Lifestyle Change = No End in Sight
A diet often has an end. Lifestyle changes are forever. You don't just make healthy choices until you lose weight…you keep making them for the rest of your life, which means choosing changes that you can imagine yourself adhering to for the long-term. That's why lifestyle changes are small - getting rid of a Coke here and a donut there, getting an extra walk in or turning off the TV one night a week. Making small changes feels less like sacrificing what we enjoy because we're not giving anything up, we're just making room for other, healthier choices.
The downside.
Obviously, knowing you have to continue to choose healthy things every day, forever can sound like a real bummer. But, it's kind of like brushing your teeth…you have to keep doing it every day for it to work. And the good thing about lifestyle change is that you can plan your indulgences so you can have some fun without feeling a lot of guilt.
Shortcut = Living in Fantasy Land
With diets or other shortcuts, you don't really have to think about how you look or feel now because you're always working towards this future, better self. As soon as you fit into those jeans or get those love handles gone, then you'll finally be happy. As a result, you can ignore how you really are right now and, I don't know about you, but denial is a great way to avoid a reality I may not like.
The downside.
It might be fun thinking about this future beautiful you, but living for some future day that may never come can put a real damper on how much fun you're having right now. Regardless of the person you potentially become, you're still you right now and that isn't going to change...at least not any time soon. Wouldn't life be more enjoyable if you could find a way to accept who you are right now, flaws and all? That's what you work on when you follow lifestyle changes.
Lifestyle Change = Being Present
Another thing about lifestyle change is this: It requires a certain amount of acceptance for where you are right now, regardless of where that is. It means facing yourself, really facing where you are right now, the good and the bad, and finding some way to live with yourself even as you're making improvements. If you're overweight, that means you may need to buy some clothes that are flattering to you now, even though you plan on losing weight in the future. It means focusing on the whole you, not just the parts you don't like. Don't wait to get a new outfit or cut your hair or ask someone on a date...by doing those things now, you're doing that thing we call living and it's okay to live life, even if you're not the 'perfect' size.
The downside.
Obviously, facing ourselves in the mirror every day can be tough, especially if we only see the flaws. Being present means accepting reality instead of focusing on a future, better you. Believing that you're good enough now, exactly as you are, is hard and it takes some work to overcome those negative thoughts. It often seems easier to follow the same old cycle of thinking because, if we let go of that fantasy self, what will we have left?
Is it Really a Shortcut?
In weight loss as in other areas of life, shortcuts almost always end up adding even more distance between you and your goal. Think of the hiker who, exhausted, looks up at the mountain and thinks-why am I wasting all my time on these switchbacks when I could just go straight up and get there faster? Now, think of that same hiker, halfway up the mountain only to realize that the trail is nowhere to be found and the peak is unreachable by the path he's chosen. How much time will he spend backtracking and starting all over? Or maybe he's so lost, he can't find the trail now and will have to sit and wait for someone to find him. Or, maybe he won't even make it to the top now because it's getting dark.
So, how much time do you waste on diets that don't work? Or exercise programs that are so hard, you burn out after a couple of months? What would it cost you to slow down and take your time with this process? How far would you get if you made small diet changes each day, added a little moderate exercise to your life? Would your weight loss be slow? No doubt about it. Anyone who has successfully lost weight (without surgery) and maintained that weight loss will probably tell you that it took them years to get to where they are now. Are you willing to give yourself - your body, your health and your quality of life - that time?
Resources
Klem ML, Wing RR, McGuire MT, Seagle HM, Hill JO. A descriptive study of individuals successful at long-term maintenance of substantial weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Aug;66(2):239-46
Kravitz, Len and Kinucan, Paige. Controversies in Metabolism. University of New Mexico. Retrieved March 22, 2006.
