The most important mindset shift to make while losing weight
I got off the phone with a client yesterday who was frustrated with her progress. In the 5 weeks we’ve been working together, she’s lost 5lbs.
Here’s how the conversation went:
Me: Is anything you’re currently doing, super restrictive?
Her: No, not really
Me: Can you still enjoy your favorite foods?
Her: Yeah…but not as MUCH as I want (I could hear the grin after saying this)
Me: How many weeks are in a year?
Her: 52
Me: So if you continued on this track, not being ultra restrictive, enjoying your favorite foods, and losing 1lb per week, how much weight would you lose in a year?
Her: 52lbs
I went on to explain this CRUCIAL mindset shift…
❌ Lose as much weight as we can, as fast as possible
✅ Lose as much weight as we can, as slowly as possible
Sustainability is found in speed. Think of 2 cars…One is driving 120mph, the other is driving 60mph. Which is easier to control? Which is more likely to crash?
Your diet is no different. The faster you try to lose weight, you more unsustainable your lifestyle becomes. Go too fast, and you’ll crash and burn.
The slow approach virtually guarantees you will keep the weight off. Because the methods you can use, can be sustained for life.
The slow approach also allows you to take breaks. If you’re not concerned with shedding all of the fat in a short time, every “break” means less…
Let’s say you want to get to your ideal weight in 1 month.
1 day = 1/31 or 3.2%
This may not seem like a big percentage, but watch what happens when you zoom out and want to lose weight over the course of 1 year…
1 day = 1/365 or 0.27%
Less than 1%…almost NOTHING.
When you take the slow and sustainable approach, it makes the random “splurges” have almost no impact. The stakes are lower.
All of a sudden you don’t need to worry about restricting during your birthday or other holidays. You can enjoy yourself and get back on track the next day.
After sharing this with my client she said,
“Thinking of my weight loss like that actually relieves some of the stress I was feeling”…as it SHOULD.
I understand that losing 30lbs in 30 days is attractive — it’s why most of my clients come to me having tried multiple fad diets. But if you REALLY want to lose the weight for good, you’re better off taking the slow approach. It’ll be more effective, and more enjoyable.