DIET OR WEIGHT LOSS?
Should I Diet when I start my exercise program?
If your definition of a diet is radically changing the way you eat the answer is a resounding NO!! Extreme change is difficult for everyone. Don’t let your goal of losing weight interfere with the process of change. The human body is masterful at adaptation. If you seek a slimmer body or a more athletic look your body will adapt to the habits you create.
The Process of Weight Loss
This is a process of weight loss that is slow, sustainable and will yield lasting results. Radical diet change can be counterproductive to weight loss. The word diet in our culture is synonymous with losing something or giving something up. Dieting is a mental simplification of an emotional problem. You have been emotionally appeasing yourself with food. That is ok. Dieting can turn into a frustrating downward spiral of self loathing. When you deprive yourself of food that you enjoy and then “cheat” and don’t reach your goal you get frustrated and loathe yourself even more than you did before. Your emotions are then amplified and you eat more to satisfy yourself emotionally. The spiral continues and now you believe you can’t do it. Far too many times in our frustration we will try the starvation diet , then realize that doesn’t work either. The problem with those kinds of remedies is that your body slows down it’s metabolism in order to hold onto fat that it may need for survival later. That is why people regain the weight loss and generally add 5-15% on average.
Exercise
Unless you are drinking heavily or are involved with harmful drugs do not change your diet for the first 30-60 days of your training. Starting an exercise program is demanding enough. Don’t punish yourself emotionally by taking away your comfort food. It is human nature to reward ourselves for doing a good job. It is a habit we all have. Start your exercise program first. Make that your habit. Make your goal your training. Get into your work outs and eventually you will find a different way to reward yourself. Don’t force that. Let that come naturally. Training will change you physically, mentally and emotionally. As you become stronger physically your mental attitude will change. You will feel better and want to continue. You will see and feel improvements in your physical body and desire more change. Pretty soon you will seek out other ways to reward yourself. As you change the world around you changes.
Getting Started
You will get sore and tired when you first start training. Take comfort in the knowledge that this is the beginning of your body adapting to your new goals, so, get through it! If you can’t work out for an hour at a time break it up into 2 - ½ hour workouts until you can. Get the work in. You will need to train four to five days a week to see results. Your schedule could look like this: Tues., Weds. on, Thurs. off, Fri. Sat on, Sun. Mon. off. It is not a good idea to take both Saturday and Sunday off of training. Those are the days we typically use to reward ourselves and relax. Break that up, it is only an hour to an hour and a half. Train for 30 days without depriving yourself of your comfort food. Then we can talk about small changes in your eating routine that will make a difference. Remember, it is a process. If you would like help with an exercise program to get started or have questions, call us for a free consultation 530 268-5812 or email us at empoweru2000@gmail.com. You can find out more about us by clicking the link, Power Unlimited at the top of the page or on our website https://www.empoweringlifecoaching.com/power-unlimited
