To Lose Weight Start a Habit Not Just a Diet

Though the statistics vary, you probably don't need research to know most people that start a diet ultimately don't stick with it. If you are interested in the research, somewhere around 20% quit within the first 7 days, and by 3 months, 4 out of 5 people have quit.

There are plenty of different reasons for this, but what's more important is finding a way to solve it. If you think about it, it's a bit strange that people see a much higher success rate making changes in most every other area of their lifestyle, hobbies, or at their jobs. Why is weight loss any different?

What if we looked at dieting and weight loss as just another good habit that can be formed and a bad habit that can be broken like any other?

If you've struggled with sticking to a diet, here are a couple of excellent reads about building better habits and breaking the cycle, with stories of real success.

Change Outcomes by Doing Small Things Everyday

In just a year, a writer over on BufferOpen successfully read five times more, learned a new language, and became a morning person (that's probably the most impressive of them all). How? The distance between where you are and where you want to go is sometimes too daunting. Start small and repeat a very tiny habit daily. She, for example:

• Read just one page per night
• Did a 5-minute french lesson every morning
• Only focused on one habit at a time
• Removed barriers
• Stacked new routines onto existing habits

Imagine applying that approach to weight loss and dieting. Instead of trying to completely change our eating habits to lose a lot of weight quickly, what if we made small changes over time that were doable and would stick beyond the end of the diet?

There's a lot more on how she did it. Read it all over at How I Became a Morning Person, Read 5x More Books and Learned a New Language in a Year on bufferopen

Habit Loops: How Habits Form and How They Change

We form most of our habits without even knowing it. Taking a look at how this happens is the start of knowing how to change it. 99u describes this "habit loop" as consisting of a cue, a routine, and a reward. And they say there is no escaping this loop.

To get rid of a bad habit, you have to find a better routine that yields the same reward. If you remove something from your life, but don't replace it with something else, you're setting up a negative feeling. If you replace your reward with a new one, you'll anticipate it and eventually it makes it easier to accomplish your better habit.

Read more at Hacking Habits: How to Make New Behaviors Last for Good on 99u

WonderSlim's Weight Loss Program is About Rewards and Building Good Habits

What makes WonderSlim plans succeed for many where "quick weight loss" diets fail, is that at its foundation is long-term success.

The high protein shakes and foods are designed to help keep hunger at bay while offering taste and food textures that can replace the "reward" previously met by fast food or other kinds of unhealthy eating fare.

Example day on WonderSlim Women's Premium Plan.

Plan users eat every 2 to 3 hours, offering peace of mind and frequent rewards. The plan also helps build long-term habits by incorporating a person's own grocery foods, which they choose from a shopping list. In addition, each plan day includes a healthy dinner requirement based on a set of balanced guidelines from the shopping list. While some diets require an abrupt, complete shift in normal eating habits, WonderSlim offers small changes and maintains known meal planning/food selection habits that will be needed to maintain weight loss long after a diet ends.

You can read more about how the plan works in this article written by a dietitian/nutritionist, here. Then, check out our full range of WonderSlim plan options for both women and men to find one right for you, including the 1 Week Premium Diet Plan, perfect if you just want to try it out.