One (Weight Loss Step) Leads to Another

One thing leads to another, one step leads to another (and, as I sometimes share in Spinning classes, one chip leads to another).

The reason why so many of us don’t stick with our weight loss and fitness attempts is that we try too much, too soon. I know the “baby steps” concept has been beaten to death, but do you know why you hear it so often? Because it works. (“Burn, baby, burn. Weight loss inferno. Burn, baby, burn...”)

If you remember back to the many “first week of January” resolutions, you ate nothing but vegetables and lean protein, exercised every single day, and cut out sugar and alcohol, hoping to lose a lot of weight fast.

By the second week of January you were starving, tired, and discouraged, and your hand was back in the cookie jar. I remember all those fresh year starts, too. I didn’t even last through the first few days.

In our quest to get quick results, we sacrifice too much and fall off the wagon because it’s too hard to keep up with many changes all at once. The solution? Those inevitable small steps.

A much better plan is to make changes every week, starting out slowly. Write down your goal for these changes on a calendar (physical or digital) so you know where you are and what you plan to add each week.

I know it seems like this won’t work, because we are so trained to start out at 100% effort.

But you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to lose weight this way.

By the end of one month, you can weigh less without all the stress sudden change brings.