New Year’s Resolutions for losing weight are very interesting. If you are like most people, you are thinking big. You are really going to do it this time. It won’t be an epic fail like last year, right? The problem is, you are probably setting a similar goal and plan to accomplish it with the same plan you had last year. I recently read some interesting information in Secrets From The Eating Lab. Traci Mann, PhD quotes the financial chairman of Weight Watchers who apparently compared dieting to the lottery and that they are a successful company because only 16% of their customers achieve long-term success in losing weight. They are successful because the other 84% pay to play over and over and over again. If it were any other business, a 16 percent rate would leave them with brutal customer reviews. Why do we expect so little from diets? It is so interesting because when someone is losing weight, they attribute it to a diet, but when they regain, they don’t ever think that the diet failed. They think they have failed. They shame themselves into starting yet another diet. Hence the yo-yo dieting phenomenon! The diet industry is literally banking on your inability to stick with their insane plan. If you do lose weight successfully, they never see another dime from you, so of course, they only want you to be successful in the short-term. Instead of falling into their trap yet again, do something different this year. Instead of getting on a plan, figure out why you struggle with food in the first place. Identify your resistance to exercise. Heal the pain that leads to your self-sabotage. Learn to fight the unconscious fear around losing weight. If you don’t want to be in this same place a year from now or five years from now, you can’t keep doing the same thing you have always done. Same behavior equals same outcome. Different behavior equals different outcome.
Michelle Lewis
Latest posts by Michelle Lewis (see all)
- Emotional Eating and Self-Care: What Have I Done For Me Lately? - September 13, 2023
- Are You Eating Your Anger? - August 9, 2023
- Stress Management: Everything You Know Is (probably) Wrong - March 7, 2023
Michelle Lewis has been working in the mental health field since 2001. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Weber State University and a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Utah. She is passionate about helping others achieve their goals.
No comments yet.