After years of observing and participating in a variety of truly dreadful wellness recommendations and ideas, I realized that many of us have been on a miserable path of yo-yo dieting, dangerous exercise activities, and truly questionable health habits.  Here are three that I think you might want to consider dropping.

1. Death drop dieting.

Death drop dieting is any version of either an extremely low calorie diet or terrible tasting food diet.  I call it death drop because you go on the diet and hold on for dear life as if you were on a death drop roller coaster.  You can’t survive this way so you hold on and look forward to the day that you can get off the ride or get off the diet.  If you are sucking down syrupy sweet smoothies that make you gag, you are on a death drop diet.  If you are eating unpronounceable foods that taste like paper, you are on a death drop diet and if you are eating under 1000 calories a day . . . you get the idea.

The problem with this type of diet is that you can’t sustain it.  Yes, you will probably lose weight but your weight loss won’t last because you have to get off the death drop ride eventually.  You can’t feel good, exercise, and be productive, or creative when you aren’t eating in a way that nourishes you both physically and emotionally.  Life is too short to be that miserable and then when you gain the weight back you certainly won’t be any happier.  There are far better ways to lose weight and to be healthy.

2. Focusing on your appearance versus how you feel.

I hear women commit to losing weight in order to “Look like I did in high school.  Fit into that sexy dress.  Look better than my neighbor,” and on and on it goes.  Here’s the problem, if you only focus on your appearance and not how you feel, you are doomed to disappointment.  We can only control so much about our appearance and then ultimately we look like ourselves.  Some focus on appearance is normal but it won’t ultimately give you the motivation to get healthy for the long run.  If you decide to get healthy in order to really feel stronger and more energetic, then when your appearance doesn’t change dramatically, you won’t lose your motivation as easily.

3. Getting healthy from a place of hating yourself versus loving yourself.

If you decide to lose weight because you are ashamed of yourself you are starting from a negative and unhappy place.  Most of us don’t have much energy and commitment from that space.  Versus getting healthy (which may or may not include weight loss) because you love yourself and you want to take care of yourself as you would someone who you care for and respect.  When we choose to get healthy from a very motivated, care about ourselves space, we have limitless energy and commitment.  Caring for ourselves with kindness and compassion is what will help us make those long-term changes.  Belittling and criticism will only add to our unhappiness.

So start today!  Drop these three bad wellness ideas and start feeling better immediately.  Keep me posted on how you do.

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC