Why Losing Weight Slowly Makes Sense
You and me, we’d both like to lose weight quickly. Fast. At the speed of light. Or by next week at the latest. But there are some good reasons to lose weight slowly, and they may be some you’ve never considered.
Your skin can keep up with your weight loss better. As we get older, our skin loses elasticity and doesn’t renew as fast as it used to — that’s why our skin sags and grows duller with age. Well, that’s bad enough, but what if you add even more sagging, due to weight loss? Sure, your skin may catch up sooner or later (depending on your age and skin condition), but why look "saggier" than you have to?
And this pertains to the skin on your face, as well as over the rest of your body!
Your new way of eating becomes habit. You know the old saying that if you do anything for 21 days, it becomes a habit? Don’t believe it — not when it comes to food and dieting!
We’ve spent a lifetime cramming all manner of foods down our throats, with little regard to nutrition. Or we thought about it and decided to just take a multivitamin instead. We’ve spent years going through drive-throughs for our breakfasts, lunches and dinners. What makes us think that 21 days will make this all habit?
The longer we take to lose weight, the more ingrained these new, healthful ways of eating become. The more you get used to having smaller portions and be satisfied with them. The more likely that after an evening of pizza and beer with friends that you’ll just go back to eating normally the next day, and not using it as an excuse to throw over your diet and pig out.
I’ll be honest; I’ve been on this diet for about 9 months now, and I still have days where I’d like to wreak havoc on my refrigerator. Now those days come less and less often, and its easier to resist temptation. But I can’t help but think that if I had lost all this weight in 2 or 3 months, that I wouldn’t put it all back on again. Plus a few extra pounds to keep the others company.
Losing weight slowly can be frustrating. But what’s worse is not losing it, or losing it quickly and then putting it all right back on. It may take months, maybe years (if you’re like me) to get back to a normal, healthy weight. But when you do, you’re more likely to keep that weight off.
Why? Habit.