1. Losing weight is hard
It doesn't have to be if you go about it in the right way. If you have a negative attitude, it's going to be reflected in your efforts to lose weight. Don't think of your weight loss journey as something to be endured. Instead, think of it as a new experience, one that's going to change your habits and transform your life for the better.
Recently I had a conversation with a personal trainer friend of mine about losing weight. He was bemoaning a client's lack of motivation and describing what he was doing to encourage her physical fitness. Now don't get me wrong, he is a good guy and a good trainer. But I happened to say to him, Yes, but people like you who have always been fit don't know what it feels like to have to lose weight, just the same way that I don't know what it feels like to be a twin or be non-Caucasian. He replied, Yes, but I know what hard work is. That kind of sums up what I'm talking about. Losing weight isn't just, or even mostly, about hard work. I'm sure I worked and trained hard when I lost weight but that wasn't the main, or even most important, part of my weight loss. The most important part was the mind, not the body. Don 't get me wrong, you can't just move your mind, you need to move your body too. But if you can change your mind, changing your body isn't about hard work at all.
loosing weight, diet plans, dieting programs,
2. Plans and programs are the way to lose weight
Most people know that lose-fat-fast schemes are best avoided as soon as you've finished the diet and lost a few kilos, you start eating normally again, and back comes the weight. It's a cycle that keeps the fitness and diet industries going: Australians spent $745 million dollars on weight loss pills, potions, plans and procedures in 2010. Despite this, not only are we one of the fattest nations in the world, but also we're getting fatter faster than any other nation in the world.
Quick-fix approaches are everywhere, because everyone wants to lose weight fast but the important part is keeping it off, and no plan or program that gives you a weight loss timeframe is going to help you keep those kilos off for good. Your local gym probably runs regular 12-week challenges, and while these might seem like a good idea in theory, they don't foster a long-term approach to weight loss, and that's what you really need. A good physical kickstart? Yes, but beware the mental scars they may leave.
It doesn't matter how many calories you burn in twelve weeks it matters how many calories you burn in your entire lifetime. That's more like 12 x 12 x 12 x 2.5 weeks, or 359 twelve-week challenges! Losing weight successfully is about changing your lifestyle and your habits for the better and enjoying the results, not punishing yourself for a short period of time in order to only get short-term gains.
3. Thinking of your weight loss as a 'lifestyle change'
Now, it is a lifestyle change, but that term has now become so much of a cliche that as soon as we hear it we neatly put it away in our mental filing cabinet and never look at it again. By labeling it and using such a familiar term to do so we've successfully managed to dismiss a whole range of behaviours without examining them properly.
Losing weight and keeping it off is a lifestyle change, but it's also so much more than that, and it's a process that both needs and deserves your thought and attention. Unless you're hit by a truck or experience something similarly traumatic you're not likely to wake up one day and think, I'm going to make a lifestyle change! Losing weight is a step-by-step process. Approaching it in this way, rather than just sticking a label on it so I didn't have to ever really think about it, is what helps people succeed in their weight loss journey... not just for now... but for ever!
Most people know that lose-fat-fast schemes are best avoided as soon as you've finished the diet and lost a few kilos, you start eating normally again, and back comes the weight. It's a cycle that keeps the fitness and diet industries going: Australians spent $745 million dollars on weight loss pills, potions, plans and procedures in 2010. Despite this, not only are we one of the fattest nations in the world, but also we're getting fatter faster than any other nation in the world.
Quick-fix approaches are everywhere, because everyone wants to lose weight fast but the important part is keeping it off, and no plan or program that gives you a weight loss timeframe is going to help you keep those kilos off for good. Your local gym probably runs regular 12-week challenges, and while these might seem like a good idea in theory, they don't foster a long-term approach to weight loss, and that's what you really need. A good physical kick start? Yes, but beware the mental scars they may leave.
It doesn't matter how many calories you burn in twelve weeks it matters how many calories you burn in your entire lifetime. That's more like 12 x 12 x 12 x 2.5 weeks, or 359 twelve-week challenges! Losing weight successfully is about changing your lifestyle and your habits for the better and enjoying the results, not punishing yourself for a short period of time in order to only get short-term gains.
4. Losing weight means eating less
I don't eat less than I used to eat when I was overweight. Actually I eat more much more. I probably eat twice as much in terms of volume as I did when I was twice the size. One of the great misconceptions of weight loss is that you need to eat less. You don't need to eat less, you just need to eat fewer calories. Low-energy density foods (such as those with a high water and ¡¡bre content) are the key. You can eat much more of these than you can of high-energy density foods which generally have less water and more fat per gram, and roughly double the number of calories per gram, than either protein or carbohydrates. If you want to lose weight but don't want to be hungry while you do it, you can either eat:
A block of chocolate OR
two slices of multigrain bread,
two large boiled eggs,
one carton of low-fat yoghurt,
one medium banana,
four sushi rolls,
half a cup of blueberries,
25 almonds,
one lean chicken breast,
half a cup of mashed sweet potato,
half a cup of broccoli,
half a cup of carrots,
one scoop of regular ice-cream and
two olives!
The choice is yours but clearly you can eat quite a lot if you eat the right things. One of the other great things that I have found about healthy eating is that if you f¡ll up on the good-for-you foods then the not-so-good-for-you foods won't seem so tempting. Eating well means that you'll feel good and you'll function better physically and mentally. You'll be much more likely to get your daily dose of essential vitamins and minerals, meaning that you'll be much less likely to suffer from cravings. You'll also have more energy, lose weight and undoubtedly see improvements in the condition of your hair, skin and nails. It's win, win, win, win, win! Learning how to eat well (in a way that works for you physically, psychologically and practically) is a skill that, once learned, you'll have for life hopefully a much longer life!
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