Day 43: Why Do I Even Try?

Have you ever exercised, done your best to eat well and tried to make changes in your life only to lose a little weight, stay the same, or even worse…..actually GAIN weight?

This is probably one of the most frustrating things that can happen to us and often times it can send us spiraling and heading in the opposite direction of where we need to be going.

The next time this happens (because more than likely it will happen again) or if it is happening to you right now there are several things you can do.

FIRST: Realize you are not alone. You are not the first person this has happened to. In fact, I would say nearly everyone has had this happen at one time or another. You’re not different or abnormal or weird. Take comfort in knowing you’ve got company.

SECOND: Remind yourself it is a process. Sometimes we get so used to expecting quick or almost immediate results. We don’t have the patience to wait for the work to pay off. One month, two months, 6 months are not that long in a weight loss process. Give yourself time.

THIRD: Re-evaluate what you are doing. Maybe there is something more you can do. Sometimes we aren’t as honest with ourselves as we should be. Commit yourself to being 100% honest with yourself when you evaluate. You can’t trick your body into losing weight or making gains in training.

FOURTH: Remind yourself of your goals. Why are you doing this? What is most important to you? Believe you can achieve them. Don’t change them or try to convince yourself that they aren’t really your goals anymore. You set them for a reason, so don’t cop out. :)

FIFTH: Stay consistent. Consistency is the key, so don’t allow yourself to go down any “It doesn’t matter anyway” shame spirals. Stay on course with your eating and exercise and it will pay off.

Why do you even try?

Because it’s worth it.

Day 36: Moses

You know that story about Moses in the Old Testament? The one where the children of Israel are all sick and dying and he tells them that all they have to do is look at his staff and they will be saved? Just look. But because that seems way too easy and stupid many of them don’t do it and they die.

Sometimes I feel like Moses. (Is that sacrilegious?)

Listen. The diet and supplementation industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Multi-BILLION! That’s a lot of money people. We are dumping money at these industries in buckets looking for ways to get “healthier” and guess what, we are fatter and much less healthy as a nation than we have EVER been.

There’s got to be a way, right? This person tells me I should focus on not eating carbs. But these people say I should focus on eating a lot of proteins. Over here it’s all about fat. Oh, and don’t forget all those anti-oxidents that people can’t seem to get enough of. It’s such a cool word we should probably pay attention to it, right?

If we’re spending so much money on the diet and supplementation industry, then why are we getting fatter and more unhealthy?

Well, to put it quite simply, because it’s crap. I know that’s not the most eloquent way to put it, but there it is.

You do not need a degree in nutrition or a minor in science to know what you should eat. You should eat food. The stuff that grows on trees and comes out of the ground is your best bet. After that, the less processed a food is, the better. Look for whole foods and make them the majority of what you eat.

That’s it.

Now here’s where I feel like Moses. Everyone is blinking at me. Dumbfounded. She can’t be serious. Oh, but I am. All you have to do is “look”. But this study says this and what about this? Shouldn’t we worry about this or focus on this?

No.

Eat food.* Until you are no longer hungry. When you get hungry, hopefully 2-3 hours later if you ate the right amount before, eat again until you are no longer hungry.

But Dixie, we want something HARD. We need restrictions. Tell us what we can’t eat. Please!

You can eat what you want, just don’t eat too much. Only eat until you are no longer hungry and it would be best to eat whole foods as often as you can. If you really want a restriction, how’s this….cut back on the junk food or cut it out for awhile if you are trying to lose a lot of weight. Just listen to your body while you eat.

I know this is a really hard concept to grasp in this day and age. We are bombarded hundreds of times a day about our diet and supplements. We have been convinced by these industries that they are necessary. We feel like we need to worry about this. We think we’ve got to break down every food to its micro and macro-nutrients before we consume it. Stop this. You shouldn’t be freaking out every time you eat.

Remember, food is fuel for your body. When you stop focusing so much on all the hoopla out there you can actually start thinking about what would fuel your body best.

I don’t think Moses ever counted carbs or took a supplement in his life and I think he was just fine.

*For more on this you can read Michael Pollan’s books The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

Dixie Dixon is the founder of RaceDay Training, an online training community that provides daily workouts and community support to help you realize what you can acheive. She believes that we are all happier when we are active and healthy but understands that sometimes it's hard to know where to start or how to find the motivation. She has developed RaceDay Training for this very reason. To find out more visit her website atwww.RaceDayTraining.com and sign up for your free 10 day trial today.