Trying to lose weight can be one of the most frustrating tasks to take on. It takes willpower, discipline and sacrifice. Even after working hard all week to eat right and exercise, you can still step on the scale and not be happy with the number you see. If you're struggling to lose weight, you maybe struggling with one of several common challenges.
Consistency
One of the keys to losing weight is consistency. Eating healthy foods is great, but it doesn't do much good if you don't do it on a consistent basis. Exercise is also a weight loss method that must be done frequently in order to achieve results. Your body will get used to an exercise routine and know that it has to burn fat in order to have enough energy to survive. Just stepping on the treadmill every few weeks won't get your body into a fat-burning mode. It may take some sacrifice to develop consistency at eating better and exercising, but after several weeks of consistent effort, you should see the pounds start to slowly melt away.
Calories
The basic math of your body dictates that if you eat fewer calories than your body burns in a day on a regular basis, you will lose weight. Eating too many calories will make it virtually impossible for your body to burn enough to allow you to lose weight. You can use a calorie calculator that will tell you the approximate number of calories you need to eat in a day in order to lose weight over a period of time. This calculator will factor in your age, weight, height and daily physical activity and give you a goal number you should shoot for every day in order to eat the right amount of calories.
Motivation
Many people struggling to lose weight have trouble finding the motivation to get up off the couch and hit the gym or resist the temptation to eat bad food. Losing weight is all about how bad you want it. Take a good look at yourself and determine if you are truly happy with your current weight. If you're not, set some specific, reachable goals for weight loss and write them down. Come up with a mission statement or "why" for your weight loss. It could be to look good in that little black dress or to be able to run a marathon. Whatever your motivation, write it down and put it in a place you frequently see, like a mirror, to remind you every day what your goal is and how you're going to get there.
Member Comments
stardusted33 February 7
I have been trying to figure out why I can't lose weight and I see article after article similar to this one giving out obvious advice. And it's NOT helpful at all! I eat an extremely healthy, low cal, low fat, balanced diet. I track it meticulously. I exercise daily and I switch up what exercises I do. I also track my exercise meticulously. According to the numbers (and I will overestimate on calories and underestimate on exercise) I should have lost 3X as much as I actually have. I've lost 2 pounds but should have lost more like 6. My boyfriend who is following my exact diet (except he eats about 500 calories a day more than me) has lost 9 pounds. My feeling is that no one knows why I can't lose weight. I wish someone would just admit that NO ONE KNOWS WHY! My boyfriend, who has been an athlete his whole life, has no idea why it's not working. I am completely FRUSTRATED and it just makes it worse, when I try to find out WHY, to read articles saying things like 'be consistent', 'take in fewer calories than you expend', 'be motivated'. Really? I have done ALL those things. Now tell me again why I can't lose weight!
livesmarter February 10
"Losing weight is all about how bad you want it." This oversimplification of the problem is the core belief that is making attempts to curb rates of obesity fail miserably. There is so much more to why people have trouble losing weight. In some cases it may be physiological, in others emotional... But you're not helping anyone by telling them they don't want it enough if they are trying to lose weight and can't. It's not a level playing field, and pretending it is so just continues to keep those who are obese struggling and those who are not patting themselves on the back for having more "motivation." Shame on you for promoting this damaging philosophy.