Happy Monday! I’m hoping you have a short week due to July 4th, and will get to enjoy some relaxation for the holiday. Did you see my refreshing summer salad recipe – perfect to bring to a July 4th barbecue? Or how about my post with 7 reasons to fit exercise into your daily routine? I also created and tested a great circuit workout for you all … stay tuned for Work Out Wednesday this week!
For Motivation Monday today, I want to encourage you to make healthy living a lifestyle rather than committing to a new “diet.” We’ve all heard of people gaining the weight back – in fact, 95% of dieters fail in keeping the weight off for 3 years. Yet the diet industry is still a $60 billion per year cash cow, and will continue to be if it promises “quick fixes” (even if they don’t really work). Aside from the miserable success rates, diets just feel restricting and take the fun out of eating. I believe that nothing should be 100% off-limits, and that making gradual, sustainable changes that make you feel good is they key to maximizing your health. Almost all of the people I know that are satisfied with their body and their health have found what works for them and are on a path of continuous improvement, rather than a miracle diet or a crash weight loss plan that awkwardly restricts entire food groups. One interesting study of 120,000 people over a 20-year period found that those who did succeed in losing weight were not on any specific diet, but happened to include foods like vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt in their regular meals. Sounds a lot like regular healthy eating, right?
Get started today by making one healthy improvement that you can stick with – do you want to refill your water bottle 5 times today? Have 4 different vegetables? Exercise for 30 minutes? Tell me in the comments what you will choose to do!
I posted something similar on my blog today too. all these :diets” fail becasue they aren’t life changes. You have to be fully committed to be successful in the long term! That doens’t mean perfection, but it does mean balance.
I know, Laura! I smiled when I saw the similar concept on your blog. Balance is one of my favorite words – passed along from my dad!
its really so true that healthy living is about a lifestyle, not just a diet. i used to diet all week in college…then the weekend would come and i’d throw it all away and go crazy because i thought my week of dieting gave me license to do that. i saw no results and didn’t feel healthy either. once i started making small changes (like you suggest) that i could stick with, it all came together.
Completely agree, Caitlin! I even find on a day-to-day basis that if I am “good” all day or feel like I’m restricting myself, then I’m more likely to eat a few too many sweets at night. Instead, I think it’s better to just be healthy all day and not feel like I’m ever restricting anything 100% – everything in moderation!