Unless you have a medical condition that prevents you from losing weight, most people are capable of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight provided that they are motivated and serious about weight loss. When it comes down to it, although it is easy to blame excess weight and the inability to lose it on various aspects outside your control, the choice to eat right and do exercise is down to the individual.
If you feel like you have been trying to lose weight for some time, but haven’t really made any progress, or have lost weight, only to regain it again and a little more, chances are you may not be taking your weight loss seriously enough.
You never quite get around to starting your diet or workout regime
Procrastination is a common quality in many dieters. The intention to start a diet after Christmas or to hit the gym with vengeance just as soon as you are less busy at work is all well and good, but it isn’t actually helping with your weight loss.
To lose weight you need to make changes now, not next week and certainly not next year when it’s quite possible you will have gained more weight and thus have an even more difficult path ahead of you to lose it.
There are always things you would rather be doing and things that get in the way of healthy habits now and again, but as long as you make the effort to do the right thing the majority of the time, the odd slip up due to an uncontrollable event will not matter.
The key to weight loss is actually doing something about it, rather than just talking and thinking about it.
You are envious of those around you who have lost weight
If you are constantly looking at people at work or in your gym that have lost weight with feelings of envy, ask yourself if they can do it why can’t I? The answer may simply be that they are more serious about their weight loss and have made the sacrifices necessary to achieve it.
Unfortunately, there is no easy route to weight loss, you have to give up some things you may enjoy and work hard.
You reward yourself for your weight loss efforts-with food.
If you reward yourself on a regular basis for a hard work-out in the gym or for having a healthy eating day with no slip-ups, there is usually no problem- unless your reward of choice is food.
By treating yourself every time you achieve something good you are sabotaging your own weight loss and you may not be taking it seriously enough, and are really just depriving yourself in order to justify indulgence later on.
Try to choose non-food based rewards for your hard work and reap the benefits in your weight loss.
You give up easily
Have you started a diet numerous times in the past year, or signed up for multiple boot camps or gym memberships, only to find a few weeks later you have written it all off as too hard? This may also be a sign you are not being serious enough about your weight loss.
Think of working out and eating healthily as you would a job, something you have to do, not something you can quit if it all gets too hard. Don’t be too tough on yourself though, if you find you are giving up on a regular basis, it may be that you are trying to do too much or make too many changes at once, which is an unsustainable approach.
Try instead to make small changes to your diet and start with a work-out that is enjoyable but not too painful, you can always increase the intensity and make more changes once you have achieved the first ones.
You are at risk of health problems if you do not lose weight
If you have been told been told by a doctor that your health is at risk due to your weight, or even if you are in a weight range that is considered unhealthy for your height, you need to take your weight loss seriously.
Losing weight could add years to your life, not to mention increasing the quality of the life you lead considerably.
Your weight is holding you back in life
If you feel you cannot do things you would normally do or did in the past due to your weight, it is time to take weight loss seriously. If walking up the stairs leaves you gasping for air, or you no longer fit comfortably into a plane seat, it may be time to get serious and make changes.
How to get serious about weight loss
Getting serious about weight loss is by no means easy and requires a lot of mental stamina as well as energy and planning. In order to make a serious weight loss attempt, try these tips for success.
- Keep a food journal to obtain a detailed, honest and accurate account of what you are actually eating in a day. You may be surprised! It is essential to be honest with yourself in term of your diet; you are only holding yourself back if you cheat.
- Find a type of exercise you enjoy and are more likely to stick at in the long term. Sign up for a class or make a date to meet friends for a work-out as this may motivate you to stick to it.
- Set small achievable goals. You are more likely to stick to your weight loss regime if you have the satisfaction of achieving your goals and setting new ones. If you are too over ambitious to start with you can lose all motivation as it may all seem too hard.
- Make a list of the reasons why you want to lose weight. Keep this in a visible position such as on the fridge so that you see it whenever you might be thinking of breaking your diet or skipping a work out.
- Be realistic. Give yourself adequate time to lose the weight you want to rather than looking for quick fixes that are likely to be difficult to maintain and possibly unhealthy. A good weight loss diet involves healthy changes you can maintain for life.
- Seek support from friends and family. If the people around you are there to motivate and support you, weight loss can be much easier.
