Time is running out, and you have to get to that party ASAP. Your bed is pilled with outfits that you haven’t worn for ages, and none of them fit you. Do you have a panic attack? Why didn’t you go on a diet “on that Monday two months ago”? What were you thinking? Look at you now. Why are you always struggling to lose weight?
Don’t believe in miracles
It’s not your fault you are constantly struggling to lose weight. All of us have been brainwashed with all sorts of diets, especially fad diets that promise you overnight miracles. I’m sure you have found many posts and magazine articles promising you that you can lose 10 pounds in three, two, one day…
Take off to the promised land wherein a single night, you can become a model walking the runway of your favorite top designer’s show. Let’s get real for a moment. Achieving the body of your dreams can be 100% possible, however, not this way.
The word diet is the problem
Let’s start from the root of the problem, diet sounds like a punishment. It will never be associated with something pleasant. If the word diet makes you happy, congratulations, you are one in a million. For the rest of us, who are human beings, it feels like a nightmare.
Restricting food and eating only salads, chicken and, fill in the gab, misery food can make you depressed. Well, how can this type of food make you happy? It can’t, but if you are strong enough and have the will of a superman, you will achieve your goals. Or not?
The yo-yo effect
If you have achieved and climbed mount Everest, eating only steamed veggies and boiled eggs, that is fantastic. Now on your way down the mountain, you will finally indulge in your favorite food; I meant junk food. Just a tiny break from the diet, won’t hurt you. Right? Wrong, as soon as you start to taste pizza, donuts, you-name-it, you can say bye-bye to your slim body.
Starving yourself can backlash and lead to increasing your weight. Returning to your previous eating habits is totally normal because you’re used to eating these types of foods. Dieting is just a break from your usual way of eating. Just like a commercial break on tv, it cannot be longer than the movie.
Well, you gave it your best, climbed Everest, got fit, and now that you’re finally back down, you are fatter that even before you started. No wonder that no-one believes that it’s you on that selfie on the top of the mountain.
Food should make you happy
After crying yourself to sleep because all your attempts lead to failure, you should start to think if this is the only way. No, you aren’t doomed to stay fat. Diet is a self-torture that can only make you miserable. Food isn’t only something that keeps us alive, it also makes us happy. When you enjoy a good meal you have a smile on your face, isn’t it true?
Now you’re thinking losing weight can only be successful by eating tasteless, depressing things. All the people who succeeded in losing weight enjoyed their food. That is their secret. It can take a little bit of effort to find recipes that combine healthy ingredients, but the experience of eating such meals is totally different than those no-flavor ones.
Healthy lifestyle
A diet lasts for a while, and most of the time, the results won’t last. Why is that? It is because at the end of the day we will return to the usual way of eating. Unfortunately healthy means all sorts of junk food, large portions of meals and desserts. Those who finally managed to lose pounds and keep them off accomplished it by changing their eating. Not for a certain period but forever. Don’t panic; it isn’t as horrifying as it sounds.
One size doesn’t fit all
If your best friend lost a ton of weight by following a particular way of eating, it doesn’t mean that it can have the same effect on you. Everyone is different, and that should be taken into account. So many people give up on their diets because their partner shed off pounds quickly, while they had a slight change in their weight.
Intermittent fasting, keto, carnivore, vegetarian, vegan, or any other style of eating might suit more one person than the other. Nothing is good or bad, nothing works the same way on everyone, and sometimes it’s good to switch from one to the other. There are no rules in this game.
Expecting too much too early
Trying to lose weight fast isn’t healthy, and it can hurt your metabolism. That doesn’t mean you will lose a pound every month. In the beginning, pounds will come off quickly, and gradually the rate will slow. Listen to your body and how it responds to food. If losing weight gets too tricky, you should definitely see a doctor and check if there is a health issue or if a medication is preventing your weight loss.
Extreme switch in eating habits
You’ve been struggling to lose weight for so long because you have no patience. Switching from one day eating junk food to the next eating only healthy foods is quite a shock to the system. Progressive replacement of processed foods with more nutrient ones can be more beneficial long term and sustainable.
Don’t use food to reward or comfort yourself
“Well done, good girl. Here is your treat.” That is a way of training a dog… Not you. Celebrating an event or a success can be done in many other ways, the same goes for comforting. We have associated food with all kinds of emotions, and this can make it quite challenging to change our eating habits.
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Forget Mondays
I’m sure you heard it a million times, you promised it to yourself and time after time you failed. Monday doesn’t have anything special about it. Why not start right now? Even if it’s the middle of the day and you are about to go for lunch. Postponing from Monday to Monday, your weight loss plan won’t make a difference.
Don’t be too hard on yourself
Beating yourself up for eating a cookie won’t help you maintain your diet. It is the path that will only lead you to stress and anxiety, while you’ll be still struggling to lose weight. “Wait, but I ate a whole cookie.” So what? We aren’t living in a laboratory, so you shouldn’t have a sterile way of thinking.
Yes, it is possible to have a cheat meal and still continue your diet as usual. People get disappointed when they eat “forbidden” food and give up on their diet. The point of training yourself and learning how to make better choices when it comes to food doesn’t mean that it doesn’t include some snacks here and there.
Going to extremes isn’t a solution to any problem. The bottom of the line is that eating a piece of cake on your birthday won’t kill you.
Keep your mind off your diet
Always thinking of what, when, how to eat is frustrating. Weight loss and a healthy lifestyle should be a routine you follow and should feel natural. Focus your mind on other things, challenge your daily routine; this way, you will find different ways to make yourself happy.
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But what about right now?
Love yourself the way you are right now. You aren’t the enemy, and you won’t believe in yourself or be more confident when you’ll lose weight. Many times we hide our emotions with food, and as long as we don’t deal with what we are facing and fearing, losing weight won’t make us happier.
It is up to you to find the power to change your life and deal with your insecurities. You deserve more than you think, and fat doesn’t have to stand in the way. Believe in yourself and change your reality.