|
Articles
Why Do New Year's Resolutions To Lose Weight Not Work?
Discover 5 Reasons New Year's Resolutions Fail
And What You Can Do To Make Them Work! Every year
millions of Americans make the decision to have a
New Year's resolution. Some of you may make the
resolution to spend more time with your family, go
to church more often, read more, relax more, etc.
However, most of you will make the decision to lose
weight.
Losing weight for the New Year is extremely popular
and it's no wonder considering that 65% of the
U.S. population is considered to be overweight and
30-35% is considered obese. Besides, you also want
to look and feel better for the upcoming and spring
and summer months. Getting started on a weight loss
program is good for any reason, especially if you
are overweight or obese. Unfortunately, the chances
are you are going to attack your problem the wrong
way and you may not be looking at the long-term
reasons for losing weight. It has been shown that
93.8% of those who make New Year's resolutions
to lose weight drop out by the end of January.
With this free report, you are going to learn what
it takes to do it right! You are going to learn why
you haven't been doing it right to begin with
and what it takes to do it right.
So, here it is:
5 Reasons New Year's Resolutions
Don't Work And What You Can Do To Make Them
Work!
-
Lack of Knowledge
Because of expert marketing and feeding on your
dreams, you have been deluded into believing that
there is one single answer to help you lose
weight. Everything from the Atkins Diet to the
Thy Master has been thrown at your face in books,
TV, magazines, and many other forms of media.
Someone popular like a Hollywood actress or
someone who is even deemed credible (like a
medical doctor) generally endorses these products
or programs. The endorsers will make the claim
that they have found THE
solution to getting fit and/or losing weight.
However, most of these products, diets, and
programs lead to broken dreams and may even cause
you more harm.
Everything such as injuries from Tae Bo tapes,
gaining more weight back after getting off the
Atkins diet, and even death from taking
MetaboLife pills (because they contain ephedra)
has been reported. All of these products and
programs have one common theme- LOSE WEIGHT FAST!
Many of you are so desperate to lose weight fast,
that you will stop at nothing to do it. The keys
lie in not losing weight fast, but losing it and
keeping it off!
What I am about to tell you is just the simple
facts of what it takes to lose weight and keep it
off, safely and effectively for long-term
results. Whether you are male or female, tall or
short, or whatever, there are three components
that you need to implement into your lifestyle
now. And they are to:
-
Lift Weights (resistance training) at least
3 Times a Week for 45 minutes
-
Do Cardiovascular Exercise at least 3-5
Times a Week within a Target Heart Rate
Zone (intensity needs to be high enough to
get a benefit)
-
Eat in Balance, Moderation, and Variety
Throughout the Day
Those 3 components are the only things that have
been proven to work in scrutinized studies. Diets
have proven to do more harm than good, because
you gain the weight back and it can lead to
chronic disease. Only those who incorporate the
components above can perform other activities
like yoga, dance, and other things that require
athletic moves (or as John Basedow says of
Fitness Made Simple- "high, impact
gyrations"). Otherwise, you are going to get
hurt. And there is absolutely no pill or drinking
solution that is the answer either. They can lead
to dehydration, metabolic disease, and even
death. So stop looking for the quick fix and do
it right. There are actual answers to how to eat
right and exercise right, but you have to
research them. I will also warn you to not go by
what your buddy or family members are doing, no
matter what results they are getting. Unless they
are utilizing the 3 components above to help them
lose weight, then don't try what they are
trying.
I highly recommend that you also download my
free report "9 Essential
Strategies For Maximum Weight Loss
Results" too. These simple nine
strategies will get you going on the right foot.
Thinking of strategy, I am now going to tell you
the next reason why you can't lose weight
effectively.
-
Poor Planning for Lifestyle
Modification
Now some of you may have the knowledge or have
an idea of what to do, but you have no strategy.
You may say you want to lose 10 or 20 lbs by
April, however that is just a goal. What is your
plan? Just like a successful business person
incorporates a plan to succeed in a business, you
have to do the same for your weight loss efforts.
You can't just join a health club or weight
loss center and expect miraculous things. You
have to make short-term and long-term goals and
take action. Most importantly, you have to set
realistic expectations.
Here is a tip that can help you with your
strategy.
-
Write Down Realistic Short-Term and
Long-Term Goals and Determine How You Are
Going To Accomplish Them - Write
down how many days a week you are going to
exercise and at what time. Schedule your
exercise routines. Write down what you
should have done by the end of one month,
three months, six months, and twelve
months.
I can get in more detail. There is a lot of
information out there that can help you. Go to
your local bookstore and look in the health and
fitness section. To create an effective strategy,
you may need to get with a professional. By using
a knowledgeable health and fitness instructor,
you can find all the answers and get a customized
strategy to your weight loss efforts. Be sure to
also read 6 Essential Qualifications
That Makes A Personal Trainer A Professional.
