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Mary just is not able to get the results she hopes for. Her weight comes down as soon as she starts a new diet but it just as steadily creeps back up again, just as fast. Mary had decided long ago that weight loss is possible without exercise. After all, her best friend and her sister have been able to do it by just controlling their food.
Lets have a closer look at Mary’s typical “good” week. She always looks for the latest fad diet. Cabbage diet, Hollywood diet, apple diet, she has tried them all. Sometimes its a regime her friend has tried or something she has picked up from the tabloids.
Her “good” weeks are really miserable for her. The only thing that keeps her going is the fact that she feels lighter and that is motivation enough to persevere. When Mary is motivated, she tends to overdo things. Starving herself makes her feel good even though its really difficult at times.
But Mary seldom has 2 “good” weeks in a row. By the end of the 2nd weekend of her “good” spell, Mary is usually at the extreme limit of her discipline and self restraint levels. By Friday, she is looking for excuses to reward herself for all her efforts to date.
As far as Mary can remember, she has been on a strict diet. Never mind that she had 3 “bad” weeks before her 2 “good” weeks. Anyway she has no way of knowing. Mary has a lot of faith in her memory. The problem is that her memory only reminds her of what she wants to remember, in this case the “good” weeks.
The weekends can sometimes be a big problem for Mary. During some good weekends, she continues with her diets. But this seldom happens 2 weekends in a row. A voice in her keeps telling her that she should enjoy the weekend with her husband and her children, especially if they are out for dinner. Mary does not need much persuasion after dieting for two weeks. Its like letting a starving Draculla into the blood bank.
After giving in to her family or to her own self justifications she decides not to spoil the family dinner. The shackles come off! At some point through the dinner however, Mary starts feeling guilty. The guilt soon turns to feelings of overwhelm and eventually failure. Her family reassures her that she deserves to enjoy her meal since she has been diligent with her diet all week. But these reassurances seldom help.
Mary tells herself that there is no point continuing with her diet since she already binged on dinner the night before. She might as well enjoy the weekend and start fresh on Monday.
By Sunday night, Mary is so depressed! She is starting to feel bloated again. She is confused and desperate. She decides to starve herself the whole of Monday to make up for the weekend.
Looks like this is going to be a “bad” week ahead. There is a new project and Mary needs to work late the whole week. She tries to eat salads on Tuesday and Wednesday but by Thursday, she is not bothered anymore. She assures herself that she will get back on track the following Monday.
But 1 “bad” week is followed by 2 others. Its a new project or the requirement to travel or her sister visiting. After being sick and tired of being sick and tired, she starts the next diet program and the vicious spiral continues.
Where did Mary go wrong? Mary should have realized that fad diets never worked. Mary need not go on an extreme diet. She just needs to cut out junk food and reduce portion sizes. Off course she should be entitled to one “cheat meal” on the weekend but it should stop at that. Exercise is an essential part of losing weight. Any weight loss program that excludes exercise is flawed.
Related posts:
- Why Do You Keep Falling Back In Your Weight Loss Efforts – Part 1
- Why Do You Keep Falling Back In Your Weight Loss Efforts – Part 2
- Why Do You Keep Falling Back In Your Weight Loss Efforts – Part 3
- Are You Putting On Too Much Weight on the Weekends?
- 8 Activities That Are Sabotaging Your Weight Loss Efforts
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