I am always very hesitant to give weight loss advice. I firmly believe that everyone must find their own way, but that doesn’t seem to stop people from asking. So, without further bloviating, here’s my updated weight loss advice:
- Change your mind first. Without healing your mind, your weight loss will be temporary.
- Be a scientist on your own behalf. Obesity is a symptom; the result of something else, and often a combination of many factors, both physical and mental. Don’t stop learning until you figure it out. Don’t just treat the symptom; be diligent about treating the causes.
- Don’t go on a diet. Diets are temporary. If you want longterm success, you must commit to making longterm changes.
- Know your own nature. If you know your lifelong tendency is to change everything at once, get frustrated, and quit — then don’t intentionally repeat the same pattern. Instead, experiment and make small changes. You have time.
- Throw away expectations and time tables. They are not your friends. It’s great to dream of what your future might be like, but you should be living in the present.
- Understand that everything comes at a price. Be willing to pay it. Changing yourself is an emotionally expensive process, but well worth the investment.
- Learn to juggle. Your life will change, and those changes will not always be what you expect.
- Keep being you. Extreme weight loss may change your perspective and your ways of thinking, but you are essentially the same person. Often, the outside world thinks you are not; don’t believe them.
- Sail your own course and adjust when necessary. Don’t restrict your options, but don’t swing with the wind, either.
- Insulate yourself from opinions. Everyone has one when it comes to losing weight; the entire diet industry thrives not only on selling you an ideal — but on the nearly 100% chance that you’ll fail. Always remember that. Find your own path without them.
- Be realistic when choosing your path. You must be able to live with the solutions you choose, or you will set yourself up for failure.
- Shortcuts lead to failure. Avoid them. This is not a race. Progress is incremental.
- Do your own research. Reject common myths and see them for what they are. It’s your body; find out how it works without trusting commonly held assumptions that may not apply to your situation.
- Enjoy life. Don’t punish yourself. There are times for celebration and times for contemplation.
- Enlist support. Make yourself accountable. Stop hiding. We’re all in this together.
No, I won’t tell you how I did it; I had to find my own way. I don’t mind discussing things one on one, but in a public forum, I won’t endorse any single methodology. Figuring out what works for each of us is mandatory hard work, and shying away from it is a surefire way to invite failure.
Besides, I’m only an expert on what works for me. I can’t tell you what will work for you; only you know that. Trust that you can find your way.