Ten Things That Will Keep You From Losing Ten Pounds

I am, as they say, a curvy woman.  As I have gotten older my lifestyle has changed, and so has my waistline.  I’ve tried several fad diets, and even tried losing weight the right way a couple of times.  But there are a few habits that I know I need to break in order to really lose the weight, and keep it off.  I know many other people who fall into similar habits, and often hear, “Why can’t I just lose these last ten pounds?”  Here’s a look at what might be holding you back:

1. You reward yourself with food.
   You’ve done great today.  You ate right, found the time to exercise and now you’re staring into the depths of your freezer and see Ice Cream staring right back at you.  You think to yourself, “Hey, I’ve done really well today.  I deserve a treat.”  And you’re right.  You do.  But not a food-treat. 
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   If you start going from one day to the next feeling like you deserve to be rewarded, by the end of the week you will find that you’ve consumed a half gallon of ice cream and there are candy wrappers littering the house.  It becomes increasingly difficult to make any progress because instead of rewarding yourself for a job well-done, you’re consistently eating foods that are not helping you reach your goal.

2. Every time you lose a few pounds, you stop trying.
   If your body is anything like mine, you work really hard to lose weight and nothing seems to happen until week three when suddenly you’ve lost five pounds.  You think to yourself, “Wow, I’m halfway there already.  I’ll just take it easy today.”  So you only do half your work-out today, and you skip it tomorrow.  No big deal right?  Sure, until you realize two weeks later that you haven’t broken a sweat in days and your scale has begun to mock you.

   Rather than taking a couple of days off, try mixing up your exercise routine.  Do you normally work out in a sterile gym?  Try taking a walk outside.  Do you usually run every day?  Try skipping rope instead.  This will get your body out of the monotony and give you a fresh feel for how your body is working.

3. You haven’t yet realized that losing weight is a permanent lifestyle change – not a mini-purge.
   I often catch myself thinking, “I can’t wait until I can have pizza again.”  Or, “Once this diet is done, I’ll be able to have a whole chicken fried steak to myself.”  This type of thinking is defeating the purpose of being on a diet in the first place! 

   Dieting is not a one-time fix.  It is an ongoing process.  We got to the size & shape that we are now because of the habits that we’ve had up to this point.  I know it’s difficult, but you have to wrap your head around the fact that to be healthy & lean you just can’t eat the way you used to. 

4. You’re “too busy” to exercise.
   Let’s face it.  We’re not really that busy.  We come home and watch T.V. at the end of a hard day of work, or we talk on the phone for an hour with a friend to vent about our day.  We sleep-in every chance we get and we drive everywhere we go.  There is time to work out, even if it is just mini-workouts throughout the day. 

   Wake up 20 minutes earlier than normal, or turn off the T.V. and do jumping jacks instead.  It’s not about having to find the time to drive across town to the gym; it’s really about fitting any type of activity that will get us moving into our day.

5. You hate exercising more than you hate going to the dentist.
   Who said that you have to walk, run or do push-ups to lose weight?  What about going for a hike?  Learning to play tennis?  Playing soccer with your kids?  The main key to exercise is to move your body – there’s no right or wrong way to do it, just DO something.  If you find something you enjoy, schedule time to do it each week.  You will begin to look forward to it, and will reap great results.
6. You don’t tell other people that you are on a diet.
   If you don’t tell anyone that you are trying to lose a few extra pounds, no one is going to support your efforts because they won’t know that they are supposed to!  Quitting over-eating is just like quitting anything else.  You need to make it known what your goals are so that you can build a support network to help you get there. 
7. You feel like you have to finish everything on your plate.
   This is one of those things that stems from childhood.  Whether you’ve eaten only half of your food, or you’ve eaten all but three bites – you feel like you’re done but you can hear your mother’s voice chirping in the back of your mind, “Clean your plate!”

   If you aren’t living under your mother’s roof, you don’t have to live by her rules.  When you’re done, be done.  Wrap up the remainder for tomorrows lunch, or (I know this option is painful) if you know you won’t eat the left-overs just throw the remainder out.  Contrary to what your mother told you – this isn’t being wasteful. It’s being Waist-Minded.

8. You feel like there are certain foods you can’t live without, so you binge when you get around them.
   You feel like you’ve been eating like a rabbit for weeks, and right now all you want is PIZZA.  It seems like your whole world is going to collapse if you don’t calm this craving, so you order a large with the works.  Hours later you have gorged yourself into a metabolic-coma, and all that remains of the pizza is the box and a few soiled napkins.  This becomes part of a cycle, and your body doesn’t like it. 

   Instead of going overboard, try yogurt flavored like your favorite pie or get some bite-sized pizza snacks.  Follow the packaging directions and have one serving when cravings hit.  This is a realistic way to live with the flavors you love without making your metabolism freak out.

9. You’ve given up hope.
   We all get to this point of reaching a plateau that we just can’t seem to get beyond, and it becomes very easy to just give up.  The last few pounds that we want to lose seem to be just outside our reach no matter what we do.

   Don’t give up, change your focus!  Instead of brooding over the last 10 pounds that you just can’t seem to lose, focus on something else.  Set a goal that isn’t weight-related like being able to jog 4 miles in an hour or being able to do 50 push-ups in a row.  By hitting new and different goals you will continue to feel accomplished and you’ll be able to keep going.

10. You’re really trying to lose the weight for someone else.
    Diet and weight loss aren’t going to work unless you are ready to make a change for YOU.  You can’t change your lifestyle for your spouse, your parent or your kids.  As much as I’m sure you want to make all of them happy, it really boils down to if you would do this on your own without them telling you that you should.  Decide that you want to make the change for yourself, and you will be amazed at the things that you can accomplish.

One more thing to keep in mind while you are looking at this list and thinking of what might be holding you back from reaching your weight-loss goals is this:  You can’t do it all at once, and that’s OK.  Focus your attention on one hurdle at a time, keep putting one foot in front of the other and continue to make small changes in your daily life.  If you keep at it, you will see great results.