I saw this headline in a local newspaper yesterday and seriously laughed out loud. This has got to be one of the most ridiculous headlines that I have ever seen.

The problem with this headline is that it buys into and perpetuates the gimmick mentality in health, wellness and weight management. There are no magical solutions to a season of overindulgence. We never promote a quick fix. The only way to “get over” a binge is to stop doing it. When you want to change your life from revolving around sugar and salt and into healthy eating, you do just that. Begin at the beginning, right now. Whatever came before this moment is irrelevant. Use our Calorie Counter Pro to determine your caloric needs and fill those calories with good, healthy, whole foods. There are no special foods for this simple program. It’s the way that humans have eaten since the beginning of time, until the advent of fast food and way too many over-priced fancy chain restaurants that serve little more than glorified frozen dinners. Have you ever noticed the peculiar uniformity of many pasta dinners and comfort food entrees in these restaurants? It’s because so many of them actually use pre-cooked, frozen food and serve it as a freshly prepared dinner. Is the equivalent of left-overs worth your health?

This particular article in the newspaper was talking about eggs. Well, duh. Yes, eggs are a good, healthy, whole food. Simply eating a meal of eggs after stuffing yourself for months on end is not going to change anything for you. Now, if you continue the trend of eating this type of food, it will make a difference. Change is not the result of one big act or behaviour. Change is the result of multiple smaller changes over a long period of time. David has a saying, “Trust the process.”. Unless we do exactly that, tweaking our program and working it religiously day in and day out, we will never see victory.

Our bodies are designed to maintain homeostasis, a tendency to seek stability between the systems in our body. Because we are constantly seeking stability, we resist sudden change. We have many biochemical processes that are supposed to do just that. Any sudden change can be dangerous for us so when we seek to make fast changes in our bodies, we are working against nature. Our health is maintained by stability. Knowing this, you can see how fad diets and gimmicks can and frequently do damage our health. They stress every system which causes adrenaline production. Adrenaline is in the cortisol circuit and cortisol is associated with belly fat. Is there any wonder that all those years of “Lose Weight Fast!” gimmicks have left you in the worst shape of your life?

The reason that people seek those fast-loss gimmicks is that they just “want to get it over with”. Guess what. If you are going to win in this weight management battle, it is never “over”. This is not something that you do like a performance or a set of exercises or activities that you check off of a numbered list. This is your life from now on. You have to refocus yourself to appreciate the wonderful feeling that succeeding at your health goals brings instead of the joy of a doughnut. Will that doughnut sustain your health, energy and mental acuity as you age? A healthy body will. The choice is all yours. There are ways to steer away from the instant gratification of the doughnut:

1-Know what you really want. Decide how to accomplish your goal and why you want it. Had you rather have the doughnut or be healthy and able to rock that bikini?

2-Identify possible obstacles. If Sally is always sabotaging you, ditch Sally. If you can’t resist the Blizzard at Dairy Queen, don’t drive by the building. Go around the block.

3-Have a strong support network. We’re open 24/7 at no charge to you. We answer all comments and questions. Associate with like-minded people rather than those who don’t support your health initiative.

4-Set clear goals. Instead of saying, “I’m going to try to do better.” say, “I’m changing my life to be healthy, regardless of what it takes. I will eat good, healthy, whole foods and avoid added sugars.”

5-Reward yourself in ways that won’t derail your progress. (1)

6-Always remember, YOU are in control, not the cravings.

7-Learn how to distract yourself from the temptations to give into instant gratification. Get in touch with your support system and think logically about your dilemma. Give it some time and wait. The cravings may dissipate, especially if you engage with positive influences. To begin with, this will be extremely difficult but after successfully navigating this a few times, you will get the hang of it.

8-Get all temptations out of your house. Don’t temp fate.

9-Don’t try to justify bad behavior. It is what it is. Do not rationalize.

10-Invest in the future that you want. In my case, I have acquired a decent home gym. I have too much invested to let it just set. You may need some good workout clothes, buy them.

When all else is said, it comes back to what David has taught me, “Trust the process.” Good things take time.

(1) https://blog.iqmatrix.com/instant-gratification