Professional trainers especially help with the
next two reasons New Year's resolutions
don't work.
-
Lost Motivation
Sure, you've been committed for a couple of
weeks. You've joined the health club or
weight loss center, but as soon as you feel too
tired or it becomes inconvenient to your liking,
you'll go right back into your old habits.
Worst of all, if you don't see dramatic
results you become discouraged and want to
quit.
As I mentioned earlier, you have been
misinformed. You must understand that most of
these quick weight loss methods are not realistic
long-term solutions. Consider the amount of time
it took you to gain the weight. You don't
just add 10 pounds of body fat in
10 days, so you're not going to lose body fat
in that amount of time either.
Weight is nothing more than gravity pulling an
object toward Earth. The truth is, weight loss is
not what you are trying to achieve, but it's
a decrease in body fat. So if you don't
accept that it may take some time to build your
metabolism to burn more fat and in turn you lose
weight, you're going to give up. The amount
of time you put it on didn't occur overnight,
and losing it (the right way) won't happen
overnight either.
To stay motivated, here are a few tips:
-
Don't forget to create a plan.
-
If you feel that you are not meeting up to
the plan, maybe you are setting unrealistic
expectations. Do your research on what your
expectations should really be. WebMD.com is
a good place to start.
-
Find people that are currently doing all
the right things (resistance training,
cardiovascular exercise, and eating right)
and seek support from them.
-
Make it fun. Now be careful here. Your
exercise program should be fun, but
don't rely on activities such as yoga,
aerobic classes, hiking, tennis, and
swimming to get you in shape. Those are
activities you do after you lose weight and
get fit. What you can do is add a variety
of weight lifting and cardiovascular
exercises.
-
Last and definitely not least, if you know
that you are not going to make it on your
own, then you better get a professional
personal fitness trainer. Working with a
professional who uses positive affirmations
and creates a realistic strategy can keep
you motivated.
-
No Accountability
As you may see, many of these reasons tie
together. It is not one single factor that
prevents you from reaching your goals, but a
combination of many.
Most of you rely on willpower to make yourself
accountable. Well, I have a secret for you,
willpower doesn't exist. If it did,
then you would already be in great shape. You
would already be avoiding the late night
ice-dream scourges and you would already be
lifting weights and doing weekly aerobic
activity. Since you're not, then you have to
believe that willpower is a figment of your
imagination.
It's easier to hold yourself accountable to
other roles of you life. You are held accountable
to your boss or employees at work. You are held
accountable to you spouse and kids. You are held
accountable to friends to show up at a social
event. But, when it comes to holding yourself
accountable to exercise and eating right it is
difficult. You are relying on yourself. You
can't just say you are going to do it.
If you are going to try to hold yourself
accountable to your friends or family members,
forget about it (in most cases). They may say
something to you a couple of times, but then they
will stop saying anything at all because they
don't want to damage the relationship.
Besides, if they are not doing what you are
doing, then they are not effective role models or
supporters. Seeking their support is fine, but
having them hold you accountable won't
work.
When it comes to holding yourself accountable to
a regimented exercise program and meal plan, you
will have to one or both of the following:
-
Write It Down - Studies
have proven that writing down everything
from what you eat to the exercises you do,
can improve your ability to commit to the
program. By writing down what you do, you
will have a sense of accomplishment and you
will feel guilty when you don't right
it down. It will also allow you to see what
you have been doing, so that you can make
changes if necessary. Just like writing
notes for a class you are in or writing
notes at you place of business to remind
you of things, writing down your eating and
exercise habits cultivates habitual
change.
-
Get a Coach - If all else
fails, then you need a coach. Someone that
will hold you accountable to committing to
the program. Someone of which there is no
emotional attachment and they will not be
scared to say how it is. A study at John
Hopkins University found that 93.8% of
those who create New Year's resolutions
drop out by the end of January. Another
study at Virginia Polytechnic University
demonstrated that those who had a coach
increased their likelihood of success by
2200%. This was a controlled study where
there were two large groups, one with a
coach and the other without. It just makes
plain, simple sense.
Advice: As self promoting as
this may sound, you may need a coach, a trainer,
or some health and fitness professional to help
you reach your goals, if you have been constantly
battling a weight issue. Don't you think
it's time to do it right?
Warning! Beware of those who
call themselves coaches and have no formal
education to create safe and effective programs.
Be even more careful of those programs that have
cookie-cutter programs that have you do the same
thing over and over again, without any form of
continual attention. Their programs are cheap,
but what value do they offer?
