Methods vs. Principles

As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe that there are countless ways to successfully lose weight.  A lot of them are even good ways.  I was hesitant to go into too much detail on this blog about the specifics of how I have done it, for fear that people would think I was saying, “This is the only way to do it.”  I ultimately decided that my methods are useful, but I try to tie them to their parent principles as much as possible.

For me, there is only one principle a person needs to grasp, and then everything else is methods to fit within it.  That principle is simple: in order to have permanent weight loss, you have to make permanent changes.

I don’t know if there are other solutions that could have worked for me.  What I do know is that nothing I’ve tried in the past 25+ years has worked, because I couldn’t make those changes permanently.  Run eight miles a day?  For a few months, sure, but not forever.  Stop eating ice cream entirely, forever?  Not gonna happen.  Etc. etc.

Having a grasp on the principle of permanent change allowed me to be receptive when I finally came across the methods that would work for me.