Like most people, you may struggle with weight loss every so often. You may have tried different strategies, some of which worked for a while but later didn’t. Regrettably, you were back to where you started. There could be several legitimate reasons for this. Below, I’ll discuss seven reasons you may want to examine and see if they apply to your case.
1. You give up too soon
A the beginning of your weight loss journey, you are usually motivated by something. You give all you have into it and start seeing good results. However, fatigue sets in as time passes, affecting your progress, and you don’t feel motivated to continue. It may even look like your plan is not working, so you give up. You may do this unknowingly or even knowingly.
The truth is, regardless of how great you feel at the beginning, you will reach a point where you will perceive that your effort is not working anymore. Such is not the time to give up but to continue your efforts and encourage yourself to push through. If you hit a plateau where you don’t see significant changes as you saw before, know that you are still moving in the right direction. Motivate yourself to keep going, as this is part of overcoming your struggles with weight loss.
2. You don’t have a value-based reason
When you began your journey, you did not have a strong reason stemming from your values as to why you needed to lose weight in the first place. Having a reason consistent with what you value most is essential, as this will be a good drive for you during the tough times in your journey. It will help you see the big picture and motivate you to persevere and overcome the struggles you have with weight loss.
Moreover, our values are intimate aspects of ourselves. Regardless of the challenges in our lives, we try as much as possible to preserve them. Hence why people do hard things; it aligns with their values. Any reason you choose based on your value will likely help you succeed. What do you value most? Family, freedom, passion for life, career, health? Everyone has something they value above others. Importantly, base your reason on your values and not anyone else’s.
3. You were motivated by external factors
Why did you decide to lose weight or live healthily? Is it because somebody said something about your weight to you? Some people can go on a weight loss program for the wrong reasons. Maybe they feel ashamed of their appearance and are compelled to change. While this may seem like a good reason, in the beginning, it is not personal and is not made based on self-love and value. The downside is that you will need help to sustain this. The shameful feeling may only stay with you for a short time to achieve your desired results. You will eventually go back to how you were living before. You will not be able to sustain the shameful feeling as a motivator all your life.
4. You are too ambitious
Maybe you feel like you should be able to lose a certain amount of weight in a month. A goal of what you want to achieve is good, but sometimes the weight loss journey is more complex. Some nuances make progress less linear than you might want it to be. Allow room for this to be a process where there will be months that you will do great and months you won’t. Treat your weight loss plan as a lifestyle change; you can only accomplish this slowly. There is a better strategy than the all-or-nothing approach for your weight loss progress.
5. You adopted temporary measures
If you struggle with weight loss, try as much as possible to find interventions you are more likely to sustain in the long run. Please stay away from quick results interventions that you can do for a short time only and won’t be able to maintain because they are too hard for you. Instead, focus on the big picture that you want to live a healthy life for the rest of your life. So pick a plan that will support your long-term goal. Analyze whatever intervention you want and see if it can lead you to create habits that can serve you in the bigger scheme of lifestyle changes.
6. You are not targeting the cause
What are your weak areas? By this, I mean habits that you believe to be the reason you struggle with weight loss. Once you identify them, it will be easier to direct your efforts into changing them and design your intervention to target these areas. For example, if you know you have a sweet tooth, accept this as the case and think about things you can do to reduce consumption.
If you plan to eliminate everything from day one, you may not be successful! How about you start by reducing the amount and frequency of eating these foods? Then as you get more comfortable, you can plan to eliminate them. Sometimes people admit that sugary drinks are the culprit and will use all strategies to lose weight, but these drinks remain part of their diet. Not a good idea!
7. You rely primarily on exercise for weight loss
Exercise and physical activities have significant benefits for your overall health and well-being. However, research has shown that exercise benefits your weight loss plan but can only do this with other interventions. Your diet, which includes what you eat and how much, is still the most significant factor if you want to lose or prevent weight gain. In addition, your energy balance remains vital for weight loss and management. Therefore, you will still want to have a daily exercise plan while also paying much attention to what you eat.
In conclusion, as discussed above, different factors may affect your weight loss and maintenance journey. See if some things make sense to you and consider them as you apply different strategies for your weight loss journey. Some of them may be helpful in your struggles with weight loss.