10 Ways to Get Healthier That Have Nothing to Do With Weight Loss
By focusing solely on the scale, notes Howard Jacobson, PhD, co-founder of WellStart Health, you're actually focusing on avoiding being overweight rather than gaining health. "When we try to avoid something, we naturally slow down and ease up the farther we get from it," he explains. "That's why we can be extremely motivated to say ‘no' to donuts and ice cream and pepperoni pizza at the start of our diet, but when we only have a few more pounds to lose, we tend to give in to cravings because, hey, we're basically there, so what's the big deal?"'Instead, Dr. Jacobson says it's more effective to focus on health as something to move toward. "The closer we get to the thing we want, the more energy and motivation we feel," he says. He compares it to what happens at the finish line of a marathon, as runners who have been dragging for the past six miles suddenly find a burst of speed when the end of the course comes into sight.
