discipline, and some urgency to get started. Hard habits take more motivation and easy habits take less motivation.


Where do you want to be

Initially, it helps to be specific with what you want. “I want to lose 15 lbs in the next 12 weeks”, “I want to be able to run a 5k in the next 6 months”, “I want to be able to fit in my dress in 4 months.” These are just a few examples of what specific looks like. It is measurable and time-bound.

Now, once you set that goal, you need to make sure it is realistic. This is subjective for each person, but generally speaking, people can safely lose .5%-1.0% of their bodyweight per week. So, a 200 lb individual should probably shoot for 1-2 lbs per week. Do the math for yourself and see if that matches up with your goal(if doing a weight-based goal). 

I see so many people fall off track with their fat loss plan because they didn’t have realistic goals in place. They expected to lose 3-4 lbs per week and when they don’t, they become frustrated and quit.

The problem with a specific goal is that it feels like a failure if you don’t reach them. If you set your goal for 15 lbs in 12 weeks and you only hit 12 lbs, it can be frustrating. It feels like a failure, yet you still lost 12 lbs! That IS success. How many pounds you lose is part of an equation that is affected by 100’s of factors and it is almost impossible to hit the target right on the head.

For now, if your goal is to lose 15 lbs in 12 weeks, I want you to push that aside. This sounds counter intuitive, but your goal is just to lose weight over the next 12 weeks. Since you do not have 100% control over what your body does or how it responds, it isn’t fair to be extremely strict on the goal. Now, you DO have 100% control over your actions and that is what we will talk about next.

What can you do to get there?

Once you have your goal in place, focus on the habits that move you toward that goal. “I want to consistently exercise x times per week, I want to eat x portions of vegetables per day, and I want to get x portions of protein in per day”. In reality, it is the habits that we choose that get the result. It doesn’t come by chance.

You have to become the person who loses weight and gets in shape. We focus too much on the outcome and not what type of a person it takes. If you want to make $1,000,000, you have to become that person. You will have to do the things that a millionaire does to get there. You will have to set habits that improve organization, delegation, social skills, sales ability, networking, etc. Someone who is a millionaire has usually become very proficient in each of those areas.

When setting these goals, you need to look back at the “Where are you now?” section. Because when you set these goals, they need to fit your current situation. The goals need to be reasonable for where you are now. If you don’t set goals that you are able to stick to, you will be doomed to fail on them.

Example list of goals:

• Eat 3 palms of protein per day
  
• Eat 4 fists of vegetables per day
  
• Exercise for 60 minutes, 3 times per week
  
• Track calories 6 of 7 days per week
  
• Only eat between 12 pm and 8 pm
  
• Exercise for a total of 120 minutes spread across the week
  
• Only eat out twice per week
  
• You will only have 1 portion of protein, carbs, and fats for breakfast and lunch.
  

These are just some ideas for you and it is important to be a creative problem solver. Use your current situation to pick 1 or 2 habits that fit well into your life so that you can hit them at least 90% of the time! After a couple of weeks, feel free to add more. If you are struggling with them, adjust them to make them easier or change them completely.

What is your next goal? Comment below!

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