Dear Mr. Self Development,

What mistakes did Oprah make on her last diet to cause her to re-gain the weight?

Kasey

Oprah made the same 3 mistakes that millions of others make everyday; this article is about identifying and avoiding those 3 common mistakes.

If you remember in 1988, Oprah famously wheeled a wagon loaded with fatty-foods onto her studio set; this represented the 67lbs she had loss at the time. She was also wearing a size 10 pair of pants during this particular show.  Oprah had lost this weight on a liquid-protein diet. 

Oprah admits to starving herself; she said two hours after that infamous show ended, she was eating to celebrate her weight loss, and within two days, her size 10 pants no longer fit. 

Mistake #1 – Making a Temporary Change

When Oprah began her liquid-protein diet, her plan was to do it temporarily.  She had no plans on continuing this diet for 10 years, 20 years, or forever. 

But dieting doesn’t work; diets by their contemporary connotation are “temporary.”  Temporary solutions only work, temporarily.  You wouldn’t get a job for six-months and then expect it to take care of your finances for a lifetime would you.

There should be no surprise that after you stop dieting you gain the weight back.  It’s like, if you stop paying your mortgage, the bank will take your house back.

If you get a job for six-months, then you will have income for six-months, if you get a job for two years, then you will have income for two years. The same holds true for a diet, it only works for as long as you’re on it; it’s kind of like a bike.

What’s the point: Instead of dieting, you should begin what I call a “lifestyle dieting plan,” a diet plan that you can do for a lifetime.  Don’t attempt the latest fad diet, or a diet that you can’t maintain for a lifetime. 

You need a longterm solution, not a temporary diet change.

Mistake #2 – Starving Herself

Not a good idea, and here’s why.  For starters, you can only starve yourself for so long, and when you stop, in which you will, you will probably go on an eating spree, like Oprah did, to make up for the period when you were starving.  It’s as simple as action and re-action, for every action, there is an equal an opposite reaction. 

However, here’s the really bad news:  A few months after your starvation diet is over, you will probably be heavier than you were before you first began.  Why? Because when your body goes into starvation mode, it will eat away or cannibalize its own muscles.  Not a good thing.

Muscle mass is a large factor in weight maintenance, muscles burn calories all day long, so the more muscles you have, the more calories you can take in without gaining weight.

After starving yourself, you will have lost a percentage of your muscles and consequently you are more likely to gain even more weight than you originally loss.

Your goal should be to build a body which burns calories easily, through high-intensity cardio and weight training; your goal should not be to avoid calories.  The first approach overcomes the problem, the second approach only tries to avoid the problem, and usually unsuccessfully.

In addition to all of this, when you starve yourself, you are not getting the proper nutrients your body needs, and this could lead to other health problems.

Mistake #3 – Celebrating Her Success by Eating

This would be the equivalent of an alcoholic celebrating his sobriety by getting drunk.  This makes absolutely no sense, in and of itself.  However, if you just finished starving yourself, it’s certainly understandable. 

If you need a “day off” for celebration, it should be included in your “dieting lifestyle plan.” 

Plan a day, maybe every Saturday, when you are free to eat whatever you want (or some version of this).  Call it your “off-day” and make it flexible enough to accommodate holidays, parties, etc. 

There should be no long-term celebration of your success, and by long-term, I mean anything longer than a (previously planned) day.  If your celebration continues for longer than a day, it’s not you’re success your celebrating, it’s something else .

The Plan

You’re going to have to make some permanent changes.  You may want to start by working out 3 days a week, and then eventually moving up to 5 days a week, et cetera.  You may want to employ a workout partner who is currently consistent and getting good results to assist you in your efforts. 

You may want to go from eating 4000 calories a day to eating 3000 calories a day, and then move down from there, and then eventually move into a healthy diet filled with non-fatty foods as well as lots of fruits and vegetables. 

Whatever the plan, two things are important: first, that you write down the plan (where you will see it daily), and second, that it’s something you can commit to for the rest of your life.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t change the plan (you may find a better plan, one that’s more appropriate for you) but you should begin your “lifestyle dieting plan” knowing that you are capable of doing it for the rest of your life. 

If you can’t see yourself doing it forever, you probably won’t be doing it for very long.  So plan for the long-term, start where you are, and make it the theme of your year to get healthy and stay that way.

With all this said, these are just the steps; the strength to get this accomplished comes from a much deeper place. You have to want to be healthy for you; you must have a burning desire; you must have a vision of a healthier you.

Thank you for reading mrselfdevelopment.com where every article expands your mind, increases your faith, and changes your life.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this article please subscribe to my “RSS Feed” or submit this page to your favorite social media site.

Note:  It’s ok to do a one-month or even a one-year jump start plan, where you are specifically focused on achieving your health goal, but plan for that time to end, and for a permanent plan to begin.  In addition, please consult your physician before beginning a new diet or workout routine.