Be mediocre for weight loss. Are you serious? Most people are hitting the gym hard and starving themselves on the strictest diet down to 1200 calories a day. You have to go big or go home otherwise, you will not lose weight. Most of my clients believe this, but I believe that’s flawed.
Why Lose Weight?
Why do we want to lose weight in the first place? It’s actually a necessity. We all know that being healthy includes so many benefits such as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. We also know that eating well and exercising is more effective than prescription drugs. Being overall healthy improves learning, memory, longevity, quality of life, and the list of benefits is long. So why is it so hard to do it? Could it be willpower?
Willpower for Weight Loss
Spoiler alert: losing weight is not about willpower. As we see from above, it is not about the reasons, logic, or knowledge. Similarly, willpower requires motivation and motivation comes and goes. When this wanes, we follow the path of least resistance. That is simply being human. We do not like change because it requires a lot of energy which most of us don’t have extra at the end of the day.
Mediocrity Leads to Weight Loss
My clients come in aiming for the moon and then they yo-yo their way into disappointment. Don’t make this your project. Be mediocre! Try to aim so small that it’s impossible to fail. When motivation wanes or you’re stressed and tired, you know you did 5 minutes of whatever your goal was. You have just hardwired your brain to form a habit. And this, my friends, is where magic happens.
Many of my clients will tell me how easy it is this time around to lose weight. And they wonder why it was so hard before. Success came because they were not trying to be perfect; perfect does not reflect reality. This shift to be just a little bit better removed the sense of difficulty or the exhausting list of things you “should” do. When it’s difficult, we need motivation. When it’s mediocre, we don’t rely on motivation. It’s just habit.
Support is Key to Success
Making lifestyle changes all at once can feel overwhelming especially with all the conflicting noise on the internet. Humans are hardwired to need support; seek it both personally and professionally. Get a free 30-minute phone consultation. See if this is the right match for you by addressing natural weight loss, cravings, emotional eating, balanced diet, disease prevention, nutrition, and getting to the root cause of what’s keeping you stuck. See what others are saying on Google and Yelp.
For more articles, read https://happyfoodhealth.com/blog
~ Samantha Hua, Nutrition Coach & Holistic Health Coach, San Diego, CA
