This is an argument I hear all the time, "Something is wrong with me. I just can’t lose weight, no matter what I do."It commonly comes from those who engage in short-term diet programs, or short-term exercise programs. Often the failure of those short term programs leads to a long-term struggle with excessive weight and obesity.
I understand that we all want immediate results, but the reality is that only drastic changes can lead to drastic results. Unfortunately drastic change is almost never sustainable, and typically includes unhealthy practices to begin with.
The best way to lose weight is a through a moderate, sustained program of exercise and proper nutrition. There is just no other method that can deliver safe, lifelong results.
If you've failed in the past, perhaps you were trying too hard. Or perhaps you weren't trying hard enough. Let me give you an example of each.
Sue starts a new diet program where she starves herself. At the same time she goes and works out at the gym until she nearly throws up every day for a week. Chances are she's going to lose a few pounds. Unfortunately she also loses all her motivation to continue. In the second week she works out once, and cheats on her diet more than she sticks to it.
By the third week she's gained back everything she lost and then some. Sue is demoralized for at least three months, whereupon she’ll try the same thing again, but this time with a new gimmick. Sue is trying too hard and caught in a pattern of failure.
Jane takes a trip the grocery store, determined to eat better. She buys healthy foods and makes very healthy meals for a week. At the end of a week, she's not noticing any results. She might actually have achieved some results, but at this point they are so minor they aren’t noticeable in a mirror and are easily obscured by natural weight fluctuations.
Because Jane doesn’t notice any results, the following week she goes back to buying cakes and soda at the store. She didn't increase her activity level and she didn’t stick with the program. Jane didn’t try hard enough. She just made one minor change for the better, but didn’t give it enough time to show through.
Don't set yourself up for failure. Give your body time to catch up to your program and don’t expect one minor change to give you lifelong results. Fitness isn’t a one time fix, it's a lifelong process. Be sure not to burn yourself out in the beginning. Try to adopt habits that you can sustain for the foreseeable future, with a little room for occasional rewards and cheats.
