Lots of people struggle with losing weight, and it seems to be getting worse and worse as our obesity levels go up.

In this day and age where there is a pill or alternative therapy for everything, it can seem terribly disturbing to people to not be able to get their weight sorted.

Philosophically, I think that half the problem is the back lash against thin models, which is creating an opposite of more over-weight people.  Hopefully the media will at some point get some sense and start to focus on the middle road; hmmm that might be a bit optimistic, it doesn’t sound like a media sort of thing does it?  Maybe the media will just get bored of it one day?

So why does it APPEAR to be so hard?  (You need to be careful that you aren’t walking around saying ‘weight loss is so hard’ all the time, because it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We get told all sorts of conflicting messages like ‘it’s about eating less’, ‘it’s about combining different foods’, ‘lose 10stone in 2 weeks’ (OK so that’s an exaggeration, but you know what I mean), or ‘this is the ONLY way to lose weight’.  Everyone seems to know why, but no one seems to have a fool proof method that works for everyone.  Why?

Because we are all different.

Because you need a combination of things in order to succeed in a healthy long term manner.

The big reason that weight loss for some of us is difficult, is because unlike other goals you need to get a number of areas sorted to succeed.  The four areas are:

1. Mindset
2. Hydration
3. Eating
4. Exercise

They are all needed.

Thats the tough and important thing to understand.  However, if I can do it, then you can totally do it!

I had fertility problems and gave up smoking, and that is what I used to complain about when I was trying to lose weight.  It’s true that sometimes there can also be physical barriers, but the first step is to stop complaining.  Yes it might be more difficult if we are tired or have physical issues that make it more difficult, but those barriers can be overcome.  So just decide that the fact that you have a few more barriers is great, because it means that you will gain way more satisfaction than other people at losing weight.  It’s all about how you look at the situation, not what the situation is.

However, you don’t HAVE to lose weight.  If you are going to do it, then keep coming back for my tips and I’ll help out, but you will have to stop complaining about how hard it is.  If you feel like you should do it, because you are overweight or not at a weight you enjoy then you have a choice.  Decide whether you want to sort it out now, or be realistic and decide to do it later if you know that you don’t really want to.  Instead learn to appreciate what you’ve got and come back here another time, or continue complaining for a few months and come back here!

 

So what are the four areas again?

Mindset:

So you are going to need to make sure that you are mentally up for it, and feel enthusiastic about it, otherwise you’ll only last a couple of weeks.  The more heartfelt your motivation, the easier it will be for you.

Update: I’ve done posts about goal setting and how to get motivated using a coaching exercise to help you

Hydration:

Then you need to make sure that you are drinking enough water, because otherwise your body thinks that you are in a desert and can’t function fully.  (Tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and diet drinks don’t count!).  Think about a car without oil; that is your body without water, basically wrecked inside!

Update: Check out my post about hydration for more info.

Nutrition:

I’ll give some tips on eating, but you need to find the right balance between just enough to make sure that your body doesn’t think you are in the sahara and dieing, but little enough to allow you to lose weight.  Plus, there is no doubt that eating in a healthy way will help.  (This time it is a car without petrol!).

Update: I’ve started a whole blog series on ‘Healthy Eating For Rubbish Cooks‘.

Exercise:

When it comes to exercise, you might need some good professional advice, but I will get you started in the tips.  The wrong exercise can actually make you heavier or get in the way of achieving your goals, so it’s really important.  Plus, there is no point in hurting yourself and ending up lieing in bed for a few weeks getting even lardier!

Update: I’ve started a whole blog series on ‘Exercise Tips‘ too.

One little postscript.  

There can be emotional reasons that we don’t want to lose the weight (subconsciously), although it only hits a few of us, and isn’t always the reason.  Normally by working on the mindset aspect you can overcome this.  If you find that tips only get you so far, and you really did the exercise in my mindset video, then this could be the final problem.  If there is enough interest, then I can do a few more posts on why we might have emotional blocks and how to tackle them.  Just let me know.  Plus remember my ‘Problem Corner‘ which you can ask me something anonymously; I’m more than happy to help out.

There can also be physical problems, but these tips will still help you.  I’ve managed to lose weight despite Polycystic Ovarian syndrome, giving up smoking and now Fibromyalgia and meds that have put weight back on me.  So it is possible, maybe a little tougher, but definitely possible.

 

 

 

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