Even if you do everything right and stay on track, weight loss is not linear, which means you will lose weight, gain some weight back, and this may happen several times until you reach your goal. Your weight will fluctuate within the same month because during their cycle, women retain water. Research says that serotonin levels are lower before menstruation, which means women are more prone to overeating and food cravings. Your weight will also fluctuate over time because via hormones and other mechanisms, our body protects us against weight loss more than it protects us against weight gain. This is why you will usually hit weight loss plateaus and feel as if you are no longer making progress.
2) You may face defeating setbacks during your weight loss journey
Weight loss is not as simple as eating less and exercising more. You may experience some emotionally and psychologically defeating blows. Every time this happens, know that you are not broken and don't have to feel bad about yourself. Don't feel guilty about gaining a few pounds back or reaching out to food when life gets rough.
3) You will need to have compassion for yourself, instead of criticism and guilt
Women who want to lose weight often put themselves through a lot of psychological abuse. They can be hard on themselves, with a lot of criticism and negative self-talk. This can lead to over-restrictive dieting, then self-punishment when they realise their unrealistic diet is not sustainable over the long term. Many women also feel guilty about almost everything they eat, about not having more willpower, not making progress, reaching for sweet foods when life is hard, or 'being fat.' It is helpful to have more compassion towards yourself. You need to come from a place of self-love and self-acceptance if you really want to be successful. And research has shown that self-compassion increases one's motivation to improve and avoid repeating the same mistakes.
4) Other people will try to sabotage your progress
Some people, who often want to be helpful, will tell you that you 'just need to eat less, move more' and eat 'everything in moderation', or that 'it's just a matter of willpower.' Once you've successfully lost some weight, people who feel threatened by your progress may start enticing you to eat more: "Don't you like my cooking?", "You are so skinny now, I'm sure you can have a large piece of chocolate cake." Often, your dedication and results make them feel challenged and uncomfortable. They may also love to follow your path but sometimes it's easier to sabotage you so you can gain some weight back and they don't have to question themselves too much. It can be hard to stay consistent with your healthy eating plan when people around you are not supportive, so be prepared to handle their reactions.
5) You have to take a serious look at your relationship with food
You will need to look beyond calories and food choices, and look at your relationship with food almost the way you do with people in your life. Maybe sweet foods are your best friend when you feel unloved or rejected. Maybe chocolate is like a friend you compulsively dial to rant about your job or your relationship. Perhaps these greasy snack foods you don't even enjoy are your companion when you need to relax at the end of a long day. You need to take a look at your life and be prepared to deal with the deeper issues that drove you to overeat in the first place.
6) Getting enough everyday sleep will help a lot
Researchers found that sleep deprivation can hinder fat loss and also make you feel hungrier because of higher levels of the hormone ghrelin. This not only means that you will manage to lose more fat when getting the recommended eight hours of sleep; it also means that sleep deprivation leads to a loss of lean body mass, which can be detrimental to your health. Getting enough sleep can help lower cravings for calorie-dense foods in adults, which means you will find it easier to stick to a healthy diet and you'll be happier about the numbers on the scale. While we would all love weight loss to be easy, we need to accept that weight loss is a journey. There will be binges, breaks, crash-and-burns, but what we really want is to look at it as a lifestyle. You're not here to lose weight, but to keep it off, ideally for the rest of your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment