Why is it So Hard to Lose Weight?

There are a number of reasons why a person cannot lose weight, but one of the most common misconceptions about weight loss is that you must have an all-or-nothing attitude when you are attempting to lose weight. The truth is that losing weight is not about an all-or-nothing attitude. In fact, the real secret to weight loss success is being able to choose a long-term plan and to stick with it.

This all-or-nothing attitude is the number one reason why it is so hard to lose weight. It prevents you from ever experiencing any kind of lasting success. All too often, people rush off to a diet and give up just as soon as they hit the scale. They quickly discover that dieting will not help them lose weight. Instead, the weight comes back on again.

This all-or-nothing attitude is caused by a number of factors, including the power of the mind. When you allow your mind to focus on one thing, it can drive everything else in your life. When you go on diets, you are essentially shutting down your entire mind. You give up thinking positively and you are not only limiting your potential, but you are denying yourself the pleasures of life. When you allow yourself to think negatively, you will always feel bad about yourself.

The reason why it is so hard to lose weight is because our all-or-nothing attitude keeps us motivated in the wrong way. We tell ourselves that if we do not lose weight, then we will never feel good about ourselves. We tell ourselves that if we do not lose weight, then we might develop some sort of health problem. All of these things are true, but they are not true in the long run. Focusing on all of these negatives is only going to lead to more weight gain, more health problems, and more of everything else that you don't want to have.

One of the best ways to break out of your all-or-nothing attitude is to take things one day at a time. You cannot force yourself to lose weight or to just relax all the time. However, if you force yourself to tackle one thing at a time, you will find that you will have more success in your endeavors.

You might even find that you do not need to diet all the time. Sometimes, just giving into your emotions and doing what you need to do in order to feel better and lose weight will do the trick. This is not an excuse for letting go of your all-or-nothing attitude, however. If you really want to reach your goals, you are going to have to throw out some of your old beliefs about weight loss and nutrition and mindset.

The all-or-nothing attitude was developed in an environment where everything is black and white and all you are able to think about is losing weight. This can often be a limiting place to live because you are always focused on losing weight or failing at it. Your mind does not have room for failure, and so when you fail, your whole life is affected by this single event. This is not healthy. It is important to learn how to change your thoughts, but in order to do that, you are going to have to change how you react to situations. For instance, if you tell yourself over again that you will not diet, then eventually you will have enough of an evidence base to change your thought pattern.

One thing that is very helpful is to create short-term goals in your weight loss plan. When you set smaller, more easily digestible goals, you keep your focus on the process, and you work in small steps. This is much different than the all-or-nothing attitude, where you can't move forward with anything until you have lost a certain amount of weight. This will help keep you motivated as well. Eventually, if you have succeeded in losing weight, you will be able to think clearly and have a positive attitude about dieting again.