No matter how much extra weight you carry, losing it can seem like the key to everything you want in life. You tell yourself that, if you can only lose some weight, and keep it off, you’ll look better; feel better; be more confident; healthier; fit; full of energy; make your cellulite look better; get that promotion; wear all the outfits you shy away from; start getting out more; and be happier.
Despite all that, here’s the first reason why you can’t seem to lose weight.
With all those amazing potential benefits on the line, why would you only give yourself 30, 60 or 90 days, or however long your fad diet promises to deliver the desired results, to reach your target weight?
4 Reasons Why You Can’t Lose Weight
You’re Oversimplifying Weight Loss - Straight up, it's highly unlikely that any pill, diet, detox or exercise program will, by itself, trigger healthy, sustained weight loss. Your body is a powerful, complex organism. Its single focus is to keep you alive. If you interfere with its energy source (food) or workload (exercise) without doing so properly, your body will actually fight your efforts. It will slow your metabolism as you reduce calorie intake, and make you feel tired, not energized, if you exercise excessively. Successful, sustained weight loss, and all the benefits that come with it, is a life-long dedication to living a healthier lifestyle and losing weight at a healthy pace with a balanced diet, increased activity and healthy habits.
Your Life Revolves Around the Numbers on the Weigh Scale - When you step on the scale today, the numbers tell you you’re overweight. If you try to lose weight tomorrow and the number doesn’t change, you feel like a failure. If someone told you that you were overweight and a failure, would you stand for it? So why do you let the weight scale make you feel that way? Things aren't going to change overnight. Take one step at a time. Instead of going out and getting an expensive gym membership on day one. Just try an activity you can do, like take a walk. Or make a meal you like from scratch. Or start reducing sugar in your diet. But, whatever you do, don’t take any backtalk from the weight scale.
You Don’t Get Support - Again, living life at a healthier weight isn’t easy and takes an ongoing commitment. You need the support of family, friends and partners. It's not about them making any changes or helping you. It's about them not unknowingly making it more difficult for you by asking why you’re not having another helping or eating dessert.
You Don’t See the Good in Every Effort You Make - What if you can’t tear yourself away from the scale, and you find you only lost five pounds this month, and you were hoping to lose 10? Failure, right? Wrong. You lost five pounds!!! That’s amazing! You’ll give it a good effort next month! There’s nothing wrong with celebrating even the easy wins. If you took a short walk tonight, but can’t remember ever walking further than from the car to the mall, that’s fabulous! And if slipping on a pair of anti-cellulite leggings makes you instantly look and feel better, it could be the trigger you need to start making changes or stay on track.
