Everyone knows how to lose weight, right? It should be simple, yet for many of us, it isn’t simple at all. We are the culmination of our habits and lifestyle. You might decide one day to go on a diet, and you lose some pounds and then when you get to the weight you want to be, you go off the diet and start eating in your same old unhealthy patterns. Sooner, rather than later, you notice that the pounds are packing back on.
Dieting, as a tool, can help us lose weight, but we need to be consistent. Dieting doesn’t mean sticking to a diet regimen for a month and then reverting to old habits that caused the weight gain in the first place. Let’s look at some lifestyle habits that can ruin your chances of losing weight or maintaining weight loss.
Lifestyle habits not conducive to health and weight loss include:
– Mindless eating
– Eating more than your body needs
– Wanting to feel full
– Eating at your desk
– Eating in front of the TV
– Not paying attention to serving sizes
– Inactivity
– Eating when you aren’t starving
– Comfort eating
– Eating too many calories
Contrary to the above-listed lifestyle habits, we need to do the opposite of what is written there. We are often our own worst enemy when it comes to losing weight. Only you know what your habits are. Mine used to be eating for taste after I had had enough. Each one of those listed lifestyle habits used to be mine. I stopped doing those things, and during the last couple of months, I have lost 32 pounds.
After having gallbladder surgery, I had to change how I eat. I can’t tolerate fried foods or foods that have a significant amount of fat. In the beginning, my portions were small, and now I cut those portions in half and eat the first half of my food and save the other half to eat later when I feel hungry. I’m a gastric bypass recipient, and one side effect that I have is that I feel hungry 2 hours after I have eaten a small meal. So now, I split my meals in half and eat the other half when I am hungry again. I eat more fruit and spread them out throughout the day and early evening when I want something.
A common problem with weight loss efforts is too much snacking on processed foods that are nothing more than empty calories. I always liked to have an ice cream or candy bar now and then. There’s nothing wrong with that; you can fit your snack calories into your eating plan. However, it’s best not to have these types of foods in the house if you can’t control yourself around them. If I want ice cream, I will go out for it. If I want a doughnut, I’ll go out for it. I won’t bring concentrated sweet or fatty foods home. The weight is coming off now without me trying because I have made lifestyle changes that I can live with.
There is no secret to losing weight. We have to find out what works for us. We know from experience what works and what doesn’t because we have tried about everything. Skipping meals doesn’t work very well to lose weight because you are more likely to be so hungry that you eat more than you need when you do finally eat.
To maintain health and be successful with your weight loss efforts, most doctors and healthcare professionals will suggest that you make the necessary lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes are not just for individuals but whole families. Obesity is often a familial condition when the family members don’t make healthy lifestyle choices.