How to Lose Weight… and Keep it Off.

How do people lose weight and keep it off? The answer is actually really simple… but also pretty complex. Let me explain.

A lower body fat percentage is important to being healthy, and it kinda makes people freak out. When people are overweight, doctors and traditional fitness will prescribe a lot of exercise and calorie restriction. This totally works, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a short-term fix.

90% of people who lose weight gain it back within the year– why? Because it happens too quickly. An unhealthy weight is reached by being “addicted” to the wrong things- fast food, sodas, sitting on the couch. When people are put on weight loss programs, they are usually trying to lose the most amount of weight in the shortest amount of time, and they try to change every “addiction” immediately. 

When you switch up your lifestyle overnight and start to exercise a bunch and eat only salads, the physical body will show results quickly. However, the mind takes longer to catch up. Healthy habits don’t happen overnight. The weight comes back, because one little slip-up is enough to derail the whole program. Your new habits aren’t developed enough to sustain the new body, because you’re still addicted to your old life– It all happened too fast.

So, how do you lose weight and actually keep it off? You do it slowly. You do it deliberately. You do it graciously. You start with small swaps- trading that second can of Diet Coke for water. Then, you add in a walk on your lunch break, instead of scrolling on social media. You stack these habits and make them your new reality. You create a balance— eat clean most of the time and still treat yourself!

Eventually, you become addicted to the things that actually make you feel good. You become addicted to self-care, you build a healthy lifestyle, and the weight falls off without you thinking about it. 

With this mindset, it is actually somewhat difficult to become unhealthy again, because you are now addicted to your new way of living. Addicted to bettering yourself, to self-esteem, to feeling good. You become a healthy individual living a healthy lifestyle, because you did it slowly. 

So, how do people lose weight and keep it off? They become addicted to it over time. It’s that simple, and that complex. You can start small, and start today!