Four Weeks Down, a Lifetime to Go

I've just completed four weeks on the Beach (two weeks Phase I "detox" and two weeks on Phase II, the weight-loss phase), and I am feeling really good! And it's only the beginning. The thing about building healthy eating habits is, it's a lifetime commitment. Unlike dieting, which is often associated with deprivation as a means to an end (a goal weight) and therefore only undertaken for a finite amount of time, healthy eating is meant to be maintained over the course of one's life. Dieting is a sprint; healthy eating, a marathon.

I think that "dieting" is the reason that so many people "fail" in their weight loss attempts. They either deprive themselves of so much that they can't maintain the pace long enough to reach their weight loss goal, or they make it to their ideal weight and then think that it's okay to go back to the way they used to eat...and put the weight right back on, and then some.

Healthy eating is a long-term lifestyle change that, first and foremost, is meant to keep you healthy. The weight loss is just a bonus, a side effect.

Anyone who has ever run a marathon (I have - there I am, Vancouver Marathon 1998!) knows that you don't just suddenly start running 26.2 miles right off the bat. You have to train. A lot. You have to start small, and slowly work your way up. The same holds true with healthy eating. Make one small change at a time, and build up. For example, you don't have to completely cut out carbs from your diet; but if you're eating french fries every day, start by only treating yourself to french fries once a week. Then work from there.

Another thing about marathons: they are as much mental as they are physical. Changing habits, such as with healthy eating, are much the same. You are probably used to grabbing those fries every day; it's become a habit. But also, your body became used to having those fries every day, and it's become a craving. Or, to put it another way -- how many times have you said "I don't have the willpower" or simply "I can't do it" (I can't even begin to count mine)? Overcoming those doubts has to happen first, before you can even begin to work toward those 26-plus miles, or toward that healthy lifestyle. I truly believe that I was mentally ready to begin this journey, and that is why it is working so well for me now.

I figure if I can run a marathon, I can do this. And every day, I need to reaffirm this commitment to myself, because I plan to be in it for the long haul.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "You must do the things you think you cannot do." She also said: "Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product."

I'm really starting to believe her.