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Introduction
Losing weight is 100 times easier if you're mentally prepared for it. this might sound elementary, but in my experience most dieters quit their weight loss plan not because they feel hungry or have difficulty with the menus, but due to psychological reasons. Either, they get bored , or dissatisfied with their rate of weight loss, or suffer a momentary lapse and become overwhelmed by guilt, or feel too "deprived" to continue. And then, in an effort to elucidate their failure, many of them blame their diet-plan, their domestic situation, or their congenital inability to reduce . This process often repeats itself, as a result, some dieters can spend years unsuccessfully trying to reduce , without ever realizing truth explanation for their difficulty. Here are three common psychological problems we encounter when trying to scale back weight, along side some tips for a way to beat them.
Problem 1. Not Knowing How Weight Loss Will Benefit You
Whether we would like to lose 20 or 220 pounds, we'd like to vary our eating habits and maybe several other lifestyle habits also . Making these changes might not be difficult on Day 1 or Week 1 of our weight loss diet, because our initial enthusiasm usually gives us sufficient motivation. But, typically within 2-3 weeks, our "new" eating pattern starts to interfere with our regular lifestyle and, unless we are prepared for this, our desire to continue dieting will start to fade. rather than seeing our diet as a passport to a far better weight and shape, we see it as an obstacle and a burden. It becomes something we do because we "must" instead of because we "want to". this is often the primary big emotional problem we encounter when dieting.
To overcome this problem, we'd like to understand exactly why we try to reduce . we'd like a transparent idea of how it'll benefit us. Because as long as we've a transparent benefit to seem forward to, will we be ready to resist the temptation to revert to our previous bad habits. General benefits from having a leaner, lighter shape aren't powerful enough. we'd like a selfish, specific benefit - something we will visualize - that commands our attention. Maybe a beach holiday, or a dream outfit to wear for a selected occasion, or a replacement shape to point out off at Thanksgiving. Whatever we elect , it must make a noise inside our head! Remember, the instant we start to feel that we "have to" do something, it becomes the enemy - like paying taxes, or cleaning out the basement - and our motivation flies out the window. so as to realize lasting weight loss, we'd like to "want it".
Problem 2. Trying To Be Perfect
During my 24 years approximately as a weight loss consultant and nutritionist, I've met perhaps 10,000 dieters face to face , and communicated personally with another 100,000 over the web . But thus far i have never met one single successful dieter who was perfect. On the contrary, most of my successful clients made plenty of mistakes. that they had bad days, bad weeks - even whole months - during which they went completely off the rails. But none of this stopped them from succeeding within the end. Why not? Because they learned from their mistakes. And let's not forget: most of our self-knowledge comes from the mistakes we make, not our successes.
Unfortunately, many dieters enforce trying to be perfect. As a result, once they do fall off the wagon (as they always do), they find it impossible to tolerate their "failure", and become overwhelmed by guilt. So albeit their lapse may need been relatively trivial (a weekend binge), they are going to pieces. Because, as usual, it is the guilt that does the important damage, not the bingeing.
The lesson is that this . When dieting, don't waste time trying to be perfect. It only results in increased guilt and failure. Instead, accept that you simply are getting to make mistakes, and do not allow them to distract you once they happen. See them as a learning experience. for instance , if you drink an excessive amount of alcohol when dining out, and massively overeat as a result, don't awaken subsequent morning during a fit of depression. Instead, savor your experience, and appreciate that you simply have made a crucial discovery: that an excessive amount of alcohol makes weight loss harder . By reacting like this, you'll avoid guilt and find it much easier to return to your diet.
Problem 3. Treating Your Diet As Race
Another common problem concerns speed of weight reduction. Many dieters expect to reduce in no time , and are psychologically unprepared when their body refuses to behave during this fashion. If every week passes with none weight reduction, they become dispirited and begin to lose interest. Unfortunately, love it or not, the physical body is meant for survival not "appearance". Therefore it's no interest in shedding body fat, which it sees as a crucial source of energy during times of famine. As a result, the utmost amount of fat we will lose during a week is about 3 pounds, while someone who is a smaller amount than 30 pounds overweight may lose about 1 pound. Anything extra is probably going to be a mixture of water and muscle weight.
To overcome your impatience and maintain steady weight loss, stop thinking of your diet as a race. Instead, see it as a journey. This reduces anxiety and provides you more "breathing space" to settle into your new eating habits. I explain this in additional detail on my wonderful weight loss forum, and most of the people find it a really beneficial approach. At an equivalent time, avoid jumping on your bathroom scales a day - limit yourself to once every week . Checking your weight more often only encourages you to require a short-term view of things, which isn't helpful.
I realize that "steady" weight loss might not sound terribly attractive, but in my experience the slower the load loss, the longer it stays off. Furthermore, as stated above, if you lose quite 3 pounds every week it won't be fat - it'll be muscle or water. And while losing water is merely temporary - and thus pointless - losing muscle will slow your metabolism and increase the danger of future weight gain.
So once you start your next diet journey, just remember: there is no rush. Set yourself a sensible weight loss goal and let Nature take its course. for instance , if you weigh 200 pounds and are aiming for 150 pounds, allow yourself 6 months to succeed in your destination. And if it takes a touch longer, so what? I mean, what does one lose?
These three psychological problems account for an enormous number of diet failures. Mastering them will certainly enhance your chances of losing weight. So before you embark with all of your customary enthusiasm on yet one more "new" diet, put aside a while to think through these issues then watch the pounds disappear!