-
Fear of Failure
I had mentioned before that you may have an idea
of what to do, but you are not doing it. You
realize that eating a balance diet of lean
proteins, fruits and vegetables, and drinking
water is good for you. However, is that what you
are doing or are you skipping breakfast and
waiting to eat a bag of chips with a cold,
sugar-filled soda before going to bed?
Well known motivational speaker and behaviorist,
Tony Robbins, mentions that there are two factors
that drives our behavior. Those two drivers are:
Gaining Pleasure and Avoiding
Pain.
I've coined this as the
Pain/Pleasure Ratio.
There are instances where we need to avoid pain
and there are instances that we deserve the right
to gain pleasure. Likewise, there are some things
where pain is needed to gain future pleasure and
instances where instant pleasure can lead to
future pain.
What I have discovered in regards to one losing
weight is that you usually are looking for
instant results, or instant pleasure. Moreover,
what I have found is that most programs or
products that leads to quick gratification leads
to more pain in the future. Let me give you an
example that may at first seem a little
left-field, but once I continue I think you will
understand.
Think about a drug addict. Their goal in life is
to seek instant gratification. They need to get
that instant high or buzz. In time, their
emotional, mental, and physical state begins to
deteriorate. They will beg, borrow, and steal and
will stop at nothing to get what they want. Now,
think about this- Every time you go though a
drive-thru, isn't it instant gratification
that you seek? How about eating a candy bar from
standing in the line at a grocery store?
Here is the spin that will help you understand
better. Before I mentioned the quick weight loss
schemes such as taking a pill or drinking Slim
Fast all day. These things will give you the
instant gratification of losing weight quick.
However, you inevitably get more pain in the
long-run. You will gain the weight back, plus
some. The funny part is, as you spent your time
to get instant results, you are avoiding the
pain.
You avoid the pain of showing up a health club
to exercise. You avoid the pain of cooking your
own food. Oddly, the pain to do these things
leads to future pleasure. You look better,
therefore, your confidence improves. You're
able to enjoy things that are as mundane as
playing with your kids or grandkids. People begin
to make comments about your energy and your
stamina. Overall, your health improves, because
your cholesterol is down and your blood sugar is
controlled. Ironically, fad diets and tricky
programs will help you lose weight in a hurry.
Yet the other benefits are not there. They
don't get you healthy, you just lose weight
and the results can be quite damaging.
Here you are again, overweight and unhappy. Even
though you may know what to do, you avoid the
pain for one reason and one reason alone-
Fear of Failure! You're
afraid that if you put all this time and energy
into something, that you might fail. Sadly, if
this is what you feel, then you might be
right.
Henry Ford once said, "Whether you say you
can or you can't, either way you are probably
right." Think about everything that you said
you couldn't do. Think of all the times you
said, "if only I had done this 10 years
ago." Well, it's not too late. It's
never too late to get in shape.
There are other things in your life that
required you to take risks. You bought a home,
even though you knew you would have to keep it up
or it could catch on fire. You may have a
retirement plan, but what if the stock market
crashes. You've made other investments in
your life that had risks, so invest into
yourself. Besides, what is to fear in what has
been proven to work?
-
My Last Words:
I beg of you this, stop the Yoyo dieting, buying
of exercise tapes your not going to use, and just
start taking care of yourself the way your
supposed to. Consider the amount of time you
spend watching TV, going out to eat, and
over-working. The facts are this: When you
implement a lifestyle of healthy eating habits
and weekly exercise, not only will you begin to
lose weight (body fat), but you will keep it off.
Best of all, you will feel more energetic, be
healthier, decrease the likelihood of developing
injuries and disease, be stronger, decrease
stress, have muscle tone, improve vitality, think
clearer, and on and on. Everything else I just
mentioned are things that you cannot achieve with
a fad diet, a pill, or contraption you bought
from a TV infomercial.
Ultimately, you will achieve ultimate pleasure.
Everything in your life will be sweeter and more
enjoyable. What is to fear in that? You just have
to get in the habit of incorporating healthy
living as a lifestyle, not as an event. Sure, it
takes time and effort, but so does everything
else. That's just a part of being above
ground.
If I can be any assistance to you, please
don't hesitate to call me. I'm happy to
speak with you and give you my recommendations.
Please visit my website at
www.FitnessTogetherGeorgia.com or call one of my
offices below to initiate your subscription to my
free health and fitness newsletter or obtain any
additional information you may need. My e-mail is
kelly@FitnessTogetherGeorgia.com. Thanks, and
have a happy New Year!
Kelly Huggins, B.S., ACSM HFI
The Fitness MythBuster
404.303.8305 kelly@kellyhuggins.com
|
