When trying to lose weight, one of the most important factors in your progress is going to be your environment. There are five different types of environments, and each presents unique challenges. Some are easier than others, and there are different strategies to optimizing each of these environments to facilitate your weight loss goals.
The first environment is if you live by yourself. In this environment, you are in control of what you eat and you cook all of your meals yourself. Because you only have to focus on yourself, and you can control all of the foods you are eating, this is the easiest environment.
The second environment is if you are living with your spouse. This is the hardest environment because it is absolutely necessary to be on the same page as your spouse and to have similar goals. Because you are both going to be eating the same foods, you will have to conform to the diet of your spouse. Therefore, if they are eating unhealthy foods consistently, chances are you will as well. To optimize this environment, you need to be on the same page as your spouse. You need to get your partner on the program you are on, otherwise, it will be impossible to stick to your program.
The third environment is if you are a busy professional. In this environment, you don’t cook for yourself often because of how busy you are. The key to optimizing this environment is flexible dieting. Because you will be eating a lot of meals on the go or out, it is important to be flexible with the foods you are eating as long as you are hitting your calorie and macronutrient goals. You need to be able to recognize healthy options on menus, and consistently choose these options for yourself.
The fourth environment is if you are travelling a lot. Similarly to busy professionals, a flexible diet is key to success in this environment. Because you are constantly changing locations, you are going to have to be very flexible with the different foods you are eating. However, if you have set calorie and macronutrient goals you will be able to pick options which get you to this goal, even if the foods themselves are usually different.
The final environment is if you are living with your parents. The key to success in this environment is discussing your goals with parents, and making sure the food in the house and the meals which are being made fit in with your goals. If you can agree upon foods with your parents, you will have the options available to you to succeed in your diet.
In conclusion, of the five different environments, the hardest is living with a spouse because of the need to communicate with them to optimize your environment and be able to follow the program. Although all of these programs present different challenges, the key to overcoming them is all consistency. It may take work, but if you can consistently make good choices with different foods in any of these environments, you will be more successful than if you had a perfect diet plan which you could not follow long term. This video gives further details on all of these environments, and how to optimize them for your weight loss goals.
