The Double Whammy of Dieting

Hey, let's start on that being 100% honest. Dieting isn't going to be easy. The concept of dieting is extremely easy: eat less, move more--repeat for multiple days, weeks, and months--go buy a new wardrobe and bask in the glowing compliments of friends, family and strangers. The reality of dieting is something totally different.

You and I are overweight because we like to eat too much and we don't move around enough. My weight didn't get to 236 pounds by magic. It was my behavior, my choices, that led to this steady increase in weight. Now there's a need for behavioral changes and making different choices in order to lose the weight. That's easier said than done.

Here's where the double whammy comes in. Not only is there the need to make changes in order to stop the weight gains, but those changes have to be doubled if I'm looking to lose weight. Maybe you have the same problem as me about not admitting just how much my lifestyle needs to be changed in order to lose weight. Cutting back a little and exercising a little will stop the weight gains. That's not enough. It's going to take cutting back a lot and making a real effort to be more active.

Is this fair, this having to work so hard to lose weight? Well yeah, it really is getting off easy when one considers how many months and years of bad choices contributed to the typical person's weight gain. It's like paying pennies on the dollar. Years of excess wiped away by months of good behavior. We're getting off easy.

Just remember that losing weight is a big change and it takes a big effort. Anything half-hearted might work in the short term to stop the weight gains, but it won't reverse the situation. Get excited about accomplishing something monumental, getting the kind of results that come from dedication and hard work. Look forward to a big challenge because overcoming the big challenges are the way to big successes. We can do this--I've got a good feeling about the next few months.