Small Steps

Small steps are the pathway to big goals! Many years ago in nursing school,  I realized that I wanted to lose 80 pounds. Mind you, I didn’t need to lose that much weight but I wanted to be skinny. In contrast, I needed to lose about 50. Eighty pounds or fifty, they were both overwhelming. I decided to focus on losing 5 pounds and discovered the first tenet of easy weight loss, small steps. I knew that I could do that. The pounds began coming off easier than I ever imagined. The power of small steps had changed my life. Unfortunately, I didn’t maintain  that weight loss. I never gave up the foods that I was addicted to, specifically sugar. Since I still craved sugar and it gave me other cravings, the weight that I so meticulously peeled away 5 pounds at a time, came right back on.

Frequent Weight Loss Success!

When we begin a weight loss program, initially we feel empowered. Shortly afterward when we begin making behavior changes, doubt creeps into our minds. By setting small goals that we can attain more often, we see progress and feel successful sooner. As we begin to feel successful, we build on that momentum more easily. Weight loss becomes our new normal as we conquer each small goal. If you want to lose a large amount of weight, you might set five pound goals along the way like I did. Read this article here for tips to help you get started.

Make Losing Weight Easier – David’s Way to Health and Fitness

Easy Does It!

When I began living David’s Way I started strength training with heavy weight as a goal. Starting Strength, a program for beginners got me interested in lifting, without demanding more than I was capable of doing. Since I had gotten weak while I was working for a major weight loss company due to all the driving, I started with pretty light weights. If I had tried to lift too much weight early in the program, I would have quickly gotten discouraged. Discouragement can cause many people to quit. The same idea applies to weight loss. Keep it simple. Start small and be proud of every victory! When I add weight, I add small increments. It empowers me when I conquer those new weights!

Stay Flexible

Be willing to make changes in your goals. Grandiose ideas of what we want to accomplish will make sticking to our program harder. Instagram is a huge influence on a lot of people. If we set a goal of looking like an Instagram model, we may want to abandon the whole idea of weight loss. I read a lot of what the IG models put on their pages and there is a theme that is recurring. The more honest, down-to-earth models frequently write, “Don’t worry about looking like an Instagram model. We don’t look like that either.”

One very famous fitness model has elaborated on the length of time those pictures take to shoot. She talks about the hundreds of images that are destroyed before the perfect image is chosen. This 23 year old girl has had multiple surgeries and advocates the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. If we set our goals based on artificial images, we will get discouraged unless we reconsider the reality of that. It’s necessary to change goals and methods of accomplishing them as we become more knowledgeable about our health and fitness.

The Golden Rule of Weight Loss

Cravings are the main reason that most people give up on weight loss. Hunger is easy to satisfy with good nutrition based on whole foods. Cravings call out for specific flavors and textures and are never satisfied. Added sugar causes cravings because you release insulin to metabolize it. As the insulin does it’s job of lowering your blood sugar, even the slightest bit too low will set off cravings again. While sugar is usually what most people crave, we will crave a wide variety of calorie dense foods until our blood sugar rises enough to offset the insulin.

This cycle repeats itself continually as long as we eat added sugars. Weight loss is almost impossible when we’re lost in this repetitive cycle. The answer to this dilemma is obvious. Don’t eat added sugars. Remember, it’s an addictive white powder that causes inflammation throughout your body. No good can possibly come from eating sugar. Almost every disease known to man begins with inflammation.

Weight Loss Tactics Simplified

1-Set small goals.

2-Be proud of every small victory.

3-Take your time.

4-Don’t eat sugar.

and ALWAYS remember David’s wise advice when I asked him how long will this take. His answer? “The rest of your life.” Health and fitness are an ongoing process. David also says, “We don’t own our present level of fitness. We’re only paying rent.” As you work towards your health and fitness goals, remember, there is no endpoint. In order to get and remain healthy, you must consistently live a healthy lifestyle. Look at this worthy process as a new life rather than a temporary, self-inflicted torture.

My habits were once as bad as anyone’s. I wore a size 22. Now I live a healthy lifestyle that keeps me working full-time at age 64, in a size 8 at 5’6″. I also care for a special needs family member alone. I train hard four days a week and have worked my way to the Elite level in Strength Standards in my age group for the deadlift by adhering to the simple teachings of David’s Way.

Believe me, you can change.