New Year Resolution: Stop The Diet Insanity

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein

Dieting and various diet disguises certainly fall into this category. As do strict and highly regimented workout programs or so called boot camps.

Try a different approach this year.

Consider making your resolution to love yourself, your body and your imperfections. To build your confidence and self-esteem.

The best part about this resolution is that it will undoubtedly result in greater and sustained weight loss.

Consider why you overeat. Is it to escape uncomfortable feelings of fear, unhappiness, unworthiness, or other?

Consider why you don’t exercise enough. Is it due to similar feelings or from the exhaustion that ensues from your chronic unease with your body weight.

The Healthy Weights Clinic focuses on 3 Pillars for sustained weight loss: Food, Mood and Fitness. Unfortunately, dieters and diet plans fail to focus on the most important factor: mood and how you feel about yourself.

The truth is that eating well and being physically active hinge on the very fact that you are feeling good about yourself and your ability to tackle each day.

Let me make the case for the importance of feeling good about yourself for long term weight management.

When are you more likely to eat healthy? Are you more likely to make good choices and eat reasonable amounts when you are in a good or a bad mood?

How about physical activity? When are you more likely to choose to exercise? Or when was the last time you crossed paths with a miserable walker, jogger or cyclist?

Consider for a moment that your feelings of unhappiness with respect to your body weight are just that; feeling- nothing more and nothing less.

Happiness researchers suggest that unhappiness is the result of a discrepancy between the way things are and the way we would like them to be. There is nothing wrong with working towards change and improvement, but keep in mind that the only time you can truly be happy is right now.

Many people find themselves always wanting to be some place else or delaying happiness for a time when their life is quote ‘the way they want it to be’.

If you can only be happy when things are going your way,  I suggest fully enjoying the few times that you experience such bliss.

Consider this resolution:

To practice being happy under less than ideal circumstances, personal flaws and all.

This year, stop the insanity that is dieting and start the new year with happiness. Practice being happy in all that you do and before you know it your weight will fall into place.