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Friday, December 10, 2010

"But I walk every day!"

One of the biggest deterrents for many when it comes to taking a big step forward towards a healthy weight goal is the failure of their past attempts. Sure we can blame that on lack of motivation or commitment, and sometimes that’s the case. But I also think there are large gaps of knowledge missing for the average person when it comes to HOW to lose weight. People have vastly oversimplified a complex problem into “eat less exercise more.”

A big misconception out there is that daily exercise will lead to weight loss. Daily exercise of moderate intensity leads to weight MAINTENANCE. Multiple times I’ve heard expressed “But I walk every day! And I haven’t lost a pound.” I typically respond with “So your weight has stayed the same? That’s great!”

Congratulations are definitely in order. The average American gains 5 pounds a year! In order to achieve weight loss, we need to accept this basic fact: it takes WORK to MAINTAIN one’s weight in our modern technologically assisted lifestyles. People are so focused on their desire to lose, that they are unaware that they are actually gaining.

The bottom line is that weight LOSS is not just work. It’s HARD work. It may just be the hardest thing you will ever do. In fact, I believe it has to be one of a person’s top priorities or it will never happen. Let me clarify that it CAN be easy – a fad diet or starvation, but we all know how quickly those pounds pile back on. Weight loss that comes off and stays off… that deserves a medal of honor. 95% of all weight lost is regained (and more!) Stay tuned to learn practical tips on how not to be another statistic.