What Is Keeping You From Achieving Your Weight Loss Goals?

Achieving Your Weight Loss Goals

Losing weight is on the to do list of many people. People of all ages, races and genders suffer from being overweight, obese or morbidly obese. Being overweight can put a huge strain on the human body.

Carrying around extra weight can cause major health problems like heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. This can lead to high medical bills and daily medications.

The majority of those who are overweight desperately want to lose weight. Some will try almost anything to lose weight, like super restrictive diet plans, yo yo dieting, pills, powders and potions, work out DVD’s, gym memberships and even weight loss surgery.

Many in the beginning are excited and gung ho about losing weight and then as time passes it just doesn’t happen causing major disappointment, either due to a faulty plan or lack of willpower. For others weight loss sits on the back burner as something they have been meaning to do but not a top priority.

Some want to lose weight to fit in with their peers. They feel that they must be thin to win. Unfortunately in our society people are often judged by their looks and weight ,which can be extremely damaging to the self esteem of one who is overweight as their feelings of self worth begin to dwindle. One doesn’t have to be rail thin to be healthy and many times this way of thinking is what leads to harmful eating disorders.

The Reason Many Are Over their normal weight.

Logically one may think that one is overweight because they eat too much food or that they don’t pay attention to the types of foods they eat. This is partially right because gluttony is a major problem for many who are obese or morbidly obese.

However it isn’t the only culprit to blame. The reason why many are overweight is because we have it too easy and have become dependable on modern conveniences.

In this day and time there is so much technology available to us that people often forget what we did before we had those things. Years ago if you wanted to send a letter to a friend you would need to sit down, pen the letter and then you would put in into a stamped envelope which you went out to purchase.

You would then take the envelope with the letter enclosed and walk to mailbox which might be a block or so away from where you live and wait for a few days for it to arrive at it’s intended destination.

Now if you want to send a friend a letter you can type it in minutes on your laptop or desktop computer hit the send button in your email account and boom it’s done. Some people can even use their cell phones to do this task. The letter gets to your friend within minutes instead of days no matter where they may happen to be in the world.

If you wanted groceries, years ago, you had to either hop in the car and drive down to the nearest supermarket or get on public transportation and get off at the stop closest to the nearest supermarket. You would then grab a shopping cart and walk around the supermarket aisle after aisle putting things into your cart until you had all the groceries off of your list.

You would then head over to the nearest checkout counter where you would stand in line until it was your turn. Depending on how crowded that market was it could be a while before you were rang up and on your way home to put your groceries away. The same applied to clothing, shoe and appliance shopping.

Now there are so many choices when it comes to grocery shopping or shopping in general for that matter. You really don’t even need to leave your home at all. All you have to do is get on your computer, head over to your favorite shopping site to create your online grocery list and pay for your items.

Someone else takes the time to gather your items for you, saving you the hassle of having to shop and brings the groceries to your home where all you have to do is put them away. If you want clothes, shoes or appliances there are a plethora of online shops that send everything your way in a matter of days or overnight if you are willing to pay the higher shipping cost.

You can shop whenever you want to.  It doesn’t matter if it’s three am on a Sunday morning because online shopping stores never close.

How easy and amazing is that? Does this mean that emailing a friend and shopping online are bad. Not at all. These are only two examples of how modern conveniences have taken the place of people getting up and moving around.

Another culprit is something that may seem like a fun time to many. How nice is it to be able to sit down and play a video game or an online game. Some of these games are interactive, which means you can compete against your friends no matter where they are in the world.

Some games even put you in a virtual world where you can have so much fun you literally get lost for hours as you create farms, form tactical military teams and bake virtual cakes. These types of games are normally played sitting down.

For children and adults alike, playing games can be very addictive making for a very sedentary lifestyle which in turn causes weight gain due to the lack of exercise and movement. Many people are stuck in front of their television sets and computer monitors instead of being outside in the sunshine enjoying the fresh air.

It’s okay to enjoy modern conveniences but sometimes you need to switch it up. Try walking to the mailbox once in a while, doing your own shopping, take the stairs instead of the elevator or just getting some fresh air walking around outside, foregoing games just for a little while. You can even bring a friend to keep you company.

Over time these small but important changes in your physical activity could cause you to begin losing weight.

The Reason That Some Overeat.

For many portion control is a huge problem. Many simply don’t know how much a serving size is and this causes them to overeat constantly. Over time overeating greatly contributes to weight gain. If you live a sedentary lifestyle and don’t practice portion control you can almost guarantee that you will gain weight. Weight gain leads to obesity and obesity leads to many health issues.

The saying less is more certainly doesn’t apply when it comes to eating at various restaurants. Some of their portions, especially in the fast food industry, are so huge that two or three people could have a meal from just one of their so called good value meals.

Is it really a good value if one meal is giving you more calories than the amount you would need for a whole entire day? Is it a good value if the food is laden with harmful fats, chemicals and full of grease which is not healthy for you? Over time eating this way can lead to many serious health issues like breast cancer, coronary heart disease, sleep apnea and other respiratory ailments.

In life there are consequences for everything we do whether negative or positive. Food is no exception to this rule. If you frequently fill yourself to the brim with bad foods you can expect bad things to happen.

On that same note if you eat sensible and exercise restraint when it comes to portion size you can expect good things to happen. If you are overweight, obese or morbidly obese this type of change can cause you to start dropping unwanted pounds.

You have the ability to make choices. You don’t have to order the most fat laden dish on the menu. You don’t have to choose the ultra large version of the meal. You can substitute healthier food choices for not so healthy foods and you can cut back on the amount of junk food you ingest. All of these little changes can lead to weight loss and better health.

The Reason That Many Don’t Lose The Weight.

