Why don’t diets keep the weight off for good? Because they are not sustainable long term.  This is why a lifestyle change works and diets don’t and in this week’s podcast we give you 3 tips to making a realistic and permanent lifestyle change, examples of the daily meal plans that helped Matt lose nearly 40 lbs, and we answer you’re questions this week on It’s The Fix! Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts today!

Tip One: Keep it Simple

The reason that 90% of us fail on diets is because we try to do too much all at once.  I’ve done the complete 180, cold-turkey change in diet and exorcise and it has never worked for me (or most people). 

Simplicity always wins.  Start small by changing one thing in your nutrition, such as your breakfast, and once you’ve made that a healthy habit routine move on to the next meal.  We put on the weight gradually over many years, so if you want to lose the weight and keep it off you have to give yourself the time to lose it.

Tip Two: Be Consistent 

As we take on a ‘one day at a time’ mentality in keeping things simple, we must commit to this lifestyle change every day, no matter what.  No cheat days! Now, this doesn’t mean you have to give up tasty food or treats, or wine, it just means that you need to balance out your macro nutrient intake daily to compensate for it. 

Many people use the 80/20 rule which is 80% healthy foods and 20% treats, but as you gradually adapt to this full lifestyle change you need to do it every day to see results. 

Also, drinking water is so crucial and overlooked too often.  Start drinking 24oz of water a day, 80z at 3 meals, then move that up to 48, 72, etc. You’ll see a striking contrast in how great you’ll feel once you’re at or above 80oz of water a day, and it helps you lose weight too!

Tip Three: The Power of Yes Comes From Saying No

Oprah was 100% right when she shared her article ‘The Power of Yes.’ If we say yes to everything, every side project or hobby or extra stuff at work, then we make it impossible to deliver our best quality work. 

We say yes because we don’t want to disappoint people, but the reality is that people aren’t disappointed when we say ‘no’ to something – They are disappointed when we say yes and don’t deliver on our commitment. 

An easy method to prevent yourself from saying ‘Yes’ to everything is to simply state that you love the idea but you need to process it and get back to the person. Talk it over with your friend or spouse and make a non-emotionally-based decision that is best for YOU.

Then when you do say YES to something, it will have true meaning because it is truly something you want to do.