There is this American guy who lost 27 kg in one year, I guess. In pounds it is more impressive: he lost 60 pounds. Not bad, however, in both pounds and kilograms. The article appeals to me, not least because it is not as if this lost 80 kilograms in one year: the effect sought by the writer of the article is not sensationalistic; those who have gone through diets know that 27 kilograms in one year is a lot but you can manage it, of course when you are overweight by as much weight.
The method
In short, Mitch Cook-that’s the name of our friend who weighed 102 kg in early 2019-has implemented a simple 3-point program:
- Diet
- Change of habits
- Running
Nothing new, right? Indeed. instead of thinking you would get there too, however, reflect on another aspect: it is a simple, straightforward plan and therefore you should be able to put it into practice if you need or want to lose weight. But let’s go into more detail.
1. Diet
Mitch attacked the dieting problem first by keeping a diary of what he ate, helping himself with a special app that gave him the amounts he needed to take in to achieve a certain weight goal (level: easy, just remember and want to use it). He then paid attention to the size of the portions, noting that he had not previously paid attention to it and was able to eat a whole bag of chips or candy without realizing it (level: medium. Some willpower is certainly required). Finally, he learned to prepare his meals in advance so that he was more aware and in control of what he ate and avoided eating what happened while on the road (he is a commercial agent, so often away from home). Again, the level is average and just requires a little more willpower. The main difficulty is to forget about junk(but very rewarding) foods and replace them with fresh and dried fruits.
2. Changing habits
Mitch gave himself the 21-day rule: if you can change a habit by doing it consistently for 21 days then that habit becomes a behavior. I had already told you about making major changes by changing habits that engage you for only 2 minutes at a time, this is something similar. Mitch in short knew that if he held out for 3 weeks the game was up, or at least having virtuous behaviors afterwards would be easier. After two months and on diet alone, Mitch had lost almost 16 kg. Not bad, no no.
3. Run
Not much to say, don’t you think? Mitch also started running on a schedule: that of preparing for the marathon he had signed up for, at this point one suspects more to have yet another schedule to follow than to run it. But by now we have come to know him: he has succeeded.
The secret
There is nothing new, I agree with you. Mitch did what many do: some succeed as he did, some quit. It is the story of many people’s lives. This very common occurrence, however, made me think of another detail that was not minor: Mitch discovered a secret that enabled him to succeed in the endeavor he had set for himself. She was aware of what she was doing from the very beginning and, above all, she made this change a habit and a normal thing. If you think about it in fact, very often diets fail because they are difficult and tiring to follow but mainly because psychologically you conceive of them as a bitter medicine that you only take for a certain period of time. “I’ll diet for a month or two,” and then, when you get some results, resume eating as before. And off we go, another merry-go-round. Instead, Mitch modified his eating behavior by making it his new nature, a normal thing. The diet became a familiar thing because that way from a certain point on he started to eat. Until one daily eating routine was replaced by another, healthier and more controlled one. Mitch has reversed the commonly held idea of dieting: it is not a difficult and unpleasant break in an individual’s eating life, but it is the right way to eat. The secret of the perfect diet, you must have realized by now, is to remember that dieting is how it is right to eat, not how you have to eat to punish yourself. Dieting is not a punishment but a way to be aware of your body’s needs and to love it. And then he rewards you with a shining form. Not forgetting to let him run!