By I hear these common mistakes too often, and you should be aware of them
I’ve come a long way on this path toward weight loss. It’s a never-ending journey of self-discovery. We think weight loss decreases those scales and looks fabulous in clothes. But it has more to do with our inner self than most people realise. That’s why it’s so easy to experience failure with weight loss. Sure, it’s got to do with hormones, food and exercise, but it’s also what we tell ourselves and think about every moment. Let’s delve a little deeper because any of these may be the fundamental causes of your inability to lose weight or maintain it.
One: Emotions are a huge factor — especially emotional eating
Rebel Willson suffered from emotional eating all her life, which caused her weight to balloon. It wasn’t until she kept a diary and brought some awareness to the problem that she was able to overcome it. Maybe the emotion is anger or stress — whatever it is, its potential to sabotage your results is extraordinary! Rebel Wilsons Top 6 Health Tips for Weight Loss and MaintenanceRebel took control of her health and decided to change her life for the bettermedium.comI have suffered from this problem for a long time. I used snacks and chewing to soothe the inner turmoil I had no control over, but I could chew those feelings away.’ As sad as this realisation was — it occurs in many women. We use chewing to soothe our emotions. You don’t need to do anything drastic in this sense; allow yourself to become aware of the habit. For years, I would ignore it and didn’t take the time to let the habit show me how to move forward. The big ‘ah-hah’ moment occurred to me that I had had this issue most of my life, and it took over by slowly increasing weight. As soon as I acknowledged and realised the habit was beginning to rear its ugly head again, I could stop, look into my life, and ask ‘why.’ So, please look at the causes of your emotional eating and why you do it. Then, keep a diary-like Rebel; write down what helped or hindered your daily progress. It helps to get things out of your system.
Two: You have been dieting for too long
Dieting constantly and restricting yourself can make it extremely hard to get results. This is when we hit a plateau, which is a significant signal that a break is necessary. Although this might shock you — slowly adding in more calories is the best way to combat this — but not by doing excessive cardio on top of that! Unfortunately, this is where many women make mistakes — adding in more calories but increasing their cardio. Unfortunately, this will further increase the damage that’s already been done. Adding in extra calories can be as simple as adding in more protein, some good quality carbs or a snack of almonds. Slowly, practising this, you will realise that it does not affect your body weight, and you continue to add until that set point hits. Trust that your body needs extra calories, and have faith that experimentation, patience, and self-love are necessary to determine how much is enough.
Three: You want results tomorrow when you just started today
I can’t believe how many people wish to fast-tracking weight loss! So many of us take shakes, potions, tablets and the like. There is no shortcut toward natural, sustainable weight loss. It takes effort daily, and it’s a journey that isn’t just about nutrition — it’s a mental journey. We all want to get leaner faster, but the process takes time, like any other life journey. As we move along, we begin and acquire new skills or perhaps challenges. It’s all part of the journey. So, instead of wanting results straight away and sidetracking by taking some online supplement —teach yourself how to eat well, mindfully and exercise. It requires conscious effort, and believe me, the mental and physical health benefits are worth it!
Four: Unrealistic expectations
You may be able to lose some weight in the first week — but it will be water weight, not actual fat. Fat takes a while for your body to use as energy, and you must be in a caloric deficit for several weeks or even months! Not everyone will have the ability or capacity to look like those fitness Instagram stars. However, you will be shocked about how much effort and dedication these people put into their appearance. They are athletes and are paid to look this way. Don’t forget that people online use filters and electronic gizmos to get rid of cellulite and age marks. Embrace the journey and have realistic expectations of your body. Becoming upset and thinking you are a failure will only further enhance the negativity around weight loss. It does take time and effort, and no one bypasses this phase. More than likely, people ignore it and pretend it happened! Nothing happens overnight, apart from adding filters!
Five: You will never out-train a bad diet
I know there are lots of people who claim to eat poorly every single day and still stay ripped. That’s not true. Snacking on a naughty treat might be ok if you are consistently in a caloric deficit (in other words are lean). However, this phase takes time to achieve, and if you currently have a lot of weight to lose, you should eliminate any treats for the time being until your body begins to settle. But most people still diet and overindulge — and then decide that it might be better to just over-exercise it. I did this for years, and it never worked. Setting yourself up increases your fat gain and leaves you exhausted, sick and injured. No matter how much you exercise, you can never outdo the damage through endless cardio. Feeding your body the required nutrients will give you the energy and stamina to excel during the day. We all need to stop using exercise to make up for our bad eating habits. Stick with the basics, eat well and exercise enough.
Key takeaways
Getting yourself back to the fundamental basics is all you need — it’s what we all need. Over-complicating and trying to trick you. Body into doing what you want never works. Our bodies are the boss, after all, and we may as well face the fact that the simplicity of our inner workings requires simple nutrition and treating ourselves as a whole rather than in separate components. When one thing isn’t working well, then slowly and surely, everything else starts to break down too. There was a reason Keep It Simple Stupid was invented — let’s all follow that tried and tested theory for dieting.
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