ここを間違うと失敗する！ダイエットの目的は痩せることではありません！

Let me ask you this: Do you think of "dieting" simply as "losing weight"?

"What are you talking about! Dieting is obviously about losing weight!"

I anticipate that this might be the response, but if I may say so, that's precisely why people fail at weight loss or experience rebound weight gain.

So how should we think about it? Dieting involves things like eating habits and exercise.Changing lifestyle habitsYou should think of it this way: weight loss and muscle gain are results of changing your lifestyle, not goals in themselves.

It may sound a little paradoxical, but if you make an effort to change your lifestyle, you can achieve your goal of changing your body shape without having to make any further effort. That's why there's no rebound effect.

This article will delve a little deeper into that topic. This is a must-read for anyone who has failed at dieting in the past or who feels they need to start dieting soon.

Your body shape reflects your lifestyle.

This might sound a little harsh, but your body shape directly reflects your lifestyle.

Of course, genetic factors undoubtedly play a role to some extent. It's also true that people tend to gain weight more easily with age. However, on the other hand, most people can maintain a standard body shape if they make an effort to eat a moderate diet and exercise.

The difficult part is determining what is the right amount. Habits are something that a person takes for granted, so it's hard to objectively judge whether they are good or bad.

In fact, when the topic of lifestyle habits comes up during counseling...

"I pay close attention to what I eat!"

Occasionally, you'll encounter people who say things like that, but when you listen carefully to what they have to say, the quantity and quality of their diet often makes it clear that "that's definitely going to make you gain weight." In addition, they very often don't exercise at all and have very little physical activity in their daily lives.

First and foremost, if you are dissatisfied with your body shape and want to do something about it, you need to start by being honest with yourself and becoming aware of your daily lifestyle habits.

However, what I don't want you to misunderstand here is,Developing unhealthy lifestyle habits doesn't necessarily mean a person has weak willpower or a lazy personality.That's the point.

This is a point that cannot be emphasized enough, but the environment surrounding us in modern times itself encourages lifestyles that lead to weight gain.

I'd like to write about that in more detail in another article, but it's not simply a matter of personal responsibility. It's also important not to blame yourself too much.

Both goals that can be completed and goals that cannot be completed are tough.

Through what we've discussed so far

"I understand that my lifestyle is bad. But what's wrong with working hard to reach a weight goal? Won't that change my lifestyle as a result?"

Some of you may have this question. But, you'd be in trouble if you went on a trip to the wrong destination, right? It's the same thing; deciding what your goal is is a very important issue.

The biggest reason why setting "weight" as your diet goal is a bad idea is that "once you reach that goal, it's over."

If you focus solely on the number on the scale without considering changing your lifestyle, you'll lose all motivation once you reach your goal, and suppressed desires will suddenly erupt.

"I'm finally free from strenuous exercise!"
"I can eat whatever I want!"

To regain control of these emotions requires the same level of motivation as when you initially decided to go on a diet. Not many people possess that kind of mental strength. As a result, they revert to their old lifestyle habits (or even worse ones), ultimately leading to a rebound.

Of course, some people have mental strength and can successfully shift their goals. In that case, they set a new goal of maintaining their weight, thus avoiding a rebound in the short term.

The problem is that the goal of maintaining weight isThere is no endThat's the point. For example, if there was a marathon with no finish line, would you want to participate?

Some people love running so much they want to keep running until they die, but most people aren't like that. As we get caught up in our daily lives, our motivation to maintain our weight gradually decreases. And after a year or two, we end up back where we were before.

Thus, goal setting that ultimately relies on human motivation is ineffective in the short term.

• Clear goals make it easier to put in the effort.
• The results are easy to understand, so it motivates me to work harder.

While there are advantages to this approach, it inevitably becomes impractical once a goal is achieved or when the goal is endless. It's not suitable for things you want to sustain over the long term.

So what should you do? The answer is to make it a habit.

The power of habit formation

Wikipedia explains the custom as follows:

- A routine or established daily practice. Something that has become a fixed or established practice through long-term habits.
(Psychological term) A fixed behavior that can be acquired through repetition and repeated with little mental effort.

Wikipedia

Here, please note that it can be repeated with minimal mental effort.

For example, I think few adults need strong motivation to brush their teeth. Many people have been doing it since childhood and feel uncomfortable if they don't brush their teeth, right?

Just like with this toothpaste, if you can adopt lifestyle habits that make it harder to gain weight (such as how you choose and eat your food, and getting moderate exercise), you can maintain your figure with less effort.

Furthermore, if you can completely integrate it into your habits, it will no longer feel like an effort, but rather like "it feels wrong if I don't do it." At that point, you can reduce the influence of motivation to almost zero.

This is the biggest reason why you should aim to change your lifestyle. Once you achieve your goal, you don't need to set another goal; you only need to maintain it with minimal effort.

This is arguably the ultimate way to prevent rebound weight gain. Are you convinced?

However, you might have questions like, "So how do I make it a habit?" or "What kind of lifestyle habits prevent weight gain?"

I'll explain that in more detail in future articles.