Beware: Not All Spring “Leaning” Challenges Are For You

It’s the time of year when I start seeing a lot of weight loss challenges that promise to help you get “lean in spring” coming up on my Facebook newsfeed.

I’m not surprised because when I was a trainer, this was the time of year the gym started getting busy again, second to January, because April seems to serve as sort of a “wake-up call” to get back in action if they’ve been neglecting the health and fitness goals they set out to accomplish in the beginning of the year.

If you’re feeling the tug to also spring “lean,” realize that not all “challenges” are going to be right for you.

In fact, I find that very few are.

Here’s why and what you need to beware of.

Let’s start with one that popped up on my news feed recently – the “4 Week Spring ‘Leaning’ Challenge” in which the “rules” are:

No chips or fries
No soda or juice
No ice cream
No fast food
No fried food
No white bread
No cakes or donuts
No cookies
No candy

I believe that the best candidate for this challenge would be someone like me – a health-conscious person who already doesn’t eat the above items very often anyway.

Note that I said “not very often,” not never!

In a normal month, from that list, you can bet that I will have chips, white bread, fried food, and the occasional sweet of some kind.

Plus, I could live without these things for four weeks if challenged to.

As far as the other food/drinks on the list, they’re really not a part of my regular diet anyway, making this challenge a good one for me because it sets me up for success.

But, this challenge isn’t for everyone. It would set many up for failure, rather than success.

Let me explain.

A person who eats the above foods on the list on a regular basis – heck, even one of them all the time, like fast food or soda, for example – is going to have a really hard time on this challenge.

This challenge sets them up for failure, not success.

The other thing to consider is what happens after the four weeks?

Even if you do “lean out” a little (or a lot) by restricting these foods and drinks from your diet, when the challenge is over, do you expect yourself to never eat those foods again?

I’ll admit it, I’m guilty of running these “jumpstart challenges” in the years past too, but I’ve realized that they often offer false hope and are cookie cutter (meaning they’re not for everyone) and as a result, set most up for failure rather than success.

I’ve since stopped running such challenges because they work well for those already on their way on their healthy journey but may overindulge a little too much here and there and could benefit from a little “strictness” from time to time, but they’re not for the people who are just getting started or have started and stopped programs and challenges over and over again.

The latter are the women I work with – women in midlife who are tired of all the hardcore dieting they’ve tried throughout their life and are ready to start making small, but lasting healthy lifestyle changes they can keep for the rest of their life.

Keep in mind that restrictive diets are merely short-term solutions that don’t provide much support on the back end.

The work I do lies more on the back end – what will you do AFTER the diet is over?

Better yet, what about not dieting at all and start making small, realistic, and manageable tweaks to your lifestyle that encourage healthy habits and behaviors?

And the best part being… you keep them.

So, the next time you’re scrolling through Facebook and you’re tempted to participate in the latest “spring leaning” challenge, consider if it’s right for you – the biggest question being: Is it realistic for you?

If not, it’s probably not the right challenge for you.

Yet, if you still feel compelled to try it, let’s say the 4 Week Challenge I shared above, think about how you can make it realistic for you, which might mean saying no to one of the items that you feel confident you can let go of for a month, rather than ALL of them.

Feels more manageable and realistic now, doesn’t it?

This is how you set yourself up for success!

Finally, remember that I’m here to help you when you’re ready – not ready for another detox, diet, or quick fix – rather for a lasting transformation to your health and self-care.

It’s your turn to take care of YOU!

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Book a time to talk with me here.