By: Ken Dominique
How many of us have planned to start a new diet on Monday, only for it to be completely forgotten about by Tuesday afternoon? Or maybe you’ve done a 30 day cleanse, only to have gone back to where we started on day 31.
Statistics show that 80% of people that lose weight from a diet end up gaining it back. EIGHTY PERCENT?!?!? If you spend the next 60 days losing weight, then gain it all back in the following 3 months, what was the point of going through all that work to lose the weight in the first place?
There’s something that the 20% of people do that matters most, and that is consistency. Anybody can starve themselves to lose weight, but if the goal is to live a healthy life for the long haul, you need a better plan.
The fact is that MOST diets work. There have been studies that show people losing weight on low-fat diets, high-fat (keto) diets, high carb diets, low carb diets, and everything in between. The problem that people run into is that when you get off of your “quick fix” diet, you go right back to square one.
That’s why you need to build habits that you can do forever.
For example, how many times have you backed out of your driveway? After the 1000th time, you don’t think while you’re doing it “Ok I need to push my foot down on the brake and hit the start button on my car, wait 3 seconds for the car to turn on, keep my foot on the brake while I switch the car into reverse gear, then look in my rear view mirror, then slowly take my foot off the brake” and so forth.
You back out of the driveway because you’ve built the habit over a lifetime, you don’t even have to think about it.
When you can perform your nutrition habits the same way, when you can make your breakfast with your eyes closed or meal prep while having side conversations, that’s when your habits become sustainable.
That takes time, so start small. Work on one habit at a time, and get it locked in so that you can do it forever without having to spend any mental energy on it.
Where should you start? Try adding a vegetable to your breakfast every day. Simple, right? It makes a big difference and sets you up for success for the rest of your day.
For more information on nutrition, send us a DM or email ken@crossfitangola.com to schedule your FREE nutrition intro! I’d love to talk to you about all things nutrition and answer any questions you may have!