Losing the first bit of weight is often the easiest stage of a diet. You deprive yourself horribly of all your favourite things, exercise every day and feel super motivated – and when you stand on the scale and see that the weight is falling off, it all feels worthwhile. Fast-forward to a few months later when diet food has lost its shine, you can think of a million reasons not to exercise and the scale shows you that you’ve maintained your current weight for yet another week. It can all get a bit depressing, and if it wasn’t for the serious benefits that weight loss has on your wellness and sense of well-being, you’d probably give up.
There are many people that abandon a diet at this point, but you can avoid being one of them. We’ve compiled a list of the most common reasons that people abandon their diets, and given some helpful ideas about how you can deal with them.
- It’s taking a long time. It’s so easy to gain weight, and not so easy to lose it again- In order to have a successful long-term weight loss journey you need to come to terms with this and accept this. You may want to see giant weight loss each week, but the truth is that the only safe and sustainable way of losing weight is to lose one or two pounds each week. Do the math and you will realise how long your end weight goal is going to take.
- You get hungry- You have to eat fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight. Some foods are high in calories, so you can only eat a little bit of them. This will leave you feeling hungry and dissatisfied. Make wise choices by filling up on low calorie foods, and ones with high fibre and high water content to prevent those hunger pangs.
- Missing treats- Don’t go on a restrictive weight plan that denies you your favourite foods forever. A little of what you fancy does you good, as they say!