Dropping your body weight is 100 times simpler if you are psychologically ready for it. This may sound primary; however, most dieters quit their weight loss plan not because they feel hungry or have difficulty with the menus, but because of psychological reasons. Either, they become bored or disappointed with their rate of weight loss or suffer a short-lived lapse and become overwhelmed by guilt or feel too “denied” to continue.
Then, in an attempt to describe their failure, many of them blame their diet plan, their domestic circumstance, or their genetic failure to drop weight. This process frequently repeats itself. As a result, some dieters can spend years unsuccessfully attempting to lose weight, without ever realizing the true reason for their problem. Here are three usual mental issues we experience when attempting to lower weight, in addition to some tips for ways to overcome them.
Not Knowing How Weight-loss Will Help you
Whether we wish to lose 20 or 220 pounds, we have to alter our eating routines and possibly several other things in our lifestyle. Making these changes could not be difficult on Day 1 or Week 1 of our weight-loss diet plan, since our initial enthusiasm typically gives us sufficient motivation. However, normally within 2-3 weeks, our “brand-new” eating pattern begins to interfere with our regular way of life and, unless we are ready for this, our desire to continue dieting will start to fade. Instead of seeing our diet plan as a key to a better weight and shape, we see it as an obstacle and a problem. It becomes something we are doing because we “need to” instead of since we “want to”. This is the first big psychological problem we experience when dieting.
To conquer this problem, we need to know precisely why we are trying to drop weight. We need a clear idea of how it will benefit us. Because only if we have a clear benefit to anticipate, will we be able to withstand the temptation to go back to our previous bad habits. General benefits from having a leaner, lighter shape aren’t effective enough. We require an egocentric, specific benefit, something we can envision and that commands our attention. Perhaps a beach holiday, or dream clothing to put on for a specific occasion, or a new shape to display at Thanksgiving. Whatever we select, it needs to make a noise inside our head! Bear in mind, the moment we begin to feel that we “need to” do something, it becomes a problem like paying taxes, or clearing out the basement and our inspiration flies out the window. In order to attain lasting weight loss, we need to “want it”.
Attempting To Be Perfect
Regrettably, lots of dieters insist on attempting to be perfect. As an outcome, when they do fall off the wagon (as they always do), they find it impossible to tolerate their “failure”, and become overwhelmed by guilt. So even though their lapse may have been relatively trivial (a weekend binge), they go to pieces. Because, as normal, it’s the guilt that does the genuine damage, not the bingeing.
The lesson is this. When dieting, do not waste time attempting to be perfect. It only causes increased guilt and failure. Instead, accept that you are going to make mistakes, and don’t let them distract you when they take place. See them as a learning experience. For example, if you drink too much alcohol when dining out, and massively overeat as a result, do not get up the next morning in a fit of depression. Rather, relish your experience and appreciate that you have made a crucial discovery: that too much alcohol makes weight-loss harder. By responding like this, you will prevent a sense of guilt and find it much easier to return to your diet.
Treating Your Diet As Race
Another typical issue concerns speed of weight reduction. Numerous dieters anticipate to lose weight extremely quickly, and are psychologically not prepared when their body refuses to act in this fashion. If a week passes without any weight decrease, they become dispirited and start to lose interest. Regrettably, like it or not, the human body is developed for survival not “look”. For that reason, it has no interest in shedding body fat, which it sees as a vital source of energy throughout times of starvation. As a result, the optimum amount of fat we can lose in a week is about 3 pounds, while someone who is less than 30 pounds overweight could lose about 1 pound. Anything extra is most likely to be a mix of water and muscle weight.
To conquer your impatience and preserve stable weight loss, stop thinking about your diet plan as a race. Instead, see it as a trip. This reduces stress and anxiety and provides you more “breathing space” to settle into your new eating habits.
So when you start your next diet journey, just bear in mind: there’s no rush. Set yourself a reasonable weight reduction objective and let Nature take its course.