Let’s play a hypothetical game: We will call it “Assigning a Difficulty Factor”, and the scoring system is a “10” being incredibly difficult to achieve and a “1” being pretty easy to achieve. Here goes:
You are on a 3 day yoga retreat with a bunch of people really into a healthy lifestyle. Meals are being provided. There is no alcohol present at all and every meal is freshly prepared with a good balance of proteins, vegetables and fresh fruits.
What is the Difficulty Factor (“DF”) you would assign to this hypothetical situation in following pretty closely the SP Dietary Plan? I would say about a 1-2.
Now, let’s go to this scenario: You won in a work contest a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. The cruise package includes unlimited alcohol.
What is the DF for following the SP Plan during this situation? Hmmm…gotta be a 9-10. (Think of those mid night buffets with the great desserts and those milkshake like drinks with the umbrellas and cherries on top!)
Now, lets get to the real world and away from the hypothetical. Every work day, every weekend, every business trip and every vacation will provide a different “DF” in your ability to follow the dietary approach needed for long-term weight control. The first step in navigating this successfully is recognizing what situations provide the most challenging DFs and then devising a plan to rise to the challenge.
Additionally, we will sometimes play a role on the DF of the situation. For example, I have previously described the concept of choosing vacation venues with lesser DFs than others. For example, a touring trip of the Pyramids in Egypt has a much less DF than touring wine country.
Every day will offer up a different DF. Remember, the higher the DF in diving competitions, the higher the potential score so you can still nail the weight loss despite the high DF and be the big winner!