Easy vs Effective

So I am on Facebook and this gal says:  Trying to lose 65 pounds - what's the best product to make that happen?  Or best exercise product.  She went on to say how she needs someone to tell her what to eat so it would make it easier.

Really?

My answer:  There is no product that is going to do that long term.  Nothing can replace the simplicity of reducing/eliminating processed food and moving your body.  How you do that is up to you.  Everyone enjoys different things in terms of exercise.  Find something that you like to do and do that.

Here's the problem:  If someone tells you what to eat, you don't learn to make healthy decisions on your own.  You don't change your relationship with food by having someone else tell you what to do.  Don't get me wrong.  That can be helpful initially if you are learning new methods but long term you need to figure it out or you will just put it all right back on.  

The thing is that there are so many variables involved with weight loss that no one thing will work for everyone.  We are all different.  We are motivated by different things.  Different programs work better for different people.  We have our own preferences.  I can tell someone what worked for me.  Is that a guarantee that it will work for them?  Absolutely not!  

Here's what it boils down to.  Easy vs. Effective

The easy way is to just eat lettuce.  Every day for the rest of your life.  You don't have to think about what to eat you just eat it.  Obviously that's a bit of a stretch and certainly not enough to sustain you or give your body the nutrients that it needs.  But it's easy!  

Easy doesn't always work.

Simple works.  Don't eat processed food.  Get some type of exercise.  Can't get much more simple than that.  It took me a long time to get to that point but I can tell you 100 pounds later that it works.  I don't believe in dieting anymore.  I love food and I love to cook.  There is nothing wrong with that.  The type of food and the ingredients I use have certainly changed.  But I have learned that I can be just as creative with vegetables as I can with sauces.  The best part is:  I feel better.

Effective weight loss is something that you can sustain over a long period of time.  If it's too restrictive you'll just rebel and be in the same place you were when you started.  That's why so many "diets" fail.  We get gung ho for a while but then our motivation fades and we have to start all over.  How is starting over all the time easy?  It's not.  It's hard and more than that - It's frustrating.

So before going the "easy" route, think about what you want your long term goals to be.  Think about what you want your lifestyle to look like.  Do you want to be limited to eating salads everyday?  Or would you rather enjoy the benefits that all food have to offer.  I say all foods and I mean all foods.  It's not that pizza's fault that I got fat.  It's the fact that I ate that entire large pizza by myself repeatedly that made me fat.  It's all a matter of perspective.