The ONE thing that finally worked…

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The ONE thing that finally worked: What made weight loss work for 5,400 people

I stumbled upon a Reddit thread that caught my attention: “What was the ‘one thing’ that finally made weight loss work for you?” And this thread had 5,400 replies – and counting!

Some people shared environmental changes or changes in how they prepared their food to achieve success. For instance:

Pouring snacks into little ramekins to eat them. Suddenly I ate a normal amount of snacks.

I meal prepped my usual quantity of food and instead of placing it in two containers, I split it evenly among four. I forced myself to eat only one container per meal, tricking my brain into believing it was my usual quantity.
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Others changed what they ate:

Found a salad I actually really like. Sounds dumb, but I’d never craved a salad before, and having one I actually really liked meant I strung together a solid few weeks of eating a lot of lettuce – it snowballed from there, because I actually felt good and then started craving feeling good.

Some had a more holistic approach, reevaluating their relationship with food, hunger, and discomfort:

Realizing that it is a lifestyle shift, not a diet.

Embrace the suffering. Expect to breathe hard and uncomfortable while doing cardio, to be sore after lifting, and to feel hungry when restricting your intake.

Others used apps to track their calorie intake, which helped them realize just how much they were eating:

Using an app to track everything I ate. I realized a lot of “healthy” things I was eating, in the quantities I was eating them, were a lot more calories than I thought. Simply reducing my intake of specific meals did the trick.

And some succeeded thanks to an initial push with medication:

Saw a doctor about my type 2 diabetes. I weighed over 300 pounds and also have coronary heart disease. I qualified for diabetes medication that also helps control appetite. Started tracking calories and exercising.

Semaglutide

Some valued physical activity over food.

Finding a hobby. I binge ate because I was bored. Coming home from work to sit on the couch would make it way easier to eat like shit… now I just go and do something I like so I won’t find distraction in eating.

Walking. Validation that I lost 45 pounds in 7 months by simply walking around my neighborhood every night. It was free and low-impact, I walked rain or shine even through snowstorms. Now I have a treadmill and walk indoors but the feeling is still as great as it was in the beginning.

As we scan through this list, reading thousands of comments of people thinking back on the ‘one thing’ that changed their life, and just how different many of them are, we can draw some fascinating conclusions.

3 Short Lessons We Can Learn

LESSON 1: Success is Moving from Failure to Failure without a Loss of Enthusiasm
— Winston Churchill

The most difficult aspect of getting healthy is not giving up when a plan you try fails. I bet everyone of the people who answered the question above attempted dozens of various techniques to get healthy. Hell, I bet they tried most of the things that worked for other people, until they found the one that worked for them.

What we can learn from this: Hope is the warrior emotion that lays waste to cynicism, and it’s okay to have hope that each failed attempt means that’s one less strategy to need to try in the future.

For example, if you have tried Keto five times and can not keep to it, congratulations! You found a diet that did not work for you.

If you can keep that “beta test” mentality of “I’m going to see if it works for me,” you might just find the first domino to fall for your journey!

LESSON 2: Beware the Charlatan

Spent enough time on social media, and you’ll eventually encounter health and wellness charlatans. These are the people that claim to have the only solution to your difficulties. They often have a villain for all of the world’s evil (it’s sugar! It’s carbs! It’s X ingredient!).

And sure enough, once they’ve fear-mongered and scared the crap out of you, they provide hope to you with their expensive unregulated supplement or foolproof system.

As you see in the examples above, there’s no “one size fits all” solution to this stuff. Every human is a unique weirdo with different baggage and triggers and traumas and experiences that make certain solutions a home run and other solutions will be a non-starter.

We can learn more about how to recognize and avoid charlatans in my previous post, “How to not go mad on the internet.”

Which brings me to my third point!

LESSON THREE: All Stories of Getting Fit Have 3 Boring Commonalities!

Although each of these “one thing” strategies to getting in shape is unique, they do share some characteristics.

The good news? None of these things are revolutionary, proprietary, or fancy.

Getting fit down to literally 3 things:

• Eating the correct number of calories for your goal weight
• Getting some form of physical movement
• Making these two things part of a lifelong lifestyle adjustment

Weight loss isn’t magic. It’s math and behavior change.

As I cover in my weight loss guide, science is settled on this.

Any diet can work, if it puts us into a caloric deficit.

We have coaching clients who are vegan, Keto, watch calories, and practice intermittent fasting.

Our capacity to translate nutritional adjustments into a lifestyle that we can live with is how we achieve success, and this looks different for everyone.

 

In terms of lifestyle adjustments, the majority of the responses above include finding methods to incorporate exercise into one’s daily routine.

Remember, it is acceptable if you do not enjoy exercising.

 

We were not built to like exercise! Especially if it is an activity we do not particularly appreciate! We are evolved to endure in times of scarcity, not thrive in times of endless prosperity.

 

So, how do we incorporate fitness into our lifestyle?

 

Make exercise fun, beneficial, or necessary:

Join a walking/running group with your pals and try temptation bundling.

Benevolent: fall in love with being stronger and more confident, as well as how much better you feel after exercising.

 

Pre-pay for a trainer, park at the end of the lot, and ride your bike to work.

 

Remember, hope is the warrior emotion.

 

We humans are extremely adaptable and capable of change.

 

Keep trying new tactics, cautious of charlatans, and do not forget the fundamentals!

 

<p=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=–Your guide to learning and growing and trying new things. Stay motivated, stay consistent, and most importantly, stay hopeful. Because hope is the warrior emotion that destroys cynicism, and it is acceptable to hope that each failed attempt means one fewer approach to try in the future. Continue going forward, learning, and, most importantly, hoping. -Steve

–

 

Conclusion:

 

Remember that losing weight does not require a single diet or exercise regimen, but rather long-term lifestyle adjustments.

Humans are all unique, and what works for one person may not work for another.

Maintain an open mind, explore new ideas, and do not be hesitant to seek assistance.

Consistency is crucial to success, so choose an exercise regimen you can adhere to and incorporate it into your everyday life.

Do not be too hard on yourself if you have setbacks; everyone does, and it is all part of the path to a happier, more balanced existence.

 

Frequently asked questions:

 

How can I figure out what calorie deficit I need to attain to lose weight?

Consult a doctor or qualified nutritionist to determine your daily calorie needs. They can assist you in determining your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and establishing a calorie deficit target that is both healthy and feasible for your body.

What are the greatest exercises for losing weight?

The finest weight reduction workouts are those that you enjoy and can do on a regular basis. To keep your body challenged and moving, incorporate a mix of cardio, strength training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

How can I know whether I am in a calorie deficit?

Keep a food diary to monitor your consumption and development. A caloric deficit occurs when you consume fewer calories than you require to maintain your weight on a constant basis.

Can I continue eating my favorite foods while losing weight?

Yes, but portion management is essential. Eat your favorite meals in moderation and balance them with healthy alternatives.