Let me give you some reasons as to why I believe it is hard for most of us to lose body fat!
Before I begin with these reasons let me make a few direct statements.
You cannot keep Yo-Yo dieting and trying extreme weight loss plans. They simply do not work and are unhealthy. If you are buying prepackaged foods by weight loss companies then stop wasting your money. I have been a personal trainer for more than 15 years and I do not know of anyone who has kept up with these plans. Not many of us can afford to keep buying someone else’s foods, supplements, or health products for the rest of our lives. Why would we buy all of these crazy juices or pre-made meals when we can save money and buy our own groceries for less money? If the so-called healthy pre-made food products advertised were really that good for us they would not have such a long shelf life. We do not need these types of preservative and or sodium filled foods. Some of these companies even have fat-free and sugar-free chocolate brownies. Why would we need this? Why do we not eat a small brownie with real chocolate every once in a while. We do not have to have dessert with every meal.
Most fat-free and sugar-free foods are full of sodium or fake fats also known as hydrogenated or trans fats. These are very bad for our cardiovascular systems! We do not satisfy our cravings the right way when we eat or drink these sugar-free and fat-free products. They do not help our bodies self-regulate. Eating the real stuff in moderation is better and healthier. Besides, we do not even know what types of chemicals we are putting in our bodies when we eat sugar-free and fat-free foods. We do not know what the health consequences will be down the road. Obviously if you are diabetic then you need to be careful about how much sugar you consume and when. You need to check with your doctor and regularly test your blood to see what level your sugar is at before making food choices.
Here are some reasons why it is hard for us to lose weight:
Scale Watchers:
Many of us compulsively watch the scales and get discouraged. Every week I get calls from prospective clients all around Southside Virginia who need help losing weight. Most of them tell me they weigh themselves every day. If you weigh yourself every day you will notice constant shifts in weight because of lack of fluids or excess of fluids. Sometimes our bodies can fluctuate 3-7 pounds on any given day depending on how much fluid we may be holding. This can make us very discouraged. If you are a young woman then you will see changes in weight during your monthly cycle and you need not be alarmed. The solution is to maintain a healthy intake of the right amount of sodium for your body and to exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, and get enough rest.
Fat-Free and Sugar-Free Makes Us Fatter:
As I mentioned earlier, we eat too much of fat-free and sugar-free foods. When we see a food item that is apparently free of fat or sugar we somehow believe that’s a license to eat a whole lot of it! Once we do, our daily calories shoot way up and we gain excess body fat. When we drink a sugar-free soda or have a sugar-free chocolate candy we actually do not satisfy our craving for something sweet. We still keep craving and end up eating more of the sugar-free stuff and gaining more body fat.
We are Stubborn:
We keep trying our same old ways and getting the same old results. How can we expect different results when we keep doing the same ole same ole? I have had many clients start training with me and try to tell me what I need to do for them. They somehow have all the answers in the beginning. Many of them have said they will just fast and not eat for a day or two and lose the weight they want. Well that may have worked when you were younger or maybe temporarily, but it is the fastest way to hold on to FAT. Going more than 3-4 hours without food will slow our metabolisms and starving will not last. Many times if we go too long without food we end up chowing down and gorging our bellies only to lead to more body fat.
Denial:
I have people call me and say they need help losing weight but the funny thing is they do not know why they are so big. They tell me they eat healthy, do not eat much all day, and exercise regularly. Then why did they call me? Why are they calling me if they already have their stuff together? Once I start to dissect their daily eating habits they see they cheat more than they thought with junk food or eat in excess quite often. Do not believe the television commercials that say, “It is not your fault.” YES, most of the time it is your fault. It was my fault when I was over 300 pounds. No one made me eat junk and no one made me lazy after dinner but me. I was responsible. Not my genes, hormones, environment, but ME. It was my fault and I did something about it! I stopped denying the fact that I was really fat and on a path of self-destruction.
Choices:
We choose whether we Exercise regularly, practice proper Nutrition, get plenty of Rest. We choose these things and choose to be positive…No one else does this for us. We have all heard life is a choice, that happiness is a choice, and there has been countless books written about these issues, but I am here to tell you that fitness is a choice and one of the most important choices we will ever make. It doesn’t take too much time out of our daily lives to adhere to a fitness program. With my Exercise, Nutrition, and Rest plan it should take 3 to 4 hours a week out of our busy schedules to combat most diseases, sicknesses, disorders, and disabilities that come our way.
You are the problem, not anyone else but you. If you don’t exercise, eat right, and get plenty of rest, you are at fault.
You cannot live off of junk food and expect to feel good. If you eat junk you’ll feel like junk. You are in charge of you! Gone are the days of blaming others and throwing fault towards others. We are in charge of ourselves and we cannot throw blame on anyone else for our bad behaviors, for our bad choices, or for our laziness.
We have to have Exercise, Nutrition, and Rest as part of our lives.