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From a Diet Mentality to a Healthy Change

When it comes to getting in shape, I can not think of anything more stressful and more painful than starting a “diet.” “Eat less carbs,”  ”watch out for fat,” buy these supplements,” “eat this tree bark.” Whatever the “trick” is, you have to pay for it with hunger pains and in the end the only thing skinny is your wallet.

Let’s try a new approach. This week, instead of chips, have an apple with string cheese (save 200 calories). Instead of bread surrounding your sandwich, use big pieces of lettuce (save 200 calories). Instead of a soda, have some home brewed tea (save 100-300 calories). Doing small changes like this now will add up to large amounts of weight loss later. In fact, let’s say you did those 3 things everyday for the last 7 days. That means 700 calories (a little more than the typical workout will burn) are not going into your body. If they did, in 7 days that would be 4900 calories. Remember how many calories makes up a pound? 3500. Can you see how the weight can add up?

Think “consistency” and invest some time in the process. You did not gain the weight overnight and you will not lose it that way either. Now let’s go sweat it out!

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James Leath has been a personal trainer for over 7 years and is a Fitness Professional/Blogger with Yuru. He has a BA in Communication and some graduate work in kinesiology and communication as well as numerous certifications throughout the fitness and nutrition industry. Currently he is training under Tony Robbins as a strategic interventionist. He lives in San Luis Obispo, Ca, with his bride Amanda and their two dogs, Liam and Bella.

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  • Zoltan

    All the above being accurate and true the question remains, what motivates someone to start a diet. It has been my experience that dieting usually begins with an end point in mind. Meaning most people already know when their diet will end. Example, 10 pounds, 2 dress sizes, abs, nicer legs. All those reasons are should be secondary to the primary goal of health. But dieting for those reason will never get you health, but rather frustration, false sense of self, shame, guilt and in worst cases a therapist. So that is my question, what motivates a person to start a diet

  • http://www.trainerjames.com Trainer James

    I think there are MANY reasons why a person starts a program…but they all stem to the same thing: unhappy. When things are good, most people don’t think about changing anything. When things are in the dumps, a smart person reaches out, preferably to you or me, right bro? :)