Leyla weighs in: What’s a diet? And enough New Year’s resolutions!
A diet implies following a temporary eating plan in order to achieve a certain weight goal or health outcome, be it attaining a better lipid profile, reducing risk factors for disease or getting rid of that stubborn spare tire around your middle.
But diets don’t work if they’re intended to be temporary. Because what happens after achieving that weight goal? The diet is over and old eating habits creep back in. This is why the rate of recidivism on weight loss diets is more than 90 percent.
It’s time to reframe the objective. Don’t resolve to do anything except this: Pretend you’re already at your weight goal. Yes, that’s what I said. Great, right? Now, eat in a way to maintain it.
Pretend your biochemistries have been optimized and your risk factors for disease have been reduced or eliminated. Now eat in a way to maintain it.
Eating is a behavior. I’m talking about profound and lasting behavior change once and for all.
Not another discarded New Year’s resolution.
To your health!
