Small Changes Big Results

Trying to lose weight often seems like a herculean task, as if it’s too hard ever accomplish. This kind of feeling can lead you to give up before you even started.

The problem is that we are mostly governed by an all or nothing mentality, as if total success or total failure are the only two options we have. There is no middle ground and success seems incredibly hard to achieve.

In this post I want to offer you a different way to think about weight loss and fitness. I want to suggest another way to achieve your goals, any goal. I want to offer you a middle ground on the road to success.

Small Changes Vs. Big Changes

The feeling that you need to make a big change in your life in order to lose weight is inaccurate. Small changes are often enough to make a difference.

For instance, you don’t need a massive calorie deficit to lose weight. Even a small one will lead to weight loss. It may be slower than you would have liked but it but it will still get you to where you need to go.

Small changes are, naturally, easier to make than big ones. They’re much easier to plan, to believe in, and to carry out quickly to completion.

What you should also remember is that a change, once it is made and becomes part of a routine, no longer feels like a change. It becomes natural and easy to maintain and continue. So, once you cut 100 calories from your diet, it will be something you don’t find strange nor challenging, just a part of who you are.

Incremental Change Leads To Big Results

Yes, to get to an optimal weight may require you to lead a far different life than you do right now, but this doesn’t have to be done at once. Small changes can lead to big results. They just need to be incremental.

What I mean by incremental change is that you need to add more and more changes to your life, eliminating one bad habit after the next and replacing them with good ones. Because you don’t try to tackle multiple “bad habits” at the same time you will find it simpler to make a real change. It’s a divide and conquer strategy and the enemy is your current lifestyle. You simply dismantle this bad structure brick by brick.

For instance, you don’t need to start running 5 miles four times a week to lose weight. You can start by running 2 miles three times a week. You can be patient, there’s no need to go beyond your current limits. Then, with some training, your limit will change and two miles will seem easy.

The same goes for dietary change. You don’t need to give up every fattening or high calorie food that you’re used to. You can do so one at a time, incrementally.

By adding more and more healthy habits and eliminating bad ones, you will make progress and that’s the key.

Slowly Stick To Your New Routine

I don’t think of myself as a patient person. I want things to happen fast and I’m willing to do a lot to make it so. However, this isn’t right for everyone. Sometimes, trying to change things too quickly can lead to failure (even a temporary one) and to disappointment and a feeling that nothing can work for you.

This is why you can choose to slowly stick to your new routine, taking it one step at a time, and doing it more gradually. Achieve many small successes and you will eventually also achieve the ultimate one.

So, don’t worry about how you will lose 40 or 50 pounds. Worry about the first 5 and go from there. Don’t wonder how you can make drastic diet changes. Start with one and add more to it. Small changes can lead to big results. You can be patient.