Getting Past the Fat-Loss “Dip”

I’ve been reading a little book called The Dip by Seth Godin. It’s all about how the biggest marketing results are often achieved after a struggle. Unfortunately, many people quit during the struggle and never achieve success.

This is very true not only of marketing but of fat loss, working out, and eating right. (You might be able to relate.)

After all, it’s not too hard to get through the morning or even the early part of the afternoon without “cheating” on your diet. But late in the afternoon, sticking to your healthy eating plan becomes an effort. And while sitting around after dinner, it’s practically impossible to resist the siren call of cookies or chips. But those who make it through WIN. They end up eating fewer calories and losing fat for the day.

Same with workouts. The warm-up is fine, and the first few sets are tough but manageable. But further into the workout, some folks want to quit… even though it is often the last set, the last rep, that gives the most results. If we didn’t experience discomfort and fatigue while exercising, we wouldn’t change our bodies.

As Godin says, “It is human nature to quit when it hurts.” And human nature is why you see more lard bodies than hard bodies.

We have to get through what he calls “the dip.” And the two worst things you can do when you are in “the dip” are to…

(a) Quit. (That’s obvious.)

(b) Jump to another program. Every time you jump, you are starting over again. Always give a program a full four-week trial period to see if it really works for you.

How do you beat the dip when the struggle is so hard? By reminding yourself of how good life will be on the other side of the dip – how good things will be once you make it through the struggle.

You can get to a point where you’ll prefer whole, natural foods over junk food. You can get to a point where you’ll look forward to your workouts, rather than finding excuses to blow them off.

But you must have the right mindset. You must stay strong. And the best way to do both is to get help from your social support network. Surrounding yourself with positive social support is the most important thing you can do in your weight-loss program.

[Ed. Note: Social support can help you stick with your diet and exercise program until you have the body you’ve always wanted.

And discover a proven exercise system that can help you burn fat and build muscle here.]