In the spirit of the New Year and many of you making New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight…
Any of you that know me have heard me use the “No Shortcuts” mantra before. For those of you that haven’t, it basically means that you cannot short-cut your way to weight loss. Yes, there are “diets” out there that can cause you to lose weight quickly. However, they usually result in short term losses with the loser ultimately gaining it back (and more). Then they become a loser of a different type. ;-)
The problem with “diets” are they are never permanent. They cater to the short-term, buy it now, pay for it later, no payments until 2010 mentality of most Americans. When dieters stop dieting, they just gain back any weight that they’ve lost. What does that tell you? “Diets” don’t work.
Another mantra you may have heard me say, “If you want permanent results, you must make permanent lifestyle changes.” The two most primary changes I made (as well as other successful weight losers) consisted of eating more nutritionally (notice I didn’t say eating less) and exercising more.
But don’t take my word for it. I am a firm believer of listening to the advice of folks who “are where you want to be”. Since I am a triathlete, I like to read the advice of Gordo Byrn, World Champion triathlete, coach and author. Even though I do not have any grand ideas about being a world champion, I can still learn a thing or two from him. Listen to the following snippet from Gordo’s website:
(begin snippet)
I think it is important for people to take total responsibility for their food choices. While it may be interesting to know each of our personal life struggles, there is only one person who decides what we eat. With a few medical exceptions, our body composition is completely dictated by a huge number of tiny decisions that we make on a daily basis. In order to change ourselves, we need to take responsibility for ourselves.
Remember that…
· What we look like today…
· Is based on decisions that we have made in the past.
Likewise,
· What we will look like tomorrow…
· Is based on decisions that we start making right now.
It is a classic conflict between short-term pleasure and long-term gain. When you see an elite athlete standing before you, you are looking at the result of tens of thousands of little decisions that they have made over many years.
(end snippet).
Speedy Lizard 