Monday on Facebook & IG means a bombardment of memes and captions intended to stoke the motivational fires of those on a diet and exercise plan.
I appreciate the effort (and we all need a little encouragement once in a while) but I’m skeptical as to whether or not anyone with a few brain cells really gets much out of it.
In my opinion folks need SOLUTIONS to their problems more than mere motivation. Unfortunately finding solutions takes work, especially when you’re still trying to determine what the problem is versus what it appears to be.
For example, eating too much at night is a common problem, with eating more during the day and then setting a food “cut off” at night a logical solution.
Unless… the reason someone is overeating is due to, say, anxiety about stuff going on at work? In that case, the proposed solution still might work but it’s treating the symptom instead of the real issue.
Soon or later, you need to deal with the real issues, not the symptoms, and doing this always requires looking at the real context.
That said, I will say the most effective solutions are not only the most practical, but also the most tactical.
Someone who consistently overeats at lunch would benefit from learning how to plan, shop for, prep, and eat a healthy lunch. This is a good strategy, though of course it takes time.
Know what helps immediately? Getting them to outsource lunch.
Someone who binges on junk food after dinner would benefit from learning how to fit their favorite foods into their diet. Again, learning this is a process.
Know what helps immediately? Not keeping trigger foods in the house.
The take-home message is to take a cold, objective look at your daily habits and identify what your most glaring weakness is.
Then, determine the most practical, effective way to fix it.
Or you can just “Shoot for the moon! Cause even if you miss you’ll be among the stars.”
Wow. I just wrote that.
Blech.
– Bryan