Often the lack of a good plan is not to blame for the lack of weight loss. In fact many people who try to lose weight have had access to multiple plans during the time that they were trying to shed excess pounds.

Many times excuses and procrastination are to blame for the lack of ones weight loss. Many simply don’t feel like putting in the required work to lose weight in a healthy and steady way. People want things now. They lack patience and persistence which is required to lose weight along with consistency.

Even though logic strongly dictates that if the weight didn’t pile on overnight then it most certainly shouldn’t be lost overnight, many just don’t see it that way.

Common excuses not to lose weight:

• It it will never work for me.
• I don’t have the time.
• I’ll start it next week, next month or after the new year.
• I’m not ready.
• I have a family reunion, date, holiday or special event coming up.
• I can’t give up the foods I love.
• I don’t like working out.

At the same time that they are rejecting starting a weight loss journey, procrastinating and coming up with excuse after excuse, many get excited when they see new diet plans and methods hit the market, because deep down they really do want to shed those excess pounds.

Each new infomercial has them ready to dial. Sometimes they actually purchase weight loss and fitness plans only to reject them once they arrive at their home.

It is not uncommon to see someone who has tried to lose weight with multiple fitness and weight loss plans. Many times they have never successfully done a full plan.

If you purchase a plan, it was set up to work the way that the creator planned it out. When you change this and that you ultimately are changing the plan and can not be surprised when you don’t achieve expected results.

Every plan isn’t for everyone so when choosing a plan, do your homework and fully research it so you don’t waste either your money or your time.

Repeatedly trying new diets which causes frequent ups and downs on the scale is what’s known as Yo Yo dieting. This style of dieting can be very harmful to the body. If you find a plan that suits you stick to it so you slowly and steadily lose weight.

The Reason You Can Lose Weight And Gain Better Health.

You can lose weight, even if you have messed up in the past. If some of the reasons many don’t lose weight as we have discussed in this report apply to you, change it. If you don’t like something, don’t keep doing it. It really is that simple. Every day is a new chance for you to strive and work harder at achieving your weight loss goals.

Sometimes we tend to make things a lot harder for us than it really is by over-thinking and self sabotaging ourselves before we can see the success that we are craving.

Dismiss Bad Thoughts.

You may not be able to control a non helpful, disturbing bad thought from creeping into your head but you can replace it with a positive, success striving, helpful thought.

Replace can’t with cans or I will try. Because you truly don’t know until you try. Speculation gets you no where. Doing things the same way that you have always done them will only get you the same results that you have already achieved.

Make Healthy Choices.

Opt for water over sodas and sugar laden drinks.

Eat more fruits and vegetables.

Swap out unhealthy ingredients for healthier ingredients when cooking so you will still be able to enjoy your favorite foods.

Expand your food horizons and try new healthy foods that you have never tasted before. You just might find a new favorite.

Get the whole family involved, cook your new healthy tasty dishes for everyone alleviating the need to cook two separate meals.

Get Moving!

Opt not to use the car to run errands that are close by your home. Walking four blocks here and three blocks there add up over time.

Exercise at least twice a week. Start off slowly so you don’t overwhelm or hurt yourself. You can always build up the frequency, type and amount of exercises you do as your body get used to move around and you begin to develop endurance.
Take breaks when using the computer or playing video games. Get up and move around, go walk around the block, stretch or walk up and down the stairs. Not only is this movement good for weight loss but it is also good for your circulation.

Avoid Making Excuses, Self Sabotaging And Procrastinating.

Do it now. Nothing is more important than your health.

Research, find and implement a workable plan. Avoid Yo Yo dieting at all cost.

Know that others before you have successfully achieved their weight loss goals and you can too.

Know that you are worth something whether you are overweight or not. Your self worth is not measured by the numbers you get when you stand on the scale.

Get professional help if need be to rebuild your self esteem or if you are severely depressed. If you are in a better frame of mind you will be more apt to stick to your plan and achieve your desired goals.

Make reasonable goals. You will not be disappointed if your goals are actually doable. Everyone cannot lose 20lbs in a month but many can lose 1lb or more a week when using some type of weight loss plan.

Make and celebrate your mini goals. You may need to lose 100lbs but why not break that big goal down into 4 mini goals? Reward yourself at each 25lb increment as you lose the weight. Buy yourself a new outfit or new work out DVD or a new book that you have been dying to read.
Don’t use food as a reward. If you want something it is better to have it in moderation. When you deprive yourself of something and then use it as a prized reward to celebrate a momentous occasion like losing 50lbs it is all too easy to lose your head and begin eating too much of the prized food which can restart the cycle of overeating that particular food all over again.

While healthy food choices may be a little more costly than their fat and chemical laden counterparts, how much more costly are medications that you may have to take for the rest of your life or surgeries and various medical procedures needed to save your life?
Being unhealthy is expensive! There isn’t anything worth more than your life. Spending some now may keep you from spending twice as much later.

You Can Do It!

Losing weight is not a lost cause if you haven’t had success in the past. You have to find what works for you and stick to it. Getting down to and maintaining a healthy weight can be the best gift you ever give yourself as you avoid or move away from the effects of obesity like hypertension, heart attacks, arthritis and death.

Create goals that you would like to achieve no matter how small or big. With a reasonable amount of time you can achieve your weight loss goals. Learn to think healthy by reading ingredients before you purchase in the supermarket or by making healthy swaps.

Believe in yourself and love yourself because there is only one you and no one can be you better than you can. Treat yourself right, avoid harmful thinking and practices that can stifle weight loss. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it and never ever give up until you achieve your goals.

What are you doing to achieve your weight loss goals?  Please leave a comment below.

To your success!

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