Search Weight Loss Topics:




Jun 5

The 3 Biggest Reasons People Fail To Lose Weight And What To Do About Them – Good Herald

Recently, researchers have compared the results from several different weight loss plans and they discovered something interesting they all work! The amount and speed of weight loss and overall success rate is pretty much equivalent among the most popular weight loss programs. The researchers discovered something else too. The most important factor in the success of a weight loss program for a given individual had little to do with the specifics of the program. It turned out to be how closely the person stuck to the program!

With this in mind, I wish to present what in my experience are the top 3 reasons why people fail to lose weight and/or fail to keep the weight off long term, and ways to overcome them.

The first problem is that most people view weight loss as a short-term project rather than a life-long change in the way they live their lives. What happens is they get motivated to lose weight for one reason or another, they set a goal to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain period of time, they choose their weight loss approach, and they begin. Then one of two things happen. They either lose motivation and quit long before they really even get started, or they follow through and they accomplish their weight loss goal (or at least get close). In the best case scenario of someone who successfully accomplished their goal, what happens next? All too often, they discontinue the diet and/or exercise they were doing and begin to gain weight again. Instead of viewing weight loss as a goal to be accomplished, I think it is important to begin with the concept that weight control is a life-long lifestyle choice.

This brings be to the second reason why people fail to lose weight and/or keep it off they lie to themselves. People trying to lose weight often become a bit self-delusional as to how well they are following a weight loss program. In assisting people to lose weight, I often hear people say that theyve followed the program Ive recommended perfectly, but they arent losing any weight. When I look at their food journals or ask them about what theyve been eating, it becomes readily apparent that they havent even come close to following my recommendations.

I typically tell people to cut refined carbohydrates out of their diets completely because insulin release in response to consuming carbs is the strongest fat burning inhibitor that there is. In most cases, people who complain that that they are following my recommendations exactly will almost always have foods like toast, cereal, pasta, and even cookies listed on their diet journals. When I ask them about these foods, theyll usually say something about that just being a one-time exception yet they have a one-time exception on every meal! Keeping and regularly reviewing a diet journal is an excellent way to keep yourself honest. The process of writing down what you eat AND reviewing it each day (my patients who claim they have been perfect on the diet have usually not reviewed their diet journals on their own) will help you keep yourself on track. Hopefully the realization of how many times you are cheating will start to prevent you from doing it.

Finally, probably the biggest reason people fail to lose weight and/or keep it off is that they simply havent found a good enough reason. I believe that part of the reason why there is such a tendency for weight loss to be approached as a short-term project rather than a long-term lifestyle change is that the reason people use to motivate themselves to lose weight is usually a temporary reason. A lot of people have motivation to lose weight that is tied to an event. For example, brides-to-be want to lose weight to look good in their wedding gowns. Some people want to lose weight before summer so theyll look good in a swimsuit. Whatever it may be, the vast majority of the time, people want to lose weight by a set time, and whether or not they are successful, the motivation to control their weight vanishes when that predetermined time has passed.

The other part of people not having found a good enough reason is that they consider losing weight as something that theyd like to do, or would be happy if it happened, but they really dont have any major emotion behind their weight loss goals. Theres a big difference in the emotion and therefore the amount of motivation behind someone saying I want to lose 20 pounds and I am sick of being fat and I am going to lose 20 pounds if it KILLS me!.

The number one key to losing weight and keeping it off is to figure out a highly emotional reason you want to lose weight. If you cant find that, my advice is to forget about trying to lose weight until you do. No matter how easy a weight loss programs advertising hype makes it sound, you are wasting your time and money on it if you are not strongly motivated to lose the weight. The fact of the matter is nearly all reasonable weight loss programs work, but they all require effort on your part to make them work.

Different people are motivated by different things. For some, maybe they are motivated to lose weight because of fear of health problems. Some are motivated because they want to be more attractive to others and losing weight will help them in their social lives. Some may be motivated by job considerations (some studies have shown that more attractive people are often more successful in business). In any event, the more emotion and purpose you can put behind your desire to lose weight, the better your chances of successfully losing weight.

In summary, to have the best chance of losing weight and keeping it off long-term, you must begin thinking of weight control in terms of being a long-term change in lifestyle, rather than as a short-term goal. Second, you need be honest with yourself, and make sure to have a system of accountability to keep yourself on track with your weight loss program. Most importantly, you need strong emotional reasons to motivate you to stick to your weight control plan.

Get diet and exercise recommendations for your particular pattern of weight gain and tips on how lose weight plans can be made more effective by visiting Dr. Bests lose weight help website.

Photo By 4390290 from Pixabay

Read more from the original source:
The 3 Biggest Reasons People Fail To Lose Weight And What To Do About Them - Good Herald

Related Posts

    Your Full Name

    Your Email

    Your Phone Number

    Select your age (30+ only)

    Select Your US State

    Program Choice

    Confirm over 30 years old

    Yes

    Confirm that you resident in USA

    Yes

    This is a Serious Inquiry

    Yes

    Message:



    matomo tracker