I posted this on another forum a while back and thought you all here would benefit as well
I'm not the only one. I sometimes wonder why I should keep going. I sometimes get frustrated at the amount of foods I "can't have" and the imagined way people judge my choices. I get upset over the slowed and stalled weight loss. I get depressed at the image in the mirror never seeming to change despite the number on the scale. I'm not the only one.
Despite the fact we can easily lose between 1-2 pouds a week with proper diet and exercise, current statistics put weight loss at an average of 5-8 pounds...PER YEAR! YIKES! No wonder 70% of dieters give up! When faced with those stastics, suddenly my 70 someodd pound loss over the course of 16 months doesn't seem so bad. In fact, it seems flat out impressive.
But, why are so many dieters having issues? As Ian has expressed before, here on this board, a lot of us are "experts" and "pros", hitting the numbers most dieters dream of but think unattanable. What have we overcome that so many have not? According to a new survey, the answer seems to be (1)most don't have a good enough incentive(76%); (2) allow theirselves to go hungry(72%); and (3)most can't cope with "bad days"(70%).
Let's address each, shall we?
What is considered a "good enough incentive?" Surprisingly, most of the dieters that fail were losing weight to please someone else. In other words, they weren't selfish enough. WHAT?! Yep. We have to be selfish to want to lose weight successfully. We have to want to do it for ourself and no one else. Whether it is that upcoming Hawai trip, seeing a number lower than 300 pounds by a certain date, or refusal to be found half dead, you MUST be selfish in your weight loss to succeed. That doesn't mean you are selfish by nature. It just means you have to want this for you, and you alone. And we are all selfish, selfish people. For the first time ever, I like being called selfish in something. It means I am accomplishing the task of obtaining the holy grail of weight loss Plain and simple, no matter how good the diet, no matter how valuable the exercise plan, unless you have a powerful reason to change your habits you won't succeed. So be selfish.
Moving on...hunger. Why must dieters feel they must starve themselves? When I am hungry, I eat. I am sure you all do too. sure, I watch my calories, but I have a range I stay in. I know MOST days, I will be at about 1400 calories. But I allow myself to go up to 1700 when I am hungry. That is a sandwich. Or two eggs over medium with a slice of Canadian bacon. Or a handful of nuts with some Greek yogurt. Or a protein shake with a side salad and 2 ounces of lean meat. My point is, I do not starve myself. And I am sure all of you here don't either. Afterall, if you did, you wouldn't be here by now. Dieters fail because they don't pay attention to hunger pains or think they can't eat if they are hungry. Some people follow IE and some count calories, and some just know what works, but ultimately, paying attention to your hunger queues is key. Glad we all have that one down.
Bad days. Oh boy, do I have some of these. But I NEVER feel guilty over them. I mean, my binge days consist of a bowl of potato soup. That's a nice 950 calories on top of my 1700. Tally that up and I ate 2650 calories for the day. Get back on track and sure, I will probably see a gain, but it will mostly be water weight. Afterall, you and I both it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound. I am NOT going to beat myself up over one, two, or three binge days. But the dieters who fail? They do. The guilt gets to them. Much like a salad every once in a while will not make you lose weight, a hamburger every now and then will not make you gain weight. We aren't perfect. We are going to make mistakes and we are going to slip up. Successful dieters know this and accept this. And when they slip, they just get back on track.
So, there you have it. Top three reasons dieters fail. Now, aren't you glad you aren't one of them? Now, stop beating yourself up (me included) and get back on track you successful dieter you!
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