I read this article last week and found it very interesting.  If you aren’t familiar with fitbit, it is a fitness band that keeps count of your steps and calories eaten.  It is suppose to help with weight loss but some users are finding that they are actually gaining weight while using fitness bands.  These users are confused because weight loss should be a simple equation of less calories in than calories out.  But is weight loss that simple?

Unfortunately, it isn’t.  Yes, if you have a deficit of calories at the end of the day you will lose weight.  The thing with weight loss is that there are so many more variables than just the amount of calories you consume or burn.  More and more people are realizing that each person is different when it comes to losing weight or getting healthier.  The way that food affects each person is different, the way that exercise affects each person is different, and this means that the way each person goes about getting healthier has to be different.  We can’t have cookie cutter diets or workout routines any longer, because they don’t work.  I have preached this lesson before, because I believe that it is so important.

People don’t want to hear that losing weight is hard.  They don’t want to have to put in a ton of work, so they are constantly looking for the magic bullet that will give them a quick fix.  It is much more comforting to just pick up the newest book outlining the latest diet and believe that your weight problem will just go away in 30 days.  I’m sorry to tell you that to get the kind of results that most people want or need, they need to put in much more work.  You have to put in the effort to find what works best for you.

I know that sounds depressing.  But putting in the work is going to make your journey to be healthier so much more rewarding.  It is also going to make it last a lifetime.  When people keep switching from diet fad to diet fad, they aren’t really learning how to eat better and fuel their body.  They think that because this has worked for others, it should work for them.  Relying on others or fitness gadgets totally to get healthier backfires because you are now dependant on something else.  Put in the effort to customize your lifestyle to your needs, and suddenly you intuitively know what your body needs to stay healthy.  Now you know what works for you and what doesn’t and it is easier to make health decisions.  It becomes a habit to choose the good and turn down the bad.

I don’t want to bash fitness bands or certain diets.  Those things work for some people and they are great places to start when you decide to get healthier.  Just don’t rely too heavily on these things for too long.  Take risks, experiment with different techniques, and embrace that you are uniquely you.  It is a good thing that we each have our own set of needs, because who wants to be just like every other person?  Bottom line: The most important step for better health is to make the decision to change.  Once you do that, really commit to finding what works best for you to accomplish that goal.  Putting in the work and extra effort will make you that much prouder when you get the results you are looking for.