You may have heard me harp on this one before and if so, you should know by now it’s a passionate subject of mine. Back before my blog evolved into a racing blog and it was more fitness oriented, at least 3 or 4 times a week I’d get visited by someone looking for “How to lose 40 pounds in 30 days.” No kidding. Even over the past couple of days, I’ve seen several referrals to my blog from Google with someone searching for “How to lose 20 pounds in one week”.
IT CANNOT BE DONE…
There are no shortcuts or miracles.
…at least not in a healthy way. Folks, there are no miracle diet pills, no magic machines, gadgets, new fangled fad diet or or other shortcuts. If you want to lose the weight permanently, you have to make permanent lifestyle changes.
The only way to lose a lot of weight that fast is:
a. surgery
b. dehydration
c. saw off your leg at the hip
None of these are healthy or permanent (except for the leg sawing). I’ve met PLENTY of people who have had lipo only to gain it all back and more. You don’t need surgery to be successful! And that goes for fad diets too. For those of you that feel that Atkins (or some other fad diet) is the quick fix, I challenge anyone that has successfully lost weight on it (AND KEPT IT OFF) to step up. I also challenge anyone currently on the Atkins diet to a cholesterol screening challenge. Not only will I go up against you and your numbers, I’ll do it WITHOUT fasting. ;-) That’s not just bragging, it’s my way of saying that you have to do it right to be healthy.
When most folks refer to a diet, they are referring to something temporary. Heck, most of the diets you hear about on TV and from your friends are not something that you could successfully maintain long term anyhow. If you go on a diet, no matter what type (most of them restrict food in some form or fashion) and successfully lose weight, what do you think is going to happen when you return to your old eating habits? Yep, gain it all back. After all, it is your unhealthy eating (and lack of exercise) that got you in the problem in the first place.
As an example, I spend the bulk of my year eating as cleanly and as healthy as I can as it is during my racing season. I have a target weight that I try to maintain. It’s where I am my fastest. But trying to maintain my target weight is hard and it takes a lot of work, persistence and consistency. Yes, there are times that I stumble, sometimes I give in, sometimes I have limited options (at company events), etc. I also splurge from time to time, but always in moderation. However, I make the best effort that I can (and folks around me can attest) and if my weight fluctuates a little, I don’t freak out.
During the holidays, it just happens to coincide with my off-season from racing. I know going into it that during this timeframe that I will gain a little weight. This is because I am exercising a lot less (not training for races) and I am relaxing my eating habits for family events. You see, because I have made a temporary change, I will see changes. In order to get back to what I call racing weight, I have to change back to the eating and exercising that I do during the rest of the year. With the exception of the short amount of time I step away during the holidays, my eating habits stay the same all year long (as does my amount of exercise). It’s what helped me take off the weight back in 2003 and keep it off for the past 12 years.
So, if you want the weight loss to be permanent. You have to make changes to your eating habits that are permanent. These changes need to be sustainable and most fad diets aren’t.
In order to lose the weight, do it in a healthy manner, and keep it off, you have to:
- Exercise (both cardio and strength)(more coming)
- Eat healthy foods (more on this in other posts)
- Plan on losing 1-2 pounds/week
Folks, I’ll say it again, If you want to permanently change the way you look and feel, you have to permanently change the way you live. There are no shortcuts. BUT, I’ll add that it is FAR from impossible. YOU CAN DO IT. If I can, anyone can.
See you tomorrow for tip number 6!
Marcus
About: 10 Fitness Tips in 10 Days is designed for me to share my experiences with you to help you lose weight (if necessary), get into shape and improve your fitness (always necessary). I am, by no means, an expert, nutritionist, or doctor. Instead, I am simply another normal person, such as yourself, that didn’t want to figure it out with trial/error on my own. Instead, I gathered great information from successful athletes, coaches and other professionals. Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program or making any changes to your diet.
Speedy Lizard 