The world is suffering from obesity, with levels at the highest they have ever been, leading to unprecedented levels of weight-related disease. This makes weight management a major health priority. However, statistics show that average weight loss on conventional diets is around 5-8 pounds per annum. So why do we find dieting so challenging? According to a new survey, the answer seems to be because we make 3 crucial mistakes:
- We don’t have a good enough incentive
- We allow ourselves to go hungry
- We can’t cope with “bad days”.
The survey asked dieters to select the three biggest problems they faced when dieting.
The most common problems reported were:
- “Inadequate incentive to lose weight” (76%);
- “Hunger” (72%)
- “Bad days” (70%).
Although these results will come as no surprise to most dieters, they really highlight the importance of motivation in the dieting process. Today, we will explain how these problems occur, and what steps can be taken to overcome them.
Why Do We Need Motivation ?
Weight gain happens when we consume more than our body needs or use. Either because we eat too many calories, or burn too few, or both. So, if we want to reduce or manage our weight, we need to improve our eating and exercise behaviour. But this is never easy, because we are constantly fight our habits, especially if it involves removing our favourite treats.
We need a powerful motivation to help us change our habits. One powerful approach is to answer to the question: “How exactly will I benefit from losing weight?”. When faced with this question, many dieters have no answer. Those who do, typically reply: “I’ll feel better” or “my health will improve”. Others explain they are trying to lose weight to please their doctor, or their partner, or simply because they are “overweight”. Unfortunately, none of these reasons are strong enough motivators to help us succeed. So, when temptation strikes, we tend to succumb.
What Type of Motivation is best ?
Your motivation to lose weight must be based on a very selfish, specific benefit. The driving force must be specific and personal and be based on a specific timeframe. A good reason might preparation for an upcoming beach holiday, or a family occasion, or indeed the achievement of a specific mobility or fitness goal by a specific date.
In addition, it must be selfish. Losing weight to please others never works. Do not bother dieting unless you have a good motivation.
Join Our Mailing List NOW
Register your name and email below to receive the latest health and wellness information direct to your inbox….
Because no matter how good the diet, no matter how valuable the exercise plan, unless you have a very powerful reason to change your habits you are unlikely to succeed.
One way of building the right motivation is through visualisation. There are many studies that demonstrate that the body and mind make no distinction between a vivid mental experience and an actual physical one. If you can unlock the power of your subconscious mind, you will significantly strengthen your motivation and build a much stronger incentive to succeed in your planned lifestyle changes.
However, the subconscious is very visual in nature and works much better when built around images. You may or may not be aware that your subconscious mind holds your self-image. This mental self-image anchors you to your current lifestyle habits and eating patterns.
Changing your self-image will free you from that anchor and allow you to change you habits and behaviours in a way that will help you to succeed in your new lifestyle goal. Choosing to think in pictures may feel a little odd at first, but it will help you to cut through the noise and will allow you to condition your mind with a self-image which reflects with your goals. It is surprising easy to develop your weight goal imagery. Through regular practice you will become more comfortable is using your imagination creatively.
How To Beat the Hunger Monster
Most dieters still believe that calories are their only enemy. So, the less they eat, the faster they are likely to lose weight, right? Not necessarily. In real world, the less we eat, the hungrier we become and the easier it is to be tempted. The human body is trained to eat when hungry and no amount of willpower will neutralize this basic urge. Thus, binge eating is a common response to low calorie diets.
It doesn’t take an expert to realise that avoiding hunger simply means eating regularly throughout the day and keeping your calorie intake above 1000-1200 per day. This prevents hunger, thus reducing the urge to overeat, and in addition helps to maintain a regular high level of calorie-burning.
Allways Eat a Little Too Much rather than Too Little
We all have days when we feel extra hungry, even when we are dieting. This is no problem – simply eat more! It is always better to eat a little too much than not enough. Might this delay your weight loss? Yes. But taking a few extra days to achieve your goal is not a problem. The real danger is not eating enough and becoming hungry and depressed. This commonly leads to binging.
No one is perfect. The truth is, we all experience “bad days” and fall into occasional temptation. Sadly, we all try to “be perfect”. We cannot tolerate these lapses. So if (say) we visit a friend and end up eating 2 containers of ice cream and a box of cookies, we go to pieces. “I’m useless!” “I’m a failure!” Overwhelmed by guilt at not being perfect, we then quit our diet in disgust.
Its Guilt That Does The Damage
In this situation, the actual binge is typically fairly harmless. I mean, we need to eat a huge quantity of food (3500+ calories) to gain even one pound of weight. The real damage is caused by the ensuing guilt. And this is what we need to address.
We all make mistakes, and this is perfectly normal. Having an occasional binge is no cause for alarm, far less guilt. The key thing is, don’t see yourself as a “perfect” individual. You are allowed to make occasional mistakes. Once you accept this, you will find getting back on track a whole lot easier.
We Need Support to Make these Changes
In order to overcome the 3 problems described above, an essential first step is to find proper support. This is just as important as choosing the right diet plan, because no matter how good the diet, it can’t motivate you to stay on track – only people can do this. Dieting is ten times easier when you receive encouragement from others. So when choosing an online weight loss program, choose one with an active forum. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about people. When we are alone and isolated, the smallest obstacle can seem like a mountain. But when we have people behind us, anything is possible
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post! It is the little changes that make the largest changes. Many thanks for sharing!