start here: behavior
“If this isn’t the hardest part of weight loss, I wouldn’t have a job.”
- ME about 20,0000x a day
Behavior change in any aspect of life is hard, when it comes to health and wellness, its the HARDEST. We have the best intentions but fail to execute consistently. The WORST is that sometimes we don’t even know why. Not only is it the hardest part of weight loss, I’ve found its been the hardest “Getting Started” article to write. There are so many aspects we could discuss and I’ve written and rewritten this about 20x. To at least provide you with SOMETHING I’ve narrowed it down to 3 topics that I feel are beneficial to hear/understand when getting started.
First and foremost, we need to acknowledge that most of us have a very “all or nothing” and “black and white” thinking when it comes to dieting and wellness change. This is one of the only areas of our life we have this mentality and it generally doesn’t work. We need to acknowledge and be willing to give ourselves some grace during the process. This article will discuss 3 topics (not even related because I struggled to limit my flight of ideas to just 3). First, identifying and understanding that there are intrinsic physiological processes in our body that sometimes override our best intentions (i.e. its not all willpower). Secondly, identifying and accepting that behavior change is the key to long term weight loss and what that looks like. Lastly, the importance of consistency over perfection and how perfection is the kryptonite to long term success.
WHY OUR BEST OF INTENTIONS SOMETIMES FAIL
Eating behaviors specifically are influenced by a multitude of factors. Environment is the biggest influence and most widely recognized. Setting yourself up for success and having healthier options always available is beneficial, but sometimes life throws us a curveball with travel, time crunches, or changes in routine. There are things we can do to minimize these obstacles, but most of the time we have to rely on willpower to get us through. Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, willpower doesn’t always were and here is why. There are other intrinsic physiological mechanisms such as hunger hormone secretion as well as brain neurotransmitter release (dopamine and serotonin) that influence our drive to eat. These intrinsic mechanisms commonly compound on our environmental factors and make it easier to overpower our willpower to stay on track. This is why its exponentially harder to resist temptation when hungry or causing you to eat past a normal level of fullness. This is why the BEHAVIORAL aspect is so hard. Our body can override the best of intentions.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE MUST BE ACCEPTED FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS
The National Weight Control Registry performed a 10,000 enrollee survey that polled people who were able to sustain significant weight loss (avg 66lbs) for at least 5.5 years. The biggest behavior changes were as follows
98% modified food intake (change habits)
94% increased physical activity
78% ate breakfast
75% self monitoring - weight regularly
62% reduce screen time
90% exercise 60 min/day
Successful long term weight loss is rooted with lifestyle interventions. Please note - this survey didn’t specify a specific diet or exercise routine. It was just doing SOMETHING and taking action in your food choices and daily movement to improve overall health. The key is that we accept that these behaviors are not a “diet” or to “lose 20 lbs.” It is realizing to get to where you want to be these are actions your are going to develop and accept this new lifestyle as your long term future. Starting out, adopting behavior change sucks. Its new, you question yourself, or don’t see results quick and second guess everything. But, over time the more consistent you can be with these small actions they will compound to large effects. You will learn hacks, develop resilience, overcome challenges and identify your strengths in the process to lean on when times get tough. From my perspective, the sooner we accept that our behaviors are going to have to change to live the life we desire, the easier it will be to execute these behaviors consistently.
PERFECTION IS THE WORST
NOW, with that being said, please note how many times I say consistently. THERE IS NO PERFECTION in life and there is no perfection in weight loss or wellness. There will be seasons of life when things come up and you are not able to focus as much on your wellness journey. A family member is sick, you are nearing a deadline at work, or kids sports are in full swing. I get it, we are all busy and life throws us curveballs. THE ABSOLUTE 100% key is to stay neutral. We are notorious for adopting the all or nothing / “black and white” thinking that I mentioned earlier. We make one small deviation from our plan or don’t execute it perfectly and we immediately switch to the “screw it” mentality, polishing off the entire back of chips or a half gallon of ice cream..
We have to give ourselves permission to not be perfect, and coming from a recovering perfectionist I know how hard this can be. I’ve gone to years of therapy, listened to podcasts, read book after book to figure this out. It doesn’t change overnight, but recently I’ve found the power of neutral thinking. The premise is that when put in stressful or adverse situations we take a moment to downshift into neutral. Take a breath, take the emotions/anxiety out of the situation, identify the facts, and move forward with the next best choice. . When you get off of your schedule/plan, take a second and evaluate from non emotional perspective and determine the facts, then try to make the next BEST decision (not perfect but whats the best option). For example - you are traveling and everyone picks a restaurant that doesn’t have the best options. Generally anxiety will set it and we get overwhelmed and just say screw it. Instead, take a minute and take a deep breath. Accept you can’t control the situation and then try to make the next best choice - anything with the highest protein and trying to get some veggies in. Maybe its taking the top bun off of a sandwich or choosing a side salad over fries. You easily could have gone down the rabbit hole, but you were able to make a decision that yourself tomorrow will be proud of.
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Hopefully this provided some insight into the complex aspect of behavior change when it comes to weight loss and wellness. There are SOOOO many topics we can discuss and future articles to be written. Feel free to reach out if there is a topic you would like addressed. Thank you again for following along with my passion of serving others to help them live their best and healthiest life possible.
Court
