Why you cant stick to the decision to lose weight

Jason Shiers

Why you can’t lose weight

Weight loss is a result of happiness, joy, and contentment, not something you exert willpower to achieve. Yes, you may have some short-term results with willed weight loss but I am talking about permanent lasting change – coupled with happiness.
Despite the hugely pervasive dieting and exercise industries, it seems that the number on the scale keeps going up. We lurch from one celebrity-endorsed diet to the next and wonder if we can ever achieve health and the weight that we desire. The obesity epidemic continues to grow;

In 2016/17, there were 617 thousand admissions in NHS hospitals where obesity was a factor1. This is an increase of 18 per cent on 2015/16.
In 2016, 26 per cent of adults were classified as obese. This has increased from 15 per cent in 1993 but has remained at a similar level since 2010.
In 2016, 26 per cent of adults and 16 per cent of children consumed 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
In 2016/17, 1 in 5 children in Year 6 and 1 in 10 children in Reception were classified as obese.

The Problem with trying to lose weight

Do you find yourself overly stressed, tired, unhappy and noticing weight gain despite trying your best to ‘eat healthily’? What if I told you that changing the inside would change the outside? rather than focusing on the weight, we focus on the change, the weight comes as a result of the change. It never works the other way around.

Many people do not realise the impact that our mental and emotional health or ‘dis-ease’ has on how our bodies hold on to weight.

Yes, we need to address our poor diets and our exercise habits, but a holistic approach to well-being with weight loss coach will allow us to reach our goals without it having to be a punishing regimen of shame and restriction. In fact, let’s just put it out there, diets do not work for sustained, long-term change. In Weight Loss Coaching we shift our focus from the weight we do not want, to the peace and happiness we do wish for ourselves, is much faster and easier route to well-being and weight loss.

The Solution – Shift your thinking and Find the Balance

Getting your mood balanced and cultivating overall well-being can dramatically impact your weight without you having to obsess about every meal, calorific intake, or cutting particular food groups from your diet. Weight change will come as a natural consequence of shifting your thinking on to the positive and what you do want in your life, rather than focusing on the weight that you do not want.

Change the thoughts you focus on

Changing the thoughts you focus on, that is choosing healing and finding a good perspective way to look at everything, can curb your stress levels and increase your capacity to feel ‘positive’ emotions, we could all benefit from more self-love and more self-esteem

Broadening and building on your ability to focus on ‘positive’ thoughts and feelings will enable you to curb those cravings and choose healthier dietary options, naturally! This does not have to be a struggle. If it is a struggle, it’s worth asking yourself – Why?

Through this process + more. Changing the way you feel about yourself and about the world will naturally lead to a healthier lifestyle, and your body returning to its natural, healthy weight.

Get Moving

Regular physical activity is a great way of reducing tension, the increase in those happy hormones serotonin and dopamine is a great bonus to taking care of our bodies.

Regular exercise can help increase your confidence and self-esteem and is one of the most loving things you can do for yourself. Practising something like yoga will have a similar effect to the added benefits of meditational practice.

Taking care of yourself this way can be fun and rewarding in all kinds of ways. Creating a healthy lifestyle will naturally help your body return to a healthy weight. Most of us can struggle to get the motivation to do this, but all will report they felt better when they actually did it!

Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is essential for good mental and emotional health. Cultivating a good bedtime routine can be very beneficial for those of us who find it hard to rest. If you experience tension and anxiety at night and fatigue throughout the day, changing your routine can help boost you into that cycle of positive change. Ideally, you should aim for eight hours of sleep per night to give you the ample energy you require to live your life to the fullest.

Make Time for Friends

Supportive, warm, loving relationships are vital for your physical and mental health at any age. The sensation of love, not necessarily romantic love, but friendship and fellowship too, can relax your parasympathetic nervous system. The release of the love hormone oxytocin can go a long way to counteracting the desire to binge eat or comfort eat.

Focusing on nurturing and really savouring positive connection with others can provide a buffer against the urge to consume unhealthy foods as a source of temporary comfort.

Use a Coach

Having regular and ongoing support through weight loss coaching in changing your life in positive ways can be really helpful. This is true in all areas of life from weight loss to self-confidence, emotional regulation, or to reaching for success in any area of your life.

Feeling socially connected, safe, supported, and competent, will all help to improve your overall levels of positivity and help you to practice self-care around eating.

If you are concerned about your weight gain, you should learn how a weight loss coach can help you. A coach can generate change from the inside out, by cultivating a positive, loving approach to all aspects of your life.

Eat Well

Poorly managed blood sugar levels and high levels of inflammation can contribute to hormonal imbalances and the experience of being fatigued and unhappy!

You can stop doing this to yourself and develop a kinder way of eating, that allows you to flourish.

What to eat?

Different diets suit different body types and personalities, again this is not about getting obsessed with particular dietary restrictions this is about cultivating balance and self-care in your life, and reducing the need for unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Weight loss can come naturally– you do not need to put lots of effort into controlling your eating. You do not have to punish yourself, you can be kind to yourself and still change.

It’s an Inside Job

In conclusion, we all want to live a happy and fulfilled life. Physical health is a big part of that puzzle, but this journey does not have to be a painful one. Do not wait until you have lost the weight to love yourself, start now by working on your internal world and the outside will change naturally.

Your weight loss doesn’t need to be the result of a gruelling and punishing regime. You can love yourself and still change, and your weight loss can be the result of your happiness and contentment!