People have asked me a lot of questions about how the Anti-Diet Lifestyle actually achieves weight loss and concerns about exercise come up frequently. Things like:
Do you exercise?
Do you exercise regularly?
Did you have to exercise to lose weight?
I love these questions because they challenge me to look at The Anti-Diet Lifestyle from the perspective of people wanting to lose weight. Over the years, I just kind of fell into my new life and almost even began to take my new-found slimness for granted. Challenges like these from people who have read or are reading my book help me to remain focused on my goal which is to help others lose weight too. I’m very conscious that I need to give people detail and not just skim over important issues merely because I no longer have a problem with my health and lifestyle. The danger of falling foul of not appreciating where I am is the loss of knowledge about how I got there in the first place!
I’m going to answer these questions for you in two ways:
- Do you have to exercise for the Anti-Diet to work?
- Do I exercise and if so, do I exercise on a regular basis?
I chose these because they will give you my honest opinion from both a personal perspective (as I have experience of it) and from the perspective of my readers (who are about to experience it). This way, you will be able to make up your own mind about my approach to weight loss and whether you feel it might work for you (I truly hope that it does).
It’s no secret that my personal journey to weight loss freedom began when I’d just about had enough of dieting and failing and my yo-yo cycle of weight gain v weight loss; I was not searching for a new solution to my problem, oh no, it was quite the opposite in fact, it all began because I gave up. One day, I woke up and knew I’d had it, that I couldn’t do this crap anymore. I was tired of holding in my stomach, I was tired of feeling fat, I was tired of feeling guilty and most of all I was tired of my total addiction and obsession with food. So, I let go of it all and without knowing it began the process that would eventually release me from the chains and lead me to what I’d always wanted – to be slim!
- Do you have to exercise for the Anti-Diet to work?
The great news is ‘NO’, you do not have to exercise for the Anti-Diet to work. I lost weight because I did the opposite of what I’d been doing before:
I STOPPED:
- Dieting
- Weighing myself
- Surrounding myself with dieting paraphernalia – the dieting magazines, the weighing scales, the ‘fat’ photo of me on the fridge, the ‘slim’ of me by my bedside, the ‘I might fit into that one day’ clothes’, the ‘diet’ foods etc, etc.
I BEGAN:
- Learning to eat
- Learning to enjoy food without guilt
- Wearing clothes that actually fit me
- To love myself
The result of this was that my focus moved from dieting to what I can only describe as anti-dieting!! It freed me to make choices based on information rather than desperation. As corny as it sounds, I went on a journey to re-discover myself and who I really was and what I wanted from life. Instead of researching the latest diet I could try; I began to research nutrition, well-being and anything that allowed me to build my self-esteem. I found that I felt different, that for the first time in my life I was living from a position of power and I actually found myself gravitating towards foods that were better for me and I no longer needed to binge or starve myself either.
- Do I exercise and if so, do I exercise on a regular basis?
The answer to this is ‘YES’ and ‘YES’! Before The Anti-Diet, my relationship with exercise was sketchy to say the least. I would join a fitness class, take up swimming or running but find that my enthusiasm only lasted a couple of weeks before I stopped. Once I found that I was losing weight, I also found that I had more energy and, as my confidence grew, I naturally started to exercise. It was very little to begin with but it was regular enough for me to form a habit. I swapped my morning, mile long drive to the train station for a walk. In the beginning it was so difficult that I had to stop numerous times just so I could catch my breath, but, in time, it became easy. I then graduated to jogging and now run twice a week and walk at every opportunity!!
I sincerely wish the same for you and wish you the best of luck in your own journey. May you find your way there too!
If you are serious about losing weight but fed up of dieting, please like and follow my blog for great advice and tips to help you finally lose weight for good!
You can also read my book, The Anti-Diet Lifestyle – 4 Crazy Steps to Weight-Loss Success! This book contains all my weight loss secrets in an easy to follow formula. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and E-Book. I am serious about helping you achieve your weight loss goals!!
Written by Sherry Taylor
Author of The Anti-Diet Lifestyle
