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Lifestyle, Not a Diet

Sometimes subtle things can make surprising differences.

One of the subtle things is how you look at things.  Your subconscious mind can’t see what is going on.  It relies on your conscious mind for input.

Say the right thing and your subconscious mind can work for you in surprising ways.  Say the wrong thing and your subconscious mind can inadvertently work against you.

One of those subtle things is what you call your program.  Too often it is called a diet.  Here is why that term can work against you:

• It sounds very short term.  It sounds temporary.  It’s say’s let’s get over this and get back to normal
• It starts with “die”.  All you who want to die raise your hands.  Of course you are not looking to die.  So why feed that it into your subconscious.  Death is one of the most major fears of most people, usually coming in at number two, behind public speaking (so at a funeral they would rather be in the casket than having to give the eulogy, as one joke goes).  Once your subconscious picks up on the “die” in diet, it can work to sabotage your program. 

If you want to use a term like diet, instead change it to livet.  After all, you are doing this so you have more life in your life.

But we think there is an even better term- lifestyle.  Our nutritionist reminded us at every meeting, “You are on a lifestyle, not a diet.”  Well put.

Here’s why lifestyle can work better as a term:

• It sounds permanent.  It is a new way of life, not just something temporary.
• It feels positive, proactive.  It sets the tone for your subconscious.
• It keeps you on track.  If you think about getting astray, your subconscious mind can get you back in focus.

 You are building a new you.  Forever.  That’s a way of life.

 Call it a lifestyle.