Nobody really likes to diet, so why not quit? No, you shouldn’t stop trying to lose weight or live healthier. You should still do those things—you should just do them by changing your lifestyle rather than simply trying to change the way you eat.
A lifestyle change goes well beyond dieting, which is all about depriving yourself of certain foods out of fear for what they’ll do to your stomach, hips, butt and backs of your arms. Diets are all about numbers—count and consume fewer calories.
Lifestyle changes don’t worry about the numbers because they’re all about making smart decisions—and being empowered with the knowledge that you are in control, not a label or list of ingredients.
So how do you go about making a lifestyle change? You follow these three simple tips:
Rearrange Your Goals
Succeeding in changing your lifestyle doesn’t rely on counting calories. You succeed by deciding to rearrange your goals. Make it a goal to feel better, work out three times a week, eating a piece of candy—and not feeling guilty about it because you know you haven’t suffered a setback, you’ve only done something you wanted to do. And you can go for a little longer walk tomorrow.
Understand Yourself
Your goal is to lose weight, but the numbers aren’t changing. Maybe instead of looking at the numbers on the scale, you need to look at yourself, your habits and what’s causing you to eat. Find the cause, and the solution follows.
Make it Personal
Diets are externally facing exhibitions in futility. You can’t eat what other people are eating—because you’re dieting. But what if you’re not dieting? What if you’re just making smart decisions so you can change your entire lifestyle? It’s easier to say, “No thanks, I already worked out this morning.” than it is to say, “No thanks, I’m on a diet.”