Stop Trying to Lose Weight: Yoda, Pencils and Diet Fails

As a customer service manager for a healthcare company, I roll my eyes when one of my employees tells me they will "try" to do something.

"Don't try," I say. "Just do it." Then I give them a pencil and ask them to try to sharpen it.

Point made (no pun intended).

Try is a weasel word padded with lame excuses not to do something. Which is why so many people try to lose weight -- and fail.

Back to my work analogy. I have learned to always ask my employees to tell me their strategy for any goal they are aiming for. Without a concrete plan, they are far more likely to fail than succeed.

Trying is lying

When I finally decided to lose weight instead of try to lose weight, I chose the Medifast Take Shape for Life program as my strategy. I loved that it had a structured eating plan and provided a free health coach to keep me motivated, accountable and educated. 

Medifast is not the only weight loss program that works. You can lose weight on many programs, including Weight Watchers, South Beach and the Dr. Oz diet du jour.

However, when I looked at the steps I would need to take to achieve my weight loss goal, Medifast looked very doable to me. The replacement meals would fit comfortably with my busy life. I would not have to fix a bunch of new recipes or turn into a treadmill troll. The one lean & green meal per day would teach me how to prepare the kinds of meals I would need to eat to maintain my weight after I ditched my extra pounds.

And guess what? Since I did not try to lose weight, I actually lost it. Thirty-five pounds to be exact. And I have maintained that weight loss for four months now with minimal effort.

The Medifast Take Shape for Life plan for losing weight and gaining optimal health may not be right for everyone, but it was right for me. And without a plan, chances are I would still be trying to lose weight.


You can purchase Medifast replacement meals directly from Medifast Centers, the Medifast website or -- for no extra cost -- through the co-branded website of a Medifast TSFL health coach. Medifast does not recommend purchasing its products from third party vendors, but if you choose to do so, you can find them on both Amazon and eBay.

Medifast replacement meals on Amazon

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