“I lost 10kg and felt great, however, over the last 2 years I have put it all back on”

 

“I start out great. Really motivated and for the first few weeks lose weight. But then I don’t know what happens. I lose all motivation and miss a few exercise sessions. Eat a few fattening meals. Then it is all over.”

 

I am sure all of us have heard or said this before. Losing weight is challenging and is certainly not an easy job for most, however, keeping it off is even harder!

 

There have been hundreds of studies over the past decade trying to find the solution to the weight maintenance dilemma. Many have found very interesting findings and we now know more about weight maintainers and relapsers than we have ever known before, however, we are still far from finding the solution. In fact there is not one weight loss solution or program in the world that can claim a one hundred percent success rate (obviously I don’t know about all the weight loss programs in the world, however, I am pretty confident about making this statement). In fact most programs are nowhere near one hundred percentage. Studies have actually found that the majority of people who lose weight put it all back on within five years. Not something most people want to hear but it is true.

 

So what does this mean? If we are overweight are we destined to being overweight for the rest of our life? Should we just give up?

 

Definitely not, although I would argue that rather than repeating the same solution you may need to look at trying something new. And I am not talking about trying a new diet or buying a new exercise machine. I am talking about trying something new with your ‘head’. The thing that controls us and is responsible for us making one decision versus another. As a psychologist I am most interested in how our mind affects how we act. Yes, particular foods and exercise machines will help us along the way but it is our mind that will help us ‘choose’ what we do next. The problem is that most people know what to do to keep the weight off, however, just don’t know how to do it. Now I am not going to sit here and pretend that I have the answers because I don’t. But what I do know is that how you think and how your mind reacts to your experiences does have a profound impact on your actions. And it is your actions that are important in continuing with your weight loss efforts and in your journey to keeping fit and maintaining a healthy weight. So what are some of the common errors that people make?

 

1. Going on a diet. Diets do not work! Diets do not work! (this is not a misprint I just wanted to repeat myself in case you missed it). If you are going to go on a ten week diet and you do stick to it, you will lose weight. It probably doesn’t even matter what diet you go on. Most do work in helping you lose weight, albeit some a better than others (and some are downright dangerous). The problem is that people who go on a diet then either think that they can go back to their old ways, while others don’t even think at all about what they are going to do after the ten weeks is over. Diets do not teach new behaviours and your food choice will not miraculously change at the completion of it. You may have actually learnt bad habits such as skipping meals, not listening to body cues, starving your body plus many more. If you want to lose weight and keep it off you better start thinking about what you are going to do to maintain your weight. How will you change your life and will this be consistent with keeping the weight off? If not, you better rethink your plan.

2. The reason for losing weight is all wrong. It may be for that upcoming wedding, to fit into a size eight dress again, to receive ‘respect’ from others, to just look ‘hot’ plus many others. Another reason may relate to self-esteem and liking oneself. Now I am not saying that these aren’t helpful reasons, but if they are the sole reason then you will fail. Losing weight needs to be for more than just superficial reasons, because superficial reasons are just not powerful enough. What happens when the wedding is over, when the respect from others is not forthcoming, or when you still find you are not happy with who you are? Relapse and weight regain, that’s what happens. So the question is, what is the right reason? To be brutally honest, I am not totally sure, but my best guess is that it needs to be something more significant. Something that you truly value in life. Ask yourself the following questions:

·        What do I value in life and how will losing weight help me in reaching this? Values can relate to parenthood, relationships, career, spirituality, and health.

·        What person am I now and what person do I want to become? Don’t just think about superficial things here. How will losing weight help me become this person?

3. You want to lose weight but you don’t want to change your life. Lets face it, unless you have an ultra fast metabolism it is impossible to lose weight and keep it of and still engage in unhealthy practices. Your life needs to change and there is no magic diet, magic pill or magic answer that can overcome this reality. You cannot continue to drink a six pack everyday, eat takeaway food every day, have your chocolate in the evening, have a pantry full of goodies ... and the list goes on and on. This is something that you have to face. You want to keep the weight off then you MUST live a life that is conducive to it.

4. You fail to consider the pleasure principle. Sugar and fat loaded food can give us pleasure. Lets face it, it tastes good. After a long days work having that packet of chips, chocolate or alcoholic beverage can help us unwind and relax. It just gives us simple pleasure. Now with it gone, how else are we going to gain our pleasure? After work how are we going to unwind? When we are bored, how are we going to feel more stimulated? Previously we may have used food. Now if you want to keep that weight off you need to do something different. Have a think about when you use food or drink. These are your high risk times. What are you going to do to replace the grip that food had on you? What simple pleasure can you come up with that is easily accessible during these high risk times? Reading a book, going for a walk, meditating, having a soothing bath, yoga etc?

5. You slip up and see your efforts as a total failure.  It is inevitable that you will slip up some time during your weight loss efforts. There may even be a period where you go of the rails completely. The fact that this happens is not really the issue. The problem relates to how you react to these slip ups. Everyone goes off the rails in a number areas of their life at some time or another. It is a normal human characteristic. The difference between weight maintainers and relapsers is how they react to these slip ups. Relapsers become disillusioned and see things as hopeless. Maintainers put things into perspective and see the overall picture. They slipped up, big deal. It’s now time to get back on track. Remember this fact. If you have three meals a day, over a year you will eat 1095 meals. I am sure that if you slipped up for 100 of these meals over the year you still could lose weight and keep it of.

 

I am confident that avoiding these five common errors (and I have heaps more) will help you along the way to achieving a healthier weight and healthier life, however, remember that the journey is long and surprises will pop up at some time or another. Don’t let me deter you though because at some point things will get easier and the behaviours you once found difficult become second nature. I am unable to say when this occur. For some people it may be months while for most it is years. Whatever the case, I hope that you will find that your efforts are worth it!