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Losing weight can be quite challenging if you are not mentally prepared for it. Mental aspect of weight loss are all that deal with learning, planning and setting sound strategies. These include activities such as gaining knowledge, setting goals and prioritizing among others.
The physical aspect of losing weight consists of your physical actions. This includes doing the activities to lose weight such as exercising and dieting.
Here are the 10 mental reasons why you possibly cannot lose weight;
1. Looking for Quick Fix
In current times, everyone wants lightning fast results. Fast weight loss is possible but it is neither healthy nor sustainable. How can weight that took years to gain, come off overnight. The American College of Sports Medicine advocates 1 to 2 lbs of weight loss per week. When it comes to losing weight, slow is fast and fast is slow. The earlier you accept this reality, the higher your chances of attaining healthy and sustainable weight loss. You cannot lose weight and keep it off so long as you look for quick fixes.
2. Lack of Basic Knowledge
You cannot lose weight for the long term if you do not have adequate basic knowledge. Lack of basic knowledge is why most people look for quick fixes. You need to know the difference between muscle and fat. You need to know why weight loss must come from fat loss alone and not from water or muscle loss. You must also know why it is important to build or at least maintain your muscles to boost your metabolism.
3. Affected by Myths
Most people cannot lose weight because certain myths hold them back from doing what is necessary for sustainable weight loss. As an example, women may not want to do strength training for fear of building huge muscles. Others may think that doing a 100 sit-ups will help to lose belly fat. The only way to overcome these myths is by educating yourself.
4. Vague Goals
Lack of goals or vague goals are another main reason one cannot lose weight. The goals have to be clear, specific, measurable, dated and written down. State clearly what you want to do.
5. Wrong Goals or Measurements
You may set a goal to lose 10 pounds in the next 1 week. You could very well do this by starving and dehydrating yourself. At the end of the week, you might be 10 pounds lighter but how much of it was actually fat loss? With some fundamental knowledge, you will realize that the focus should be on fat loss. You should be setting a specific fat loss goal instead of a weight loss goal. Alternatively, you could also set a target waist circumference to achieve.
6. View Weight Loss as a Destination and Not a Journey
Weight loss is a journey. It requires continual lifelong action. Short term action produce sort term results. Most people have a mind set that they would do exercise until they reach their target weight. Upon reaching the target weight, they abandon exercise and return to the diet that made them gain weight in the first place.
7. Lack of Commitment
Most people cannot lose weight because they are not committed to losing weight. It’s something nice to have but not something to die for. They try to lose weight but abandon it when the going gets tough. Healthy and sustainable weight loss requires sacrifices. It’s going to need you to start exercising and clean up your diet. Unless there is a strong commitment, it’s going to be an up and down battle.
8. Time Management
A lot of people cannot lose weight because they are not able to manage their time. Healthy and sustainable weight loss requires 3 to 4 exercise sessions per week. Each exercise session can span from 45 to 60 minutes. Exercising consistently requires you to block time for it.
9. No Priority for Exercise
Another reason someone cannot lose weight is because of wrong priorities. Effective weight loss will need you to set exercise as a very high priority. Only once you do this will you be able to effectively allocate time slots for it.
10. Always Putting Others Ahead of Your Health
Your health comes before everyone and everything else. You cannot serve anyone else if you are unhealthy. In fact, you end up becoming a burden to others when you are unhealthy. You have to operate at the 4th level of love where you take care of yourself so that you can be around and serve others.
You cannot lose weight if you are not able to overcome some of these mental challenges. These mental blocks will sabotage your efforts. Address these mental blocks by educating yourself and having an open mind.
Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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- Is Your Motivation to Lose Weight Strong Enough?
- Principles of Correct Weight Loss
- 10 Reasons Why People Who Lose Weight, Regain All of it and More
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Destination vs. Journey is also translated as ‘expecting results too fast.’ Don’t get carried away – as much as you want to be thin overnight, the best and most effective diets won’t take it all off in a week.
Nice, well-written article. Useful points to get anyone on the right road to sensible weight loss. I’ve got some more esoteric thoughts about the mental game of weight loss at my Web site. I like your points emphasizing basic life-skills, such as commitment, definite goals, priorities, and a clear understanding of how our body works. A worthwhile article!
Paul Kemp´s last blog ..Aug 1- Water Planets Are Rare
Thank you for your comment Paul. Most people forget that weight loss is simple. The concepts are not rocket science. Weight loss may be simple but it is not easy. It requires some rewiring of habits that caused weight gain in the first place. Unfortunately, most people want to bypass rewiring their habits and go for quick fixes. This is where they go wrong